Robertson H V Ross: Broadcasting Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Robertson H V Ross: Broadcasting Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Prior to the House being suspended for the dinner break at 6 o’clock the honourable member Georgina te Heuheu was speaking. As she was interrupted after only a few seconds had passed I have decided that she should have a full 10 minutes of speaking time. I invite the member to seek the call. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: At least I had time to say something that is more important than anything which is that National supports the Broadcasting Amendment Bill. There are obvious reasons for this. The bill brings New Zealand’s broadcasting funding agencies into line with the digital age. It enables those two broadcasting funding agencies that we have New Zealand On Air and Te Mangai Paho to support the production transmission and archiving of digital content. Obviously with the development of digital broadcasting in New Zealand and internationally these agencies need to be able to respond to the opportunities and challenges of the digital world—to meet the changing needs and expectations not only of broadcasters but particularly of content producers and the New Zealand public. 
In other words the bill is about funding content for the new digital platforms. Specifically it permits New Zealand On Air and Te Mangai Paho to fund such developments as video on demand interactivity between broadcaster and audiences and the re-visioning of content for non-broadcast platforms like the Internet and mobile phones. The common feature of this is that transmission occurs at the demand of the individual viewer or listener in contrast to traditional broadcasting where of course the broadcasters themselves like those in television and radio rule—or so they think. 
As I say this legislation is about the listener and the viewer and being able to bring to them what they want and what they need in a digital era. These new platforms are the mechanisms by which broadcasters and content creators seek to retain and expand their audiences and to serve them better. In that context this is a simple but important bill. Audiences expect to access content through a choice of platforms and at times they do choose to do so. That is why essentially National supports the bill. 
One other important change I want to mention—although I have certainly raised this in the second reading debate and maybe in the first reading debate—is that the bill will allow Te Mangai Paho to fund the archiving of Maori language and culture programmes. This has been a bit of an anomaly in our law in that New Zealand On Air has had such a function in relation to general broadcast content and Te Mangai Paho has not. Given the very important role that Te Mangai Paho plays not only in funding Maori programming but in funding programming that enhances adds to and supports a unique New Zealand identity this is extremely important as well. As the bill is such a necessity now given the modern developments in the digital age one wonders why it took the Government so long to bring it to the House. 
I must say I was interested to hear from the new Minister of Broadcasting—and he is new; I have not heard him say all that much about broadcasting since he took office. 
Christopher Finlayson 
: Who is it? 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: I know who it is because he stood in the House this afternoon. It is the Hon Trevor Mallard. I am not surprised that my colleague Chris Finlayson does not know who he is. As I say I cannot recall that I have heard him say much about broadcasting. I suppose this is a nice little tidy bill for him to bring to its third reading and to pass into law. 
Of course content and particularly local content reigns supreme in the sense that the New Zealand taxpayer shells out millions of dollars each year to fund local content. In that regard although we are making provision for the funding of alternative platforms I have to say that sometimes we look at Television New Zealand (TVNZ) programmes and wonder whether it has come to grips with the traditional platform seeing that over a period of 9 years the value of TVNZ has been wiped pretty badly. It has not come to terms with its twin remit of commercial and public broadcasting and it has lost audience share quite dramatically over the last few years. 
On the one hand we have to keep up with modern developments particularly in terms of the digital era but in other respects it seems that on some days TVNZ is way way behind the eight ball. That is a shame. This Government has spent so much of the last 8 years wringing its hands and finding itself in trouble with the goings-on at TVNZ that frankly the actual introduction of FreeView to make digital transmission available to all audiences in New Zealand for free has been rather halting as well. With the move to digital transmission—the digital age internationally—New Zealand still seems to be lagging behind. 
I turn to the issue of content and especially local content. If  
Dancing with the Stars 
 is meant to satisfy our need or the needs of New Zealand audiences for local content I point out that this programme follows an international format. Sure it has local people New Zealanders dancing around on the floor—and very nice they look too—but I really do not know that that programme meets the responsibility of TVNZ to make sure that it satisfies the public broadcasting element of its remit and to make sure that New Zealanders see something of themselves. 
I do not intend to go on. Given that the bill is urgently required and given the pace of digital technology and digital platforms we support the bill. We will be very pleased to see it pass into law not a moment too soon.