Turei Metiria: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14927. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou e te Whare. I do not think I am going to take all the time that I have available for this call. We are very supportive of this legislation the Māori Television Service (Te AratukuWhakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill. We are very pleased that the review has been completed and that the legislation came before the Māori Affairs Committee.The Green Party of course was one of only two parties that voted in favour of the Māori Television legislation in 2003 that led to Māori Television being established. It was a very proud moment for us and for me. I was a brand new MP. I had been in Parliament for less than a year and I remember negotiating—I cannot say I was particularly good at it—with Parekura Horomia who was the Minister of Māori Affairs at the time over how the service would be expanded and shared particularly amongst marae. There were a great deal of issues. It was momentous that the bill did pass but I would just note that only two political parties voted for it: us and Labour.Hon Annette King: So the National Party didn’t support it?METIRIA TUREI: The National Party did not support the legislation at the time.The legislation is now a little bit over 10 years old. It is as has been said previously unusual in that it is a creature of statute. The legislative provisions that established Māori Television will need to be reviewed on a regular basis and changes will need to be made according to changing times and technology and that is what has happened here. So it is quite reasonable for this legislation to have come before us and for the issues to be discussed.I was pleased to be a member of the select committee that considered it. I appreciate everybody’s contributions. Clare Curran made a good contribution and other members of the select committee made a great contribution. But I do understand where Tau Henare was coming from with his contribution this afternoon.One of the issues that have been raised around Māori Television and in the context of this bill is the one that was just raised by Kris Faafoi. I appreciate his very clear discussion and description of those issues but let us not think that this current issue with the appointment of the chief executive which is making a little bit of news is the first time that there have been any issues with the Māori Television Service. In 10 years there have been some teething problems and there have been issues raised in the public realm. Some of them have been more contentious than others under the Labour Government and under the National Government.This is an organisation that is comparatively young but has no doubt made an enormous contribution to New Zealand’s broadcasting scene.Hon Trevor Mallard: Much better than ATN.METIRIA TUREI: Thank you Mr Mallard. It is widely regarded as the best State television broadcaster in the country. I firmly believe that that is the case as do the Greens because it is 100 percent focused on the community that it serves. And having such a strong kaupapa for the people that it serves and the broad community that it serves it is able to deliver the kind of broadcasting that we would expect as a well-educated citizenry who are looking for stories and programmes that are focused on ourselves on our people on our culture on the interconnection between Pākehā and Māori culture and on news and current affairs of course which most politicians are mostly interested in.Actually Māori Television does a lot more than just news and current affairs. Māori Television provides a huge range of programmes that reflect Māori lives—real Māori lives—being played out. It is the kind of stuff you never see on any other television station in this country. It is all the good stories that you never see anywhere on television in this country and all of the self-made programmes where whānau are out there talking about themselves showing our whānau our kids our kuia and kaumātua and all of our nannies and our koros—showing us the way that Māori really live. It is just whānau—positive constructive doing amazing things and taking great care ofourselves our families and our communities. Again they are stories that you simply do not see on mainstream television.So to that extent I want to say to the Māori Television Service that you have provided a fantastic and incredibly valuable service to our country by the work that you do. Despite any legislative change we might need to make or regulatory change we might need to make—any of the issues that we bring as politicians to the debate—we have an obligation to make sure that this service is strengthened and at every turn is able to better meet the needs of the Māori community and communicate to the whole of the New Zealand community about its health and wellness and all the amazing contributions that the Māori community makes to our country.I would note that as in the example of news and current affairs a large bulk of the viewership of Māori Television is Pākehā because Pākehā are wanting to hear and see the stories by Māori of Māori as well. This is not just directed at Māori; this is about—Tracey Martin: Better programming.METIRIA TUREI: —yes—genuine programmes about our own communities where Pākehā are wanting to understand more. They are wanting to understand the Reo and all the different layers and levels of Reo that are provided. They are wanting to see their own whānau. I do not think we probably have a single Pākehā whānau in this country that does not have a Māori grandchild or a Māori grandparent. We are very integrated but that is not often reflected on any television anywhere except for the Māori Television Service. It is a service that provides excellent communication to Māori and Pākehā alike and that it why it has such strong support.So for all that there may be some changes needed—and I appreciate that the Minister has given the House an update on Te Pūtahi Pāoho and its membership; I think that is great. Issues were raised at the select committee and we have now had some changes as a result. There are still some ongoing controversial issues. They will no doubt be resolved in time. None of that should implicate or affect or in any way undervalue the fantastic service that Māori Television is providing to our country helping to bind Māori and Pākehā communities together and showing the true health and wellness of Māori communities and Pākehā communities working together in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thank you very much.