Harawira Hone: Broadcasting Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Harawira Hone: Broadcasting Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:645;Page:14671] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou katoa e te Whare. 
Hon Shane Jones 
: Oh again! 
HONE HARAWIRA 
: Tena hoki ra koe e te whanaunga. 
[ 
And to you especially the relative greetings 
.] 
I am sorry that the member was not here during my speech on the last bill. I had some very complimentary comments to make about the Labour Party Maori caucus. 
Hoi ano the broadcasting assets case was a watershed moment in Maori broadcasting when the High Court ruled that the Government was obligated to protect te reo Maori me ona tikanga. The decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in 1992 and that led to the formation of Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi in order to “reflect and develop New Zealand identity and culture by promoting Maori language and culture”. The rest of course is history—and this Broadcasting Amendment Bill today addresses both the historical framework and the future strategic priorities for Maori broadcasting. 
The Maori Party welcomes the amendments intended to ensure that Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi—or Te Mangai Paho as it is most well known—can fund the archiving of Maori language and culture programmes in the same way that Maoridom welcomes the challenge that the Maori Party has put before this House to introduce simultaneous translation so that Maori can truly be a living language in this Chamber as it should be and indeed as it can be in every house in Aotearoa. We also welcome the amendments to enable Te Mangai Paho to fund video on demand interactivity projects and the re-versioning of content for non-broadcast platforms like the Internet and mobile phones. 
But I was particularly interested in the comments from Te Maumako August manager of Moana AM and Tahi FM and chairperson of Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Maori o Aotearoa the federation of Maori radio stations who asked the Commerce Committee whether these new digital non-broadcast platforms would also be subject to the same Maori language benchmarks already laid down by Te Mangai Paho. It is a very interesting thought that I doubt has been given much consideration and a proposition that I would love to hear the Minister’s thoughts on later. 
But what we will not find in this bill is a clear commitment to the ongoing funding of Maori radio broadcasting or a clear commitment to the ongoing funding of Maori programming despite a clear statutory direction to funding te reo Maori. And this is from a Government that boasts of an operating surplus of billions of dollars. How come despite years of budgetary surpluses operational funding for Maori radio has had only one increase in 20 years—with that increase being a one-off—and there is still no firm commitment to fund Maori language programming as directed by the Act? 
While we are considering amendments to the Broadcasting Act we wonder whether perhaps we should also be considering the ways in which Te Mangai Paho and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori are appointed. Last night the debate raged over the Maori Trustee and Maori Development Amendment Bill. There was particular concern over the political nature of appointments to that role with Dr Sharples challenging the Government to reconsider the way in which the Maori Trustee is appointed because the office can never be truly independent if the Government’s hand is firmly attached. That is a useful point to consider when one thinks of the ministerial appointments to Te Mangai Paho and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori. 
An alternative model was set up for the oversight of the Maori Television Service in which the power is shared between ministerial appointments and those chosen by Te Putahi Paoho an independent Maori electoral college. It is a model that has been copied in other areas as well—including the fisheries—and I am interested to see whether the Minister will take a call to share his views about the appropriate time for the Government to allow both Te Mangai Paho and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori to break free from the suffocation of Crown control. Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Huri rauna. Kia ora tatou katoa.