Ward Mike: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Ward Mike: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:12307] 
MIKE WARD (Green) 
: 
 The Greens will be supporting this bill. It is good legislation. To prescribe that a principal objective and function of the orchestra is support of New Zealand music and composers is an important part. For a long time New Zealanders have had the idea that the bit of our culture that distinguishes us is the bit that the tangata whenua bring to us—we take great pride in that—and that has been our culture. In fact we have a very strong artistic culture from our European heritage too and the orchestra is an important part of that. 
It is a very good orchestra. It not only gives strength to the best of our music but also gives strength to our up-and-coming musicians. In the space of the last month I have been to two orchestral performances in Nelson one by the Nelson Symphony Orchestra and the other by the Youth Orchestra in Nelson. Both of those orchestras contain very young musicians who are looking for a career pathway and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra provides that goal for them. 
In terms of the membership of the board we have some difficulty with the exclusion of player membership. In fact although there is the possibility of a player being appointed it is fairly clear that the management of the orchestra is not keen on that and the Minister in charge of the bill does not seem to be keen on it either. It seems to me that with the level of expertise memory and experience contained in the orchestra it makes very good sense to have orchestral membership on the board. The Greens will be putting forward an amendment to substitute a subclause that makes provision for player membership on the board. For those who suggest that perhaps the interests of the players might override the broader interests of the orchestra I would suggest to them that the requirement that board members play a lesser role when considering issues with which they have an interest greater than that of the public at large probably means that in fact that would not be possible—that a player member would have to take a lesser role on issues that affected the orchestra’s members. 
I would suggest too that the orchestra have a single member on the board. That member would be one member out of five to eight members; if that member wants to convince the rest of the board of the virtue of his or her ideas he or she would have to put up a pretty persuasive case. Such a member would bring unique knowledge not only of the music but also of the practical implications of the decisions that are made and their effect on the day-to-day running of an orchestra. For that reason it is important that the board membership includes a player member of the orchestra. 
It has been suggested that another amendment would make it possible for the Minister to appoint both the chief executive and a player member. It would be unusual for the chief executive to be a member of the board. The chief executive will always be there and although not having a voting role will have a very great influence on the deliberations of the board. 
We will support the bill but with that amendment.