Turei Metiria: Maori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Maori) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Turei Metiria: Maori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Maori) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 20 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8792. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 I too just want to take a short call on the Maori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Maori) Amendment Bill. I think it is well overdue that the recommendations from the review of the Maori Television Service come to the House and I am looking forward to the select committee process where the Maori Affairs Committee looks at these changes and gets reflections and submissions from those who are interested. Certainly it is necessary that the shift to digital is made as easy as possible for the Maori Television Service. 
I would just say that the Maori Television Service is a fantastic television station. I agree that it is the best public broadcaster we have of the television stations and I think that is a view that is held by most New Zealanders. I would reflect that this was one of the first pieces of legislation I dealt with as a new member of Parliament 10 years ago working with the then Minister Parekura Horomia on passing the legislation through. At that time it was only the Labour Party and the Green Party that supported the bill to set up the Maori Television Service—if we might remember back to those dark old days when there was so much less commitment to the Reo by other parties in this House and so much less commitment to the expression of Maori voices about their own lives. 
One of the most fantastic things about Maori Television is that it has brought Maori stories to the mainstream. There is a great Pakeha audience for Maori Television because these stories these Maori stories that are told every day are stories of our own country. They are stories of New Zealand. That is what we see reflected in the Maori Television programming and commitment. I am very pleased to see the increasing commitment to the Reo because I know that it is driving people towards the Reo and making it more understandable and easier for people to accept that we are a bilingual country and that the Reo is an official language of this country and therefore deserving of all respect and effort in its preservation—not just its preservation but its continuation growth and life well after we are gone. We want to make sure that the Reo remains as much a part of Aotearoa as the land the soil and the water do—that it is part of the lifeblood of this country of which the Maori Television Service is a crucial part. I am looking forward to hearing more about the provisions of this bill and how to develop that better. 
 I think it is worthwhile noting Trevor Mallard’s discussion about how other TV stations are having to step up in order to meet the challenge that the Maori Television Service presented.  
Native Affairs  
won an award for best current affairs last year I understand. Other TV stations are having to step up to meet the challenge that is being provided— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: To be fair it wasn’t a high test. 
METIRIA TUREI 
: Trevor Mallard is saying it was not— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: The competition wasn’t strong. 
METIRIA TUREI 
: He is saying the competition was not strong. But the Maori Television Service is brilliant and it won because it is brilliant and because of that other TV stations are having to step up the mark. New Zealanders do want to hear current affairs they do want to hear their own stories and that is where the Maori Television Service—Maori Television—is leading the way. So all power to Maori Television and we look forward to dealing with this legislation in the select committee.