Real estate industry leaders have allegedly warned media chiefs they would pull millions of dollars in advertising unless they gave more favourable coverage to the property market.
Associate Justice Minister Clayton Cosgrove says he has been told by real estate and media sources of the threats, allegedly made to Fairfax newspaper bosses at a meeting with property chiefs last month.
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) denied threats had been made but a spokeswoman said media companies, including Fairfax and APN, had been asked to provide more balanced coverage of the property market.
Fairfax New Zealand group executive manager Paul Thompson also denied being threatened and said any such move would be futile.
"We're just not open to that kind of interference because the minute you're open to that kind of commercial heavying your independence is gone," Thompson told the Dominion Post newspaper.
But Cosgrove said he had been told by "senior editorial people" at a number of newspapers that real estate industry bosses had made the threats.
"One used the term 'gang of eight', another used the term blackmail (describing how) they had come in and allegedly threatened the editors with pulling millions of dollars in advertising," Cosgrove told the newspaper.
The housing market has been softer this year and in May it was reported that the volume of house sales had fallen to their lowest level in 17 years.
This prompted claims from some real estate agents that the media was talking down the sector.
Speaking on Radio New Zealand on Thursday Cosgrove said he had been given a letter from an estate agent concerned about the meeting with newspaper executives.
"Threats were made to pull advertising, as the letter says, if favourable coverage was not given," he said.
"Now that is silly, it is intimidation and it is bullying and yet another reason why we need to protect the consumer."
A spokeswoman for the minister said that although the letter referred only to Fairfax newspapers, Cosgrove had said other media companies also faced similar threats.
Cosgrove wants to reform real estate law and has a bill before parliament to strip the REINZ of its regulatory powers.
