Lee Melissa: Television New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Lee Melissa: Television New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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MELISSA LEE (National) 
: 
 It is a great pleasure to rise to speak in the third reading of the Television New Zealand Amendment Bill. Without taking too much time in this debate I would like to start off with a little comment in relation to Sue Kedgley’s speech. I think there will be tens of thousands of New Zealanders who would take offence at her speech because she decided to have a go at overseas content. I know that there is some fantastic overseas content namely things like  
Coronation Street 
. I know that that television programme has been loved for many many years and the viewers of that television programme would not have liked that speech. 
For someone who has actually worked in the television industry as a television content maker—I know there are other people in the House who have worked in television—when the Television New Zealand (TVNZ) charter was first introduced there was some confusion as to what the charter was in fact going to bring. I remember thinking that  
Asia Downunder 
 a programme about New Zealanders of Asian descent with programmes made by Asian reporters had to include and start speaking in te reo for example. Initially there was a lot of confusion as to what the charter would bring. Having said that once the charter had been introduced into law and was being administered by TVNZ to bring more diversity in programming in reality the charter did not really do much for the content of TVNZ’s programming. Programming was always about popularity—programmes that attracted more people to sit down and watch television programmes. Popularity really dictated what kinds of programmes were going to be commissioned. 
Often the kinds of programmes that other speakers have talked about—public service - type programmes—are not commercially funded and have had a lot of New Zealand On Air funding in order to facilitate their being broadcast. For example there is  
Tagata Pasifika 
 which is celebrating its 25th anniversary next year. That particular programme was commissioned way before the TVNZ charter was ever put in place. When one actually considers the debates in the House one would be led to believe that the charter increased the number of locally made programmes but that is not so. A number of programmes like  
Tagata Pasifika 
 were made well before the charter and what happened with the charter money was that it was spent on programmes that did not necessarily need the money. It was going to things like commercial operations. It did nothing for the actual local content that people were talking about.  
Asia Downunder 
  
Pacific Beat Street 
—all of these programmes that people consider to be public service and non-commercial never actually got charter money. 
Removing the charter obligations from TVNZ means that it is freeing TVNZ to get on with what it does best: making television and broadcasting television. The way that people view television nowadays has actually changed. When I first arrived in New Zealand 23 years ago people sat down to watch traditional terrestrial television. Nowadays my son does not actually sit down in front of the television to watch a programme. He is on the internet—for the time he is allowed to be on the internet—watching television programmes on the internet. Young people do not watch television news at 6 o’clock like we used to. They watch it on demand when they want to and however fast they want to and often people who advertise on television have the dilemma of deciding whether they should continue advertising on television because people are not watching commercials. For me I do not get the time to watch a lot of television so I tend to record it on my MY SKY and I view it in my own time when I want to. The television sphere has changed dramatically. 
Simon Bridges 
: What’s your favourite? 
MELISSA LEE 
: My favourite programme would probably have to be watching the member on Parliament TV. Thank you Simon for that. One of the things—[ 
Interruption 
] He is a great debater and is a great-looking member of Parliament to watch. It is a pleasure and I am sure the people of Tauranga will be very pleased to see him on television. 
Another aspect of the bill that I am very pleased about is the freeing-up of programmes that were made pre-1989. I moved to New Zealand in 1988 and I have pretty much seen television progress over the years but there are some programmes that I have heard about that happened before I arrived in New Zealand. I would love to see some of those programmes. Unlocking that archived material so that people can see it again is a fantastic move. I congratulate the Minister of Broadcasting on this wonderful bill and I commend it to the House.