Ririnui Mita: Estimates Debate —  Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Ririnui Mita: Estimates Debate —  Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:610;Page:7276] 
MITA RIRINUI (NZ Labour—Waiariki) 
: 
 Before I launch into this particular portfolio area I want to acknowledge the hard work of the Hon Parekura Horomia in what we can describe as a very difficult portfolio. He has been under considerable pressure over a number of weeks but he has come through it with a big smile on his face and that is something that the Committee needs to appreciate. 
As a member of the Maori Affairs Committee that reviewed these estimates I am pleased to recommend them to the Committee—[ 
Interruption 
] I welcome into the Chamber Mr Rodney Hide who in his absence took a considerable battering from both sides of the Chamber. In 2003-04 the increases in Vote Maori Affairs primarily relate to the non-departmental output classes in the area of Maori broadcasting—in other words Maori television and Te Mangai Paho—organisations that have been subject to considerable scrutiny in this House. The appropriation sought for Maori Television Broadcasting increases from $30.5 million in 2002-03 to $37.9 million in this current financial round. The appropriation sought for the Maori Television Service increases from $5.9 million in 2002-03 to $12.9 million in this financial year. This level of funding is to be maintained in the out-years and I am sure that both sides of the Chamber are very pleased to hear that. This funding builds on the work already undertaken towards the establishment of the Maori Television Service. It includes the passing of the Maori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Maori) Act earlier this year which marked a new era in New Zealand broadcasting and more important in Maori broadcasting. That legislation established the Maori Television Service as a statutory corporation providing it with full powers and abilities to proceed with the development of a Maori television channel. 
This channel as we know has been a long time coming and has been eagerly awaited by Maori and non-Maori around the country. I look forward to sitting in front of my television and viewing with the rest of my family some of the wonderful work that we can expect from Maori television. I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of some of the material that Aotearoa Television produced and I have to admit that it was well beyond my expectation of what can be achieved in Maori broadcasting. This channel will provide us as Maori with a vehicle to tell our own stories in the way that we have traditionally told them in our own language and in a manner that will educate inform and entertain our young people—although there are members on the Opposition benches who do not appreciate quality broadcasting. 
These estimates also provide an increase in the appropriation to local Maori broadcasting. By that I refer to iwi radio. Funding for iwi radio is appropriated through the non-departmental output class 04 Maori radio broadcasting. That output class increases from $10.3 million in 2002-03 to $10.5 million in this current financial round. The additional funding of $250000 will be allocated to Te Mangai Paho for training and upskilling staff employed by iwi radio stations including technical managerial and governance training. I am sure that Mr Rodney Hide will appreciate that. 
These iwi radio stations are a part of the Maori communities that they provide coverage to and are at the very heart of the work this Government is doing to promote and revitalise the Maori language. The Government’s primary interest in Maori radio is in the role it can play in regenerating te reo Maori. It also has a major influence on increasing the amount of popular music in Maori further heightening interest of rangatahi in learning their language. Currently there are 21 iwi radio stations which provide Maori with the opportunity to tell stories about what is happening in their communities. Those stories might cover the swimming sports at the local school or events at the marae. That is what public broadcasting is all about. 
Speaking of local initiatives I can say that I was recently visited by the manager of Moana AM the Maori station in Tauranga which throughout the day has a component by which it educates the public—not just Maori but non-Maori as well—in local Maori history. It also provides classes in Maori language. Some innovative projects are currently taking place at the local level and I am sure they will be applauded throughout the country. 
In this particular portfolio I also want to touch on the subject of building the capacity of Maori organisations. My colleague the Hon John Tamihere and myself were fortunate to receive a delegation from East Africa yesterday and its mentors were present in the House today. One thing delegation members were interested in was learning about Maori structures both traditional and contemporary. They themselves are going through changes and want to learn from other indigenous peoples. I was very impressed with the quality of their presentation to us and the intensity of their inquiries. They were surprised to learn that after so many decades of colonisation traditional Maori structures still existed. We were pleased to advise them that by and large they existed partly because this Government and the previous Government were committed to building their capacity and that new structures were being designed to accommodate contemporary organisations. In that case we were referring to urban Maori authorities which play a major and important role in providing services and opportunities to urban Maori populations. The delegation also drew comparisons between the roles that their leaders and many Maori leaders play in the development of their people. There is not a great difference in how those leadership roles operate but it was good to see that there were some comparisons. 
In relation to capacity-building funds we heard criticisms in the Maori Affairs Committee that a lot of the organisations receiving assistance were conducting programmes that were considered to lack credibility. I think those criticisms were made only to gain political points at the select committee level because I was well aware of the programmes referred to. In fact those programmes are targeted at young people in high-risk communities whose opportunities in life are pretty limited or do not exist. The communities they belong to have a very high gang involvement. 
I recall the questions asked in this House by the Hon Murray McCully in relation to a capacity-building grant given to a skateboarding organisation in Gisborne. He considered it to be a waste of taxpayers’ funds. I can tell the member that that organisation looked for ways to work alongside a lot of the young people from a very high-risk community where gangs are active on a daily basis. It was an innovative programme that gave young people—even children of pre-school age—the opportunity to experience a lot of what the children of members in this House experience on a day-to-day basis. Whilst we might think that skateboarding is probably a waste of time it is in fact a highly skilled international sport.