Politics Live Blog - April 8-15

Willie Jackson, the Labour Party MP who was in charge of the media portfolio in the former government has called Media and Communications Minister Melissa Lee "stupid" and says she "doesn't know what she is doing".

Jackson's broadsides come as Lee finds herself under increasing pressure to explain what the National-led coalition government may do to help the media sector, which is in crisis. 

"Why can't they mediate some sort of business deal?  Why can't they facilitate a process? It seems like they are just bereft of any idea or strategies whatsoever," Jackson said.

"You've got a stupid minister who doesn't know what she's doing."

Jackson said the writing had been on the wall "for years" and that his government had sought to assist the sector through merging RNZ and TVNZ. 
But it was "overwhelmed" by the cost of living, he said. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Lee said she had been working "very hard" to find a way to make the country's media industry sustainable. 

When a reporter asked whether Lee thought she could save the media industry, Lee said: "I don't think I can save anything. I'm the Minister for Media and Communications. What I can do is provide a level playing field so that media can be more sustainable, modernise and innovate". 

Lee said the sector needed to work together to understand the "different ways people are consuming news at the moment. We need to figure out how and why people are moving away from traditional mediums".