TVNZ's news bulletin was delayed after an electrical fire forced its Auckland newsroom to evacuate just half an hour before the news was due to air.

But why was TVNZ, the national broadcaster, unable to broadcast from elsewhere in the country?

Its central newsroom is in Auckland, but it has other, smaller newsrooms in Wellington and Christchurch.

PHOTO: JARED NICOLL/STUFF An LDK 513 Philips camera used by TVNZ at Lower Hutt's Avalon Studios in 1981.

TVNZ spokeswoman Georgie Hills said while the network has the capacity to broadcast live from elsewhere in Auckland in the case of an emergency, 30 minutes was not enough time to organise such a change.

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"It was simply a matter of timing. If this scenario had happened earlier in the day, we would have probably organised a live cross [from Auckland] and viewers would have noticed we were in a different setting," she said.

PHOTO: DILEEPA FONSEKA/STUFF Fire engines outside TVNZ's Auckland newsroom.

"Unfortunately we just didn't have that option at 5.30pm. It was a case of get out of the newsroom, get out of the building, evacuate."

Um as the national broadcaster you would think TVNZ could just use one of their other studios around the country for a ‘temporary’ One News?! — William ✈ (@mrwjwa) January 5, 2018

A member of the Kiwi Journalists Association Facebook page commented: "Can't help thinking if the Wellington newsroom had not been decimated by cost-cutting, the show could have come from there. The back-up equipment is still all in place, just not the people left to run it. Sad and short-sighted."

Hypothetically, if a major disaster were to happen in Auckland, Hills said TVNZ would still choose to lead its coverage from Auckland.

"If something like this happened, the most likely scenario - and I must emphasise it is very rare for this to happen - if we had the option, would be a live cross using our resources in Auckland."

A former TVNZ employee, who asked not to be named, said centralising coverage in Auckland was like "putting all their eggs in one basket".

"It's a state-owned operation and it's the broadcaster of record, and to trip up on something like this is major. Today was a big news day. Somebody died in Rotorua, there's weather mayhem around the country, and they didn't go to air for 30 minutes - that's a shocker," he said.

"How come they could cover the major earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010 and 2011, but now there's major flooding in Auckland and they can't cover it?"

Wellington and Christchurch TVNZ newsrooms experienced significant redundancies in mid-2017.

Many of those made redundant were "the people with production knowledge", the former employee said.

"Wellington was the disaster recovery site. If Auckland fell over they would pull it together in Wellington. But they basically got rid of all the people who ran the Wellington control room, so now they don't have the people there to cover their asses when Auckland falls over," he said.

Wellington used to have control room staff and presenters available to front the news last-minute if necessary.

"All the scripts were mirrored, so Wellington could have dialled in within half an hour. It would've been a bit scratchy, but it would've happened," the former employee said.

"They've centralised in Auckland, cut back on all these Wellington staff and lost all this real talent. Now they're paying for it."

Freelance journalist Susan Belt, a member of the Kiwi Journalists Association page, said the "Aucklandisation of media" was a great disservice to the rest of the country.

"Auckland's huge population has to be taken into account, but it is obviously not a good idea. TVNZ is very Auckland based, which doesn't serve the rest of the country," she said.