Harawira Hone: Privilege — Television New Zealand—Action Taken Against Chief Executive Consideration of Report of Privileges Committee 
Harawira Hone: Privilege — Television New Zealand—Action Taken Against Chief Executive Consideration of Report of Privileges Committee 
[Volume:634;Page:5956] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora Madam Assistant Speaker. Tena tatou te Whare. Well what a week it has been. Standing Order 399 is about obstructing or impeding the House in the performance of its functions. How ironic it is that the day after the Government rushed through legislation to validate unlawful expenditure we all get up on our high horses to sit in judgment on the improper conduct of others. As a member of the Privileges Committee it was interesting to receive evidence from the Clerk of the House the executive director of the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit and the State Services Commission about the relationships and obligations of Crown entities and State enterprises to Parliament. It was interesting because our mania for rules and regulations matches very much the scenario we had at Television New Zealand (TVNZ) with the chief executive officer saying one thing and his bosses saying another and then the Privileges Committee coming along and smacking the bosses on the hand. 
We could look at the Auditor-General as being the chief executive officer the Government as the bosses and Parliament as the Privileges Committee. The only difference of course is that the Government rammed through a law to justify its wrongdoing regardless of the outcry from Parliament and the public. 
 It was also clear throughout the committee hearing that whatever book one turned to be it the  
Cabinet Manual 
 the State Services Commission guidelines or even the  
TV Guide  
there is not much help for people asked to come before a select committee. When we finally saw the papers that State-owned enterprises directors get it soon became clear that the directors’ responsibilities and obligations to the Crown were very hard to understand. In fact it all looked as clear as the pollution at the bottom of the lakes that the Government recently gave back to Te Arawa. Understanding responsibilities and obligations is critical because if there is one thing we should have learnt over the last couple of days it is that once the rules are agreed upon then it is the referee—the Auditor-General—who blows full time not one of the players. It is about playing by the rules. So the Maori Party is happy to support any suggestion to improve the rules for people appearing before a select committee and we offer this saying as the token of our assistance: ehara i te mea he kotahi tangata nana i whakaara i te po. It is not about only one person being awake to danger. Because as we strive in vain it seems to restore public confidence in this den of iniquity we must ensure that we are prepared to step up to the plate first—the plate of adherence to the law and accepting of the view that the referee’s decision really is final. 
The basis of much of the committee’s discussions was the notion of parliamentary privilege an idea that derives from the Legislature Act of 1908 and the 1865 rulings in the British House of Commons which themselves were the descendants of article 9 of the Bill of Rights of 1688. More relevant though to us as a Maori Party is not so much privilege but the rights that this Government is denying Maori right now in the greatest Parliament of the world the United Nations where discussions are taking place on the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples where this Labour Government is actively opposing those rights and where this Government is doing its best to destroy a text that has been cobbled together by indigenous people from all over the world for the last 25 years. 
What exactly does this Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples say? Does it speak of terrorism? No. Does it speak of death? No. Does it speak of the denial of anyone’s rights? Hell no. It states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment as a collective or as individuals of all— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: I am sorry the member needs to address the question. There is a question before the House. 
HONE HARAWIRA 
: Yes the question is one of privilege and I am referring to this Government’s commitment to privilege and to rights and in particular to rights that right now are being denied in another place—rights to people in this House. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: There is a very specific question before the House on a specific report that the member needs to address. 
HONE HARAWIRA 
: Yesterday when we were talking about the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill I noted that Dr Michael Cullen was talking about Don Brash being in bed with the Exclusive Brethren. That was hardly what the bill was about yet no condemnation was made of his comment. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: First of all one cannot compare this with another day—that should have been raised at the time. I am drawing the member’s attention to the fact that this is a specific report by a specific committee that the member needs to address—the question as raised by the Privileges Committee. 
HONE HARAWIRA 
: Here we are talking about privilege and in particular the question of privilege on the action taken by TVNZ in relation to its chief executive in this House while this Government cannot even accept the rights of its own citizens. The issue of contempt—the debate about the rightness or otherwise of conflicting statements from TNVZ’s bosses—is tied up in the dilemma that the Government has foisted upon TVNZ by demanding that it lives up to public charter requirements as well as make a bucket load of money. Should TVNZ focus on providing high-quality public-good programming or say: “Damn them all and let’s make money.”? How does TVNZ deliver on its social imperatives when the only quantifiable measure is the bank balance? 
It seems to me that the issue of contempt and the conflict in TVNZ reflects the dominance of the commercial brigade over the keepers of the flame. In considering this issue of privilege and the conflict between commercialism and kaupapa I note that it is a tension I know well. I come to this House from the world of broadcasting myself—a world hampered by limited funding and a world where my own directors were constantly challenging me to meet the requirements that the TVNZ chief executive officer was being asked to meet: get advertising on board; increase our commercial profile; become a player in the world of commercial radio. I resisted that of course because I am a kaupapa man at heart a man for whom Maori principles mean more than money. But still I pondered at length how best to resolve the dilemma between commercialism and kaupapa—that dilemma led to the dispute the dispute led to the contempt and the contempt led to the ruling from the Privileges Committee. 
Our answer was simple: we started another station to touch gently those who were not used to Maori language and to respond to commercial imperatives. By splitting our focus we were able to be successful in both worlds. The worry of course is that TVNZ already has that option Television One and TV2. So what is the problem? Well that is simple too actually. Although TVNZ has a charter and a commercial focus public service programming is still being treated with disdain. Because of that conflict still arises; because that conflict still arises the dispute arises; because of the dispute there arose the contempt. Because of the contempt it came before the Privileges Committee. 
Te Karere 
 TVNZ’s daily window on the Maori world—the so-called Maori news—is still sitting out in the kid’s programming slot of 4.35 p.m. I stopped watching it when they kept shunting it around to catch the cricket. It had been such a while since I had seen it I had to check the  
TV Guide 
 to see what time it was on. The TVNZ 2006 report said that it was working to expand its range and depth of programmes that reflect Maori language and culture to all New Zealanders. Later in the report it was noted that it was doing less for Maori programming in 2006 than it did in 2005. I hear that it is going to get its money cut so I would like to see whether it will pay out of its own pocket for a change to expand its range and depth of programming that reflect Maori language and culture or whether it will be just like Maori think it is all walk and no talk. 
 These are critical issues for TVNZ and it needs to get proactive right now or it will get run over by that award-winning station Maori Television. If I might be so bold I suggest to TVNZ that if it wants someone who knows how to deal with commercial and charter responsibilities it could do far worse than look to Maori radio for a saviour. 
The committee also took a lash at the inexcusable ignorance of some rather well-paid corporate high-flyers who are supposed to be providing the board with good advice but I recommend that the committee saves some of its sting for this House for it is the Government itself that has not properly addressed in its own mind the correct balance between commercialism and kaupapa. It is that greyness that has created the competing environment and the conflict in cultures that burnt TVNZ. 
Can TVNZ be an effective channel for the visions and aspirations of all New Zealanders or has that crown already been taken by Maori Television? Is TVNZ still a genuine player in commercial television or simply a free-to-air option for Sky television? All things are possible for TVNZ. What is desperately needed now though is clarity of vision and a commitment to excellence. Kia ora tatou katoa. 
Motion agreed to.