Huo Raymond: Television New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Huo Raymond: Television New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:674;Page:20017] 
RAYMOND HUO (Labour) 
: 
 Good legislation prescribes who gets what why and under what conditions. Under Labour Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ) was required to give effect to the TVNZ charter. The charter requires it to feature programmes that reflect who we are as Kiwis telling our own stories and lifting our sense of self-identity and confidence. It requires Television New Zealand to offer a richer and more diverse view of our world and to grow business at the same time. 
I can still recall what the chief executive Ian Fraser said in 2002 when the Labour Government introduced the charter to require Television New Zealand to broadcast a wide range of programmes for all groups in New Zealand. He said “The Charter reinforces the fact that TVNZ is ‘The New Zealander’. We are the only television company owned by New Zealanders and so we are uniquely placed to provide the programmes the information and entertainment that promote a deeper shared sense of what it means to be a New Zealander.” Mr Fraser acknowledged that TVNZ was in some respects a singular sort of public broadcaster. On one hand its mandate was to give effect to the charter. On the other it was also charged to maintain a commercial performance meaning that it needed to continue to demonstrate a strong ratings performance over its own schedule. What would change was the balance. The balance was that “Under the Charter [Television New Zealand] will be driven by content considerations where creative and culture objectives are as highly valued as commercial ones.” As a result Television New Zealand has been constructing the home place for more New Zealanders investing in talent and imagination and providing a more diverse menu particularly in prime time when most people are watching television. So under Labour every and all Kiwis were getting a fair go where we were protecting the assets—including Television New Zealand of course—built up by past generations so that Kiwis owned their own future. 
Under National the Television New Zealand Amendment Bill will effectively give Television New Zealand the go-ahead to act as a fully commercial broadcaster. It will end TVNZ’s public broadcasting role and turn it into as some media commentators have put it a cash cow. This bill will repeal the charter. There will no longer be a requirement for Television New Zealand to broadcast a wide range of programmes for all groups in New Zealand. Will the story end here? I rather doubt it. National’s broadcasting policy seems to remove Television New Zealand’s charter obligations but retains Television New Zealand in public ownership for the moment— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: For now. 
RAYMOND HUO 
:—for now. Following its logic that makes no sense. If a public asset is not to be used for public purposes and if Television New Zealand is to become just a commercial broadcaster then there is no point in the asset remaining in public ownership is there? So the whole agenda smells. This is nothing more than a strategy by this National-ACT Government to make TVNZ a mirror of its commercial rivals and then say that it is no different and put it up for sale as soon as politically possible. Abolishing the Television New Zealand charter is the latest step. 
Reading into this bill I see that the only hint of deviation from a purely commercial broadcaster is the reference to “Maori perspectives”. Otherwise the company is being asked to do just what any commercial broadcaster would do. There is no longer any requirement for programmes for educational purposes local drama documentaries or minority-interest programmes in the schedule. There is also no mention of the minimum amount of local programming required because local programmes are usually costly to produce compared with buying in international programmes. Local programmes will be in jeopardy. 
I recently had a 2-hour interview with a reporter from a newspaper located as far away as Paris. Monsieur François d’Alançon a senior reporter from the French daily newspaper  
La Croix 
—translated into English:  
The Cross 
—and I had a 2-hour talk in Auckland. We covered extensive subjects from the Rugby World Cup for which he is assigned to do a series of stories; beautiful New Zealand where there are more sheep than people; and more relevant to my portfolio the New Zealand - Chinese community and its integration into New Zealand society. The interview to a large extent brought with it a sense of reminiscing the kind of feeling one often has when overseas the feeling of missing New Zealand no matter how long one has been out of the country. It is not uncommon to hear people say they do not realise how strongly they feel about New Zealand until they go overseas—the fresh air the landscapes and everything that makes New Zealand unique. It is the kind of feeling that often motivates us to think about what we should do to make New Zealand a better place for our future generations. Like it or not New Zealand is a small and isolated country so I say a big thankyou to the Labour Government which secured the Rugby World Cup hosting rights for New Zealand. Without this major event in New Zealand this year it is hard to imagine that newspapers like that French daily one of the only three daily national French newspapers to turn a profit would have any interest in us.  
Promotion of New Zealand is the first step to ensuring that we are relevant in both trade and the development of people-to-people contact. I told Monsieur d’Alançon during the interview that I had a dream—the dream that NZ would become the Switzerland of the southern hemisphere. Relevant to my member’s bill on export education I say that New Zealand will become a world leader and attract only top-quality international students because some of them will stay— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: We are on television. We are talking about television. 
RAYMOND HUO 
: I will come back to this bill. Comparing New Zealand with France which sits comfortably as one of the best examples of productivity in the world New Zealand lags behind and is slipping further down and is now sitting near the bottom of the OECD. To turn this round we have to rely on innovation and nurturing our creative and entrepreneurial individuals. 
In the context of this bill it is more about our Kiwi national identity and our Kiwi dreams and about owning our own future. Defining our national identity is not simple. New Zealand is a diverse nation made up of many cultural groups with many different customs and traditions but a strong sense of New Zealandness is important. So national identity is an important contributor to people’s well-being. Establishing a national identity provides access to social networks which provide support and shared values and aspirations. Social networks can help to break down barriers and build a sense of trust between people— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Can I just bring the member back to the bill in his 1½ minutes remaining. This debate is about television and I would like the member to concentrate his last 1½ minutes on what is in the bill. This is a third reading and a third reading speech is about what has been reported back from the Committee. There are a number of Speakers’ rulings on page 117. 
RAYMOND HUO 
: Thank you for your reminder Mr Deputy Speaker. I was about to say that this is one of the reasons why we fought so strongly to oppose this bill. Under National we will remain the only developed country without a public service television channel. The only true public service broadcaster we have left in this country is Radio New Zealand and I believe it is only a matter of time before Radio New Zealand’s public service role is eroded if a National and ACT Government has its way. It is a disgrace.