Media Insider: RNZ’s former audit and risk committee chair Jane Wrightson on $11.8m deficit: ‘It’s devastating’; chief executive door-stopped by RNZ host

Résumé détaillé

Some of New Zealand’s leading business and broadcast names were members of RNZ’s audit and risk committee in 2025/26 – how did they not pick up an almost $12 million fiscal hole?…

Members and/or attendees of RNZ's audit and risk committee in 2025/26, from left: Andrew Szusterman, committee chair Gracie MacKinlay, former committee chair Jane Wrightson, Jim Mather, and Mads Moller. Meanwhile, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson, right, is door-stopped by RNZ Checkpoint host Lisa Owen.

Some of New Zealand’s leading business and broadcast names were members of RNZ’s audit and risk committee in 2025/26 – how did they not pick up an almost $12 million fiscal hole? Meanwhile, pressure mounts on the CEO.

The former chair of RNZ’s audit and risk committee says an unexpected $11.8 million fiscal blowout is “devastating”.

Both she and another member of the committee say they had no idea that any numbers being presented to them were wrong or misleading.

“I can confirm that the board had no knowledge of this at the time that I left and no issues had been flagged,” Jane Wrightson told the Herald today, in response to text and voice messages.

“All financial reporting seemed on track, with the revenue from the Henderson land sale the primary outstanding issue.

“I have not been involved with the actions of the board since June. It’s devastating, and of course I will cooperate with the inquiry.”

She said she couldn’t publicly comment in detail on the matters because of the independent review announced by RNZ yesterday.

Another member of the committee, Andrew Szusterman, told the Herald today that he was feeling “obviously incredibly upset for everything that’s going on”.

Début de l'article, extrait de NZ Herald Business. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.