So what about TV1 and TV2?

The Government has announced it intends turning TVNZ7 into a public service channel leaving TV1 and TV2 to pursue fully commercial ends. Leaving aside the relative merits and political arguments for this move, the change raises an obvious question that broadcasting minister Coleman has failed to address: why would the taxpayer continue to own TV1 and TV2?

If these two channels are to be wholly commercial, the taxpayer has no business or interest in owning them. Presumably the only reason for continuing to own them is political - i.e. the Marxist ideal of the state owning the means of production - and given that the National Government is not meant to be Marxist (at least last time I checked with their manifesto), surely they have an obligation to sell these channels.