5 Oct 2022

Auckland radio station sold to prominent Destiny Church members

4:25 pm on 5 October 2022

By Daniel Smith of Stuff

Base FM

Base FM is a popular Auckland-based radio station, recently purchased by Destiny Church members George Ngatai and Raewyn Bhana. Photo: Supplied / Facebook

Auckland radio station Base FM has been sold to prominent Destiny Church members George Ngatai and Raewyn Bhana​.

The move was a surprise to many of the DJs working at the station, and some resigned in protest of the move.

But new owner George Ngatai said there were no plans to make major changes to the station.

“I can’t detach my associations from myself, but I can promise that everything we do will be professional,” Ngatai said.

Ngatai said he had more than 24 years of experience in community and iwi radio and was excited to start working with Base FM.

But former employees of Base FM were surprised by the move and some decided to leave the station.

A former worker who did not want to be named, said there was no consultation between the former owner, and staff or volunteers.

“This is a very liberal station, so I think many DJs will be shocked. But time will tell what happens next,” he said.

In an email to current Base FM volunteers that was shared on Twitter, Ngatai and Bhana​ said they were business owners with a $25 million operation including eight medical practises, two supermarkets, a Mr Whippy franchise, and multiple childcare centres.

“Our focus has always been on our communities and will continue to be so. We want to support continued services Base FM has been providing and look forward to working with each and every one of you,” the email read.

Former station owner Jasmine Ziedan​ said that she wanted the station to go to someone “who was passionate about music and working towards greater outcomes for our communities”.

“Base FM has always been a place that is non-judgemental and is focused on the music and communities around it. The new owners understand that and wish to keep it that way,” Ziedan said.

Out of the 106 DJs working at the station, five had left following the announcement of the new owners, she said.

Auckland-based media commentator Russell Brown​ wrote on Twitter that there were a number of “very anxious and concerned DJs out there”.

“I really appreciate what Jazz has done keeping Base FM alive and afloat for 15 years and understand that she'd want to move on. But this was always going to come up and perhaps would have been better addressed upfront,” the post read.

Ngatai and Bhana​ made headlines last year after a medical centre owned by the pair aided in the South Auckland vaccination programme, despite opposition to the vaccine from their pastor Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki​.

This story originally appeared on Stuff.

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