Broadcasting Amendment Bill – third reading
Tuesday 11 March 2008 :
Hone Harawira, Broadcasting Spokesperson
Mr Speaker, the fact that we are considering this Broadcasting Amendment Bill at this time, is very, very auspicious for
a number of reasons.
Mr Speaker, on this day, on the 11th of March 1987, the Mâori Language Act was passed, declaring Mâori to be an official
language of New Zealand. The Maori Language Commission was also established and given a specific responsibility to
promote Te Reo Mâori as a living language.
The importance of the Maori language to Maori broadcasting of course, is that it was the Court of Appeal decision
obligating the Crown to protect and promote the Maori language, that led to the funding and the growth of Maori radio,
and the eventual creation of Maori television.
Mr Speaker, it is also worth noting that policy and funding for Maori broadcasting was seen by the Waitangi Tribunal
(and accepted by the Crown) as a way for the Crown to honour its treaty obligation to protect and promote te tino
rangatiratanga o te reo Maori - not just Maori language, but 'an authentic and independent Maori voice' - (the very same
‘authentic and independent Maori voice’ that the Maori Party has so very clearly become in this very parliament).
And the fact that the Broadcasting Amendment Bill is being read for a final time this week is also worth noting,
because for many Maori, this week will be notable for another ending – the announcement of Whai Ngata’s retirement as
General Manager of Maori Programming, TVNZ.
So as we move to digital transmission and aim to strengthen the archiving of Maori programmes, we are also farewelling
one of Maori broadcasting’s true veterans; a man:
* who has helped steer Maori broadcasting for more than thirty years;
* who won the 1980 Mobil radio award for his documentary on the 28th Maori Battalion;
* who, twenty years ago, was made deputy head of the brand new Maori Programmes Department at TVNZ, responsible in
its first years for three new programmes, (Kohanga Reo, Tangata Pasifika and Waka Huia);
* and who just a year ago was awarded the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori
broadcasting and television.
And as we celebrate Whai’s commitment to advancing Maori broadcasting in Aotearoa, we think too of those others who have
been at the vanguard of Maori broadcasting – legends like Ernie Leonard, Wiremu Kerekere, Wiremu Parker and Henare te
Ua, Haare Williams, Selwyn Muru, Henare Kingi, Huirangi Waikerepuru - and many others who have made a significant
contribution to the industry, including the Maori Party’s candidate for the Ikaroa Rawhiti seat, Mr Derek Tini Fox.
And in amending the Act to allow Te Mängai Päho to fund the archiving of Maori programmes, this Bill will also allow us
to honour many of those people I have mentioned and a veritable host of others whose stories have been passed down
through waiata, karakia, haka, whaikörero, and interviews, many of which were recorded through programmes like Te Puna
Wai Korero, Koha, Ngä Take Maori, Te Mana Maori, He Rerenga Korero, and other Maori programmes which are a vital part of
our sound and visual archives.
This week is also auspicious for another reason, because come this weekend, all eyes will be on Rotorua for the hosting
of the annual Maori Media Awards, a ceremony initiated by Te Whakaruruhau o Ngä Reo Irirangi Maori under my
chairmanship, and an opportunity to celebrate Maori excellence in the field of Maori broadcasting.
And as we recognise many of the talents within the burgeoning Maori broadcasting sector, it is timely that we recognise
the importance of the digital world, and embrace the latest in broadcasting and communications technology, and the
people who have the skills to maximize our opportunities from that technology.
Mind you, for all of that celebration there is still much to be done, including the age-old problem of how Maori
programmes are still being shunted around to suit TVNZ’s commercial ratings.
Back in March 1987, Hone Kaa, said that TVNZ’s decision to screen the current affairs programme Ngä Take Maori, at 10pm
on Sundays, “shows a lack of commitment to Maori programmes”.
Well, as we all know now, those were actually the good old days, when 10pm was almost prime time viewing compared to the
midnight slot that Te Karere has been ghettoised into, and yet there is nothing in this Broadcasting Amendment Bill
which addresses this marginalisation and denigration of Maori programming.
So there’s a big hole when this Bill can talk so easily about valuing the past through the archiving of Maori
programmes, and preparing us for the future by funding things like ‘video-on-demand’, and managing content in other
platforms, but that it can completely ignore the present demand for prime-time viewing of Maori programmes on mainstream
television.
The Maori Party will support this Bill, because it does have a positive focus on archiving and digital development, but
we remain critical of the fact that Labour’s Maori MPs have remained silent during the three readings of this Bill, on
the issues that matter most to Maori:
1 Why is there no commitment to the ongoing funding of Maori broadcasting?
2 Why does Maori programming on TVNZ get shunted into midnight to suit commercial ratings, when Maori is an
official language in this country, and TVNZ has a charter obligation to promote Maori language?
3 Why won’t the Crown allow Te Mangai Paho to be appointed by Crown and Maori, in the same way that the Maori
Television Board is appointed?
We take this opportunity to again challenge TVNZ to lift its game: · By accepting its obligations to honour the
significance of the Maori voice;
1 By giving the Maori voice the recognition that comes with prime time viewing;
2 By enabling Maori to be full players in the growth of new technology; and 3 By recognising the increasingly
more important role that Maori are play
ing in the future of our society.
And finally, we wish TVNZ’s new Maori Programme Commissioner, Kath Graham of Ngati Koroki Kahukura, all the best in her
challenge to increase the number, the quality and the placement of Maori programmes on TVNZ’s channels.
Mr Speaker, the Maori Party is committed to a future that includes a continued growth in Maori broadcasting and Maori
programming, and Maori people who themselves are focused on increasing Maori programming in all broadcasting media, and
we will be supporting this Bill on that basis.
ENDS