Jones Shane: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeJones Shane: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14940. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon SHANE JONES (Labour): Tēnā koe Mr Chairman. In the characteristic spirit of positive contributions that defines me I want to direct our attention to the question of whether or not Māori Television with the change in the Māori language Te Reo me ōna tikanga [the language and its customs] is a Trojan horse where the station will no longer be a bastion of quality language and a prestigious place to go to help people improve their language.I know that report from Te Kāhui o Māhutonga which I thought was not unlike the report from Te Paepae Motuhake to do with Te Reo Māori had content inversely related to cost and had quality inversely related to quantity. They were by and large reports that did not advance the Māori language in any practical way. I would love to hear Dr Sharples our Minister of Māori Affairs stand and provide some account of that.But there is a point at which the underlying raison d’être the underlying kaupapa purpose of the station needs to be tied to something that is a legacy. Is this an opportunity for it to broaden and provide more shows such as those narrated by Sir Howard Morrison’s son? I have got nothing in particular against that whānau or Matua Parkinson other than his lapse of smoking dope but then half of Kaitāia does it. I do not judge him for that either. However I would say that if we are going to maintain a special position of power and influence for our Māori Television station in so far as it can be a public television provider let it not be at the cost of good-quality language. Let it not be at the cost of being a bastion for those people as the language stops being used in the way that it perhaps was in our grandmothers’ time and indeed in my colleague Tau Henare’s grandparents’ time. New avenues are required but it is important that new students can find it in an accessible way not by reading some ancient dictionary.I think Richard Tregear wrote a Māori language dictionary. That is quite apart from that famous Anglican who ended up with too much Ngati Porou land Williams. That might have more to do with Ngati Porou than Williams and the Anglican Church. That is another matter—that is another matter. But I would say that we must not compromise on te pūkenga te mārū wehi me te ātaahua o Te Reo Māori tōna ātaahua [the skilfulness awesome gentleness and beauty of the Māori language its attractiveness].If they are going to make programmes that are broader than Te Reo Māori then it is important that it is done in such a way that it actually improves the consciousness. I am tempted to talk about the Minister’s year-long slumber but that would be unbecoming. But the consciousness of broader New Zealand society is such that the language becomes regarded as something that does not deserve to be sneered at and eventually turns into a part of compulsory study in all New Zealand schools just as we have to learn geography and social studies. I would like to think that every kid learns civics compulsorily. If it is not happening then help is on the way. It certainly will be in a year or two. As a part of a robust social studies programme New Zealand’s first language our native language Te Reo Māori should be embedded there. But for that to happen society obviously has to lose a lot of its not so much fear but its sense that the language is worthless.I fear that those critics looking at the Minister might collude and say that the language is worthless. The language is not worthless. There may be some problems with the worth of the Minister but the language is not worthless. I do not think it is fair that we have sat through this debate and we have not really heard a great deal—and that is fine there are a host of other Ministers. Indeed there were some on our side who did not feel obliged from time to time to contribute. But let us not compromise the language. Let us ensure that it provides a basis for improving our sense of ownership our sense of place in terms of the language being an indelible feature of broad New Zealand civic culture without Māori feeling that they are being alienated from their language.The other thing that I would like to remind us of is that we had a great debate and it is there in the bill in terms of management rights. There is an issue as to whether or not Te Pūtahi Pāoho may be captured and decide that Māori Television is not deserving of the entirety of the spectrum and that other pursuits—there may be the occasional erratic film maker who may come up with a bright scheme from out of the Māori film-making ether—might want to get some of that spectrum for a different television purpose.I would counsel and warn against that. I think it is important. Just as under the current Minister where we have watched Māori radio wither on the vine there is no longer any funding for training. These are people who can criss-cross from te irirangi Māori to te pouaka Māori. They can criss-cross from Māori radio to Māori television and create a bigger cadre of bilingual sophisticated broadcasters and reporters. I think it is really disappointing that when there is some scope that this waka kīhau this ghost ship will provide the chance for viral activity people think that by atomising Māori effort somehow the kaupapa is going to get stronger. I find very little evidence that that is the case. In relation to te irirangi Māori—Māori radio—we have seen that the reason that it has withered is that often it lacks collective effort. You have too many organisations pulling in too many different directions.The Minister might say that there is a safeguard there and that any major changes to spectrum allocation or spectrum use have to have the acquiescence or the statutory consent of the relevant Ministers. In order for those mortgages to be entered into or for other purposes the Minister has to buy into it. That is a safeguard but a number of Māori will see that as patronising. A number of Māori will see that as diametrically opposed to the tino rangatiratanga rhetoric that defined the Māori Party when it was at its best. Unfortunately much drooping has taken place since that point in time.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: It’s withered—withered.Hon SHANE JONES: Yes. The voters will have the final say on that matter.But when we actually focus in respect of the usage of the spectrum let us ensure—and the Minister perhaps might provide us with some reassurance—that Te Pūtahi Pāoho will not be a nest of instability that then weakens the ability of the major Māorilanguage television provider. There is some mahi happening in Television One but I think most Māori in terms of language activists and those of us wanting to promote a greater level of knowledge and consciousness about our heritage in Māori look to Māori Television.Let us not create a situation where that waka is weakened because of conflicting agendas. I suspect that is what has blighted the attempt to date of Māori Television to find a person to be the new chief executive officer. There are too many agendas and too many people fighting each other. Of course we have seen this with Hone Harawira having left the Māori Party and Tariana Turia not sure whether she is going to stay or go. Unfortunately this is a feature of certain aspects of that type of political creed. That is their business and our business today as parliamentarians is to ensure that this bill does not provide an opportunity for people with so many conflicting agendas to weaken the resolve of the board. It has actually started to happen. They cannot even find a chief executive officer which is actually an indictment on the chair of the board Georgina te Heuheu. That did not seem to make any difference when she was a Minister and it is unlikely to make any impact on her now. She is not a Minister.When Māori Television does make programmes that have broader appeal it should make a programme about creatures that hibernate. Occasionally they are prodded out of their slumber into a level of consciousness.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Who would star in that?Hon SHANE JONES: I can think of someone who will be unemployed at the end of next year and out of politics who may actually star in that programme. Indeed Georgina te Heuheu could actually star in that at the moment given the failure to find a chief executive officer and the inability to bring what seems to be conflict to a head. So this is not good for Māori Television. We stand with Māori Television in the sense—