The End of The Broadcasting Authority: The Watchdog Is Gone. The Threat Isn't
The BSA is gone. The disinformation crisis isn't.
New Zealand just axed the Broadcasting Standards Authority. The World Economic Forum just ranked disinformation among the top global risks of 2026, a systemic, destabilising force that makes every other major risk worse.
These two things are not unrelated.
The WEF is clear about what's happening: AI is being used to psychologically profile audiences and deliver content engineered to provoke fear and outrage, not to inform. Deepfakes are now accessible, convincing, and nearly undetectable. And platform algorithms financially reward engagement, which means outrage spreads faster than factchecking.
That's the information environment your audiences are navigating. And we just removed the regulator that told them someone was watching.
"Smash 'Em and Cut 'Em up": What Electrify Queenstown Told Us About the Politics of Energy
All six parliamentary parties. One stage. Surprising consensus on goals — and sharp disagreement on how to get there. After taking a leading role at Electrify Queenstown, Heft breaks down what the political signals mean for businesses operating in energy, demand management, and smart technology — and where the real policy risk lies.
The Century of Consequences: Navigating the Supply Chain Crisis Now and Into the Future
How NZ Energy Leaders Navigate Crisis: The Century of Consequences
Heft Communications, a New Zealand-based strategic communications and government relations consultancy, identifies shared organisational purpose as the critical infrastructure for rapid crisis decision-making in the energy sector.
New Zealand's proposed LNG gas terminal faces severe political risk as Qatari gas supply disruption due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict exposes fuel security vulnerabilities. In an election year where voters demand predictability and economic relief, the Government's solution for higher energy prices remains stuck under bombardment on the Strait of Hormuz.
Energy sector leaders face a double bind: moving too fast risks stakeholder misalignment, while waiting for evidence risks missing critical policy windows. Equivocation is the enemy of agility.
According to David Monk, Chief Executive of the Home Foundation and Heft client: It takes longer, requires different conversations and different skills. But it's the actual work.
What matters more than policy? Shared grounding in agreed purpose, values, and positions on key issues. When you have common understanding of the things that really matter, you create a different kind of decision-making muscle—one that enables you to decide when to adapt with current tools or chart a new course altogether.
Heft works with energy sector clients to build crisis decision-making capability through:
Strategic analysis that tests assumptions about fuel security and regulatory pathways
Internal communication that secures team buy-in during rapid strategic pivots
Focused stakeholder engagement that creates unexpected allies when policy windows are narrow
In the century of consequences, where economic and environmental outcomes seesaw between the benefits and pitfalls of past decisions, the question is not whether to move boldly or incrementally—but whether your organisation has the decision-making infrastructure to choose wisely and act quickly when the moment demands it.
Be Human: Why Strategic Communications Professionals Are More Valuable Than Ever
In a world of 70% distrust in leaders and rising grievances, engagement professionals must leverage storytelling, facilitation, and authentic connection. Victoria Crockford on navigating the 2026 polycrisis.
