The future of New Zealand’s Concert FM seems to have been assured after NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern said her Cabinet was looking at an unused FM frequency as a solution to keeping the station on air.
 
There has been public outcry since the announcement of Concert FM’s proposed closure late last week with ex PM, Helen Clark going public to condemn the move. 

RNZ’s breakfast king, Mike Hosking, says that the government is out of touch replacing it with a youth station, “The fact they’re calling it “youth” immediately shows how out of touch they already are, and hopefully they can hire someone who’s pants aren’t pulled up quite as high who can put them straight.”
 
Under the proposed changes, the classical station would lose its FM frequency, presenters, interviews and live programmes, become fully automated and move to the AM band.
 
Jacinda Ardern says that there is already an unused frequency that “…has been shelved for the last 20 years for the purpose of providing youth targeted programming.”
 
The PM told a press conference that “… a Cabinet paper will be prepared which lays out what would be involved in freeing up the 102FM frequency.
 
“In the meantime we believe Radio New Zealand has NZ On Air funding obligations to continue programming (on Concert FM) until June, and we intend to use the time available to work constructively to find a solution.”