Smith Murray: Maori Television Service Bill — Second Reading 
Smith Murray: Maori Television Service Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4912] 
MURRAY SMITH (United Future) 
: 
 This bill arises from an obligation under the Treaty of Waitangi for cooperation between the Crown and Maori to preserve protect and promote te reo Maori or more particularly te reo Maori me nga tikanga Maori. So far so good. We learnt from the Privy Council decision that te reo was an endangered species that the level of te reo usage in New Zealand had dramatically decreased and that the Crown needed to take steps to protect it in compliance with its obligations under the treaty. To that end it is encouraging to see some members of this House taking a lead and participating in te reo courses so that they can improve their understanding of the language. 
I recently attended the opening of a school block. I was one of the guests sitting at the front of the crowd when the national anthem was played. The children sang the first verse in te reo Maori and the subsequent verse in English as is quite common these days. The trouble was that we were not given a song sheet to sing from. So we stood there needing to sing the first verse in Maori but without a song sheet to help. Fortunately because I had been attending te reo classes I coped fairly well but it made me realise that perhaps all members of the House and all leaders in New Zealand need to be faced with the situation where they are put in front of people and encouraged to demonstrate their knowledge or otherwise of te reo. Maybe if we did that we would find more leadership in New Zealanders as a whole learning te reo and advancing the language in that way. 
I would be very happy to see New Zealand becoming more and more bilingual. I certainly personally encourage that trend. But is this a good way of doing it? Is this a good way of promoting te reo? We know already that the initial establishment funding has been increased from $6 million to nearly $13 million. We know that $30 million has been allocated to Te Mangai Paho for programme funding the bulk of which is to go to Maori television and that that is to rise to $40 million per annum within 2 years. How much more will be ploughed into Maori television programming we are yet to see but there is certainly a real danger I think that we will see more and more money going into Maori television for te reo language skills. We have to raise the question therefore of whether the money is well spent. 
There is a suspicion already among a lot of New Zealanders that State-funded Maori enterprises have a propensity to fail. We cannot afford a situation where Maori television is simply another on the list of failures. We know that that is not always the case that in Ngai Tahu for example we see some very very positive Maori involvement and enterprise and that is to be strongly commended. What we need to avoid as we bring together Maori and non-Maori and move forward in this nation is enterprises that are poorly set up and then find themselves failing so that there is suspicion on future organisations and therefore New Zealanders become even more weary of State-funded Maori enterprises. It is my fear and the fear of United Future that this proposal and the Maori television scheme that is being set up comes within the category of being in huge danger of failing and simply adding to that situation. 
Already we have found that there are scandals within the television service and it has not even got off the ground. I do not need to go back over the ground of the scandals that we have seen happening but already there is a suspicion a black mark against the Maori Television Service. People are a little suspicious as to whether it will actually turn its act round and be a positive development and achieve both for Maori and for New Zealand as a whole. If it is a lemon if it is ineffective if it is simply a black hole into which money is poured with no real benefit to Maori or to New Zealand in general then rather than help the situation it will further hinder Maori - non-Maori relationships. 
There is the danger of that failure through three things. Firstly there was a lack of vision on the part of the Government. Where is Labour’s 10 year plan for te reo? Where is its assessment of the need for development of te reo and the alternatives that are available to it? We do not see that. There is no vision. There is confusion among Government members in terms of the direction they will go. Secondly where is the research as to the likely viewer audience for this Maori television station? If we are going to have a dedicated television channel who will watch it? Is anybody going to watch it? 
The House will be aware of the exchange which was publicised that I had with Derek Fox who is now the chief executive officer of Maori television during the Maori Affairs Committee discussion on Maori television in October last year. I asked him what research had been done to establish the likely audience demand from the Maori television channel. He said that everybody he had talked to thought it was a good idea. I asked him whether that meant that no outside research had been done about the likely potential viewership. His reply was that I myself had said I was “Ngati Pakeha” and that I did not understand Maori. He attacked me rather than answering the question. I spoke to him afterwards and asked him whether any research had been done. He said he would send it to me. I said that unless United Future saw it we would not support the bill. We have still not seen any research whatsoever to demonstrate that anybody will watch that television channel. 
What did my understanding of the situation have to do with the fact that he said I did not understand Maori? Was it that Maori like to act spontaneously and do things without planning? Was it that Maori will take money given to them especially other people’s money and not expect to be accountable for it? Was it that Mr Fox is building an empire for himself and he does not like people standing in his way as he creates it? I do not know but I would be concerned if any of those things were proved to be true. I notice that there was even an argument from the service that Mr Fox heads to suggest that they should not be accountable. 
The select committee report states: “In its submission the Service argues that accountability requirements fetter the ability of its board to meets its obligations (set out in clause 8). It says a preferable structure would be to establish the Service under the Companies Act 1993 which it argues would remove many of the accountability requirements.” I am pleased to say that the select committee which was made up of a majority of Maori rejected that suggestion. That gives me hope that his view is not a view that most Maori hold that there should be a lack of planning and enterprise and a lack of accountability. The select committee states further: “The Service will be largely funded by the Government for the foreseeable future. The responsible Ministers will be accountable to Parliament for that funding. Accountability requirements are therefore necessary.” I certainly concur with that. But there has to be a lot of concern that when the service itself questions whether there should be accountability for funding we will not get the accountability we need. 
I am also concerned about Labour’s contradictory stance in terms of the furtherance of Maori - non-Maori relationships. We see on the one hand suggestions that there should be unity—the reconciliation and the treaty settlements process are examples of that. On the other hand there is the segregation of Maori from non-Maori a division within New Zealand—separate Maori voting on local authorities is an example of that. 
Is this a unifying or dividing bill? Will this unify New Zealand or will it separate Maori into a segment? I think from the tone of the bill that it is a divisive bill that puts Maori to one side and separates them. United Future will not support the bill for that reason. We see that it is creating a separate television channel that Maori will watch and that New Zealanders will not be encouraged to watch it and develop their own te reo. I would like to see all New Zealanders have access through regional television Maori programmes on regional television and even national television to encourage them to use te reo. That would be a far more healthy way of approaching and furthering the interests of te reo than creating a separate structure. So because of inadequate planning the danger of wasted resources a black hole the high probability of failure due to inadequate research and monitoring and because it is divisive United Future will not support this bill.