Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8397] 
8.  
MARC ALEXANDER (United Future) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Communications 
: Does he stand by reported advice from the Minister of Communications that any interference issues resulting from the broadcast of the Maori Television Service from the Broadcast Communications Limited platform can readily be solved; if so how is this reconciled with advice provided by the Maori Television Service that interference problems could affect “tens of thousands” of Sky subscribers and VCR users? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Associate Minister of Communications) 
: 
 Yes. I am advised that there is a range of potential solutions. 
Marc Alexander 
: In light of evidence presented by Sky and the Maori Television Service is the Associate Minister at all concerned with the quality of advice he and his Cabinet colleagues are receiving from the Ministry of Economic Development on the transmission issues that presently plague the BCL broadcast platform for the Maori Television Service; if not why not? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: No. Officials have been conscientiously working with a range of interested parties to provide advice on this matter. 
Katherine Rich 
: Can the Associate Minister confirm that his colleagues the Minister of Broadcasting and the Minister of Finance have been violently opposed to any use of a cheaper Sky-based platform which would solve the interference problems because of the need to bolster BCL’s cash flow so that the separation of BCL from TVNZ is not a complete disaster? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: What I can confirm is that the Government is considering all options as it should be doing. 
Mark Peck 
: What process is the Government following in finding a solution? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: The Government is consulting a wide range of interested parties and considering a range of options to find a win-win solution that best meets the interests of users. 
Marc Alexander 
: In light of a Ministry of Economic Development statement last week that it had known for some time of the problems transmitting from BCL does that mean that the Associate Minister has only recently comprehended the scale of the problem or is it the case that the platform decision was already bound by the mantra of his Minister of Broadcasting that the Maori Television Service must be kept in the family therefore ruling out any chance it ever had of operating as a successful broadcaster? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: As the member knows I have only recently become Associate Minister. However the Government has been fully aware of the issues with all of the options for some time. 
Marc Alexander 
: Has the Associate Minister received any reports from the Minister of Broadcasting on the interference issue given that he is the Minister responsible for BCL; if not why not? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Yes. 
Marc Alexander 
: Does the Associate Minister consider that the Minister of Broadcasting who is responsible for TVNZ which owns BCL the transmission company vying for the Maori Television Service platform had an obvious prejudicial interest in ensuring that a BCL-provided option won out and with that having blown up in his face it is now simply a case of ideological dogma over plain common sense? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: The Government likes common sense which is why it is considering all proposals including those more recently suggested. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask you to reflect on that question and the sequence of answers. I realise that the determination as to who answers questions is not your responsibility but the Government’s. However in this instance as I think the answers demonstrated where the Associate Minister did his best but was not particularly forthcoming there is a conflict between issues of policy and some operational issues. The original question was submitted to the Minister of Broadcasting because it related to the Minister of Broadcasting’s reaction to the advice his colleague the Minister of Communications had received from the Ministry of Economic Development. The notion of transferring the question to the Minister of Communications in effect placed that Minister in the rather impossible position of having to answer questions on his own advice about advice put to a colleague. I realise that you do not have direct responsibility in that area but it highlights a problem with the way questions are being transferred that sometimes makes the whole process of asking questions somewhat nonsensical. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for his comments. I will certainly look at that issue. However this issue is different from the other issue that was raised. I will look at both issues.