Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi (Te Māngai Pāho)

For the clarification of anybody who might be listening, we are here to review Te Māngai Pāho, which is the funding agency for, mainly, Māori Television, and for the production of Māori programming shown on various broadcasting outlets in New Zealand.

An update from the Māori Television Service in June 2005 highlighted an issue that I think the Minister needs to turn his attention to. It stated that issues and solutions for Māori Television include continuing to produce high-quality Māori programmes. While conducting its review, members of the Māori Affairs Committee had some substantial discussions about just that issue. How do we monitor and come to make some judgments about what high-quality Māori programming is? The Māori Television Service, obviously, has that on its mind, and, hopefully, Te Māngai Pāho does, as well. Up to 35 percent of the funding that Te Māngai Pāho gets goes directly to the Māori Television Service. The Māori Affairs Committee suggested that emphasis be put on the way that funding contracts to broadcasters are managed, and that further attention was required in terms of enhancing and documenting its policies and procedures.

Of course, we all remember that 2 or 3 years ago the Minister, more than anybody, was being given all that wrong and fatuous advice by his Te Māngai Pāho executives. We had that whole debacle in this Chamber in 2001 and 2002. The Minister would stand up in this Chamber and not know what he was talking about, basically because he was being supplied with incorrect information. Thanks to a good National Party loyalist, Wira Gardiner, we now see that Te Māngai Pāho, at least, appears to have turned itself around. We hope that the chairman makes sure that everything is in place before he starts to think of leaving.

One issue relates to the monitoring of funding provided to third parties. That is where the organisation started to fall off the rails 2 or 3 years ago. That is an issue the select committee thought was important. The Māori Television Service exists as a result of a perceived Government obligation to protect and promote te reo Māori. This Committee needs to know that that objective is being achieved.

How will it be achieved? It will be achieved by making sure that the Māori Television Service has high-quality monitoring and review processes for the programming that is shown, and that it has in place its own financial procedures and documentation in terms of funding. So I hope the Minister will turn his attention to that this year, among a whole lot of other things—including, of course, his own department, which sees itself as the great saviour of Māori people. I would suggest that the reverse is true: Māori people will save themselves. They do not need a handout organisation to help them achieve their potential.

The other thing I want to mention is Māori radio. We saw in the estimates we looked at last week that a new initiative has been sought for an iwi radio upgrade. In a way, given that iwi radio has become the mouthpiece of the new Māori Party, I suppose the Minister has to be commended for the fact that iwi radio has achieved some funding. But, again, we ask whether Te Māngai Pāho processes are the right means of funding Māori radio—whether its funding processes are robust and whether, indeed, Te Māngai Pāho has made any decision about, or done any thinking around, whether there are too many iwi radio stations. A little bit of integration of iwi radio stations might see the funding go further. Hopefully these matters are in the Minister’s mind, as well.

I had hoped the Opposition spokesman on Māori affairs would come down and debate this issue. But certainly—

💬 Simon Power: I raise a point of order, Madam Chairperson. It is quite contrary to the Standing Orders to refer to the absence of anybody from the Chamber, and the Minister should know that.

The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley): Yes, the member is quite correct. Members should not refer to the absence of another member.

I want to remind the member who spoke before me about the state of Te Māngai Pāho when this Government came in. It was in a mess. It had no direction, no vision, and no mechanism for either governance or management. In 2003, under a whole lot of pressure, we reviewed it. I am proud to say that, through the efforts of the very able, capable people who work with this Government, the agency has sorted itself out. That is very clear. That member does not seem to like iwi radio stations. Well, I know that most Māori around this country appreciate, and spend a lot of time listening to, the iwi radio stations. For 20 years, and especially in the 9 years when National was last in Government, nothing was done about strengthening, restructuring, or supporting those iwi radio stations. We have done that—even to our detriment at times.

Let me talk about the Māori Television Service. The face we see there is the new face, although it needs a bit of maturity. I want to tell the Committee what Te Māngai Pāho has helped the Māori Television Service to do. The service will report a profit next week, like other State-owned enterprises, of $3 million. It will say quite clearly that it has repaid its loan 2 years before it was due. That shows good organisation, and it has come about because of a whole lot of support from Te Māngai Pāho.

We talk about Māori not being able, and about who should be supporting them. Ninety-one percent of Māori are in work. They are working—24,000 of them in the modern skills field. And we will need them, because this great broadcasting industry—especially its indigenous face and the indigenous activity that is going on through the Māori Television Service—needs people to deliver. We should remember that Whale Rider was about the indigenous people. Having just been to the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, I have seen a whole lot of talent and a whole lot of opportunity of which this Government is very, very supportive. That person talked about indigenity. Certainly, when I was at the Māori rugby game the other day, when the Māori team cleaned up the British Lions, the crowd’s first chant was the great chant of “Māoris! Māoris! Māoris!”. Then they went on to say: “Kiwis! Kiwis! Kiwis!”. Then they continually said: “Black! Black! Black!”. When there is a common thread around something that we all enjoy, like Māori broadcasting, then this nation will move forward a lot quicker.

Let me tell members that a whole lot of the viewership of Māori television is non-Māori; it is Pākehā—those other people. They enjoy watching it. Why? Because it is one of the finest adaptions in relation to showing Kiwi-ness on the box. I look back in history and ask how much Māori was on mainstream TV. What was done was not too bad, but there was very, very little, especially in Nelson. It is people like those in Nelson who really appreciate Māori television, who watch the cooking programmes and who watch the language programmes. They love it. They have classes down there to follow on from the language programme.

I point out that as a State-owned enterprise Te Māngai Pāho has done very, very well. Mr Brownlee and Dr Brash want to close down anything that has a connotation of Māoridom. It is disgraceful and it is shocking that they should even think that way. For once in this country, we have programmes produced by Kiwis, made by Māoris, and watched by the whole nation.

Report noted.

New Zealand Lotteries Commission

Report noted.

Building Industry Authority