This week the government announced that it was going to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority: thanks, in part to Act New Zealand Southland list MP Todd Stephenson, it will not have to look far to find the requisite legislation.

The background to all this has been well reported but for those who came in late, last year a frustrated listener to Sean Plunket on internet site The Platform went casting around for someone, anyone, to complain about what he was hearing.

The NZ Media Council (more on them shortly) deals with print and website complaints, which didn’t quite fit with The Platform’s live-streaming.

Neither, seemingly, did the Broadcasting Standards Authority, as its well out of date legislation contains a definition of ‘‘broadcasting’’ which, debateably, does not apply to internet streamers.

However, the BSA was at least prepared to consider the idea that its legislation could be interpreted as giving it jurisdiction over outlets like The Platform, and issued an interlocutory decision…