te Heuheu Georgina: Estimates Debate —  Speaker Recalled In Committee 
te Heuheu Georgina: Estimates Debate —  Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:610;Page:7278] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (NZ National) 
: 
 Given the major controversies that have surrounded the Maori Television Service and Te Mangai Paho in the recent past it is a pity that the major increases in funding to Vote Maori Affairs this year have gone into those areas. I say that because there are still so many areas where real impacts have yet to be made in the area of Maori moving forward. I am talking about the rise in obesity and diabetes which are reaching epidemic proportions in Maori communities. While we might listen to the applause of members on the other side in relation to the money that is going into Maori television there are many who would say and I would be one that they would rather see money being poured into improving the life chances of our little ones—mainly into their health and into the basic things they need to learn to improve their opportunities in life. 
As I say it is a pity that the major increases in funding have gone into Maori broadcasting. There is an increase of approximately $7.3 million for the making of programmes and $7.075 million for the operation of the Maori Television Service. We voted against the bill that set up the Maori Television Service. From my point of view that was difficult but the reason we voted against it was that its history has been so shambolic. We still have no date for that service coming on air. There is nothing yet to indicate to us that the people responsible for setting it up know what they are doing. They have gone quiet. Other than a massive advertisement in the newspapers calling for appointments to 140-odd positions we have no idea whether the money that has gone in so far will have been worth spending. We say that not on our own behalf but on behalf of the taxpayers whose money it is. 
I would like to see the Minister move to make some real progress on the health of our little ones and the well-being of our elderly. The recent report on mortality rates among Maori and Pacific Island people gives one great cause for concern. How much will a Maori television service help those issues? In my view it is very doubtful that they will have any impact at all. 
The other area I want to spend a little time on— 
Hon Dover Samuels 
: They’re sick of watching  
Coronation Street 
. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: I do not think they will stop watching  
Coronation Street 
 unfortunately. Like most New Zealanders they are glued to it just as they are glued to  
Shortland Street 
. However people are entitled to spend their recreational time as they see fit just as long as while they are doing so they think about the fact that we are all getting overweight in the process. That is looming as a major issue for health funding and health needs in the future. 
The other aspect of the vote is a slight reduction in real development activities which is to be regretted. There is less for facilitation and brokerage and more for State sector performance monitoring. That is a whole saga of its own particularly when Te Puni Kokiri has shown itself incapable of monitoring the body for which it is directly responsibility Te Mangai Paho. Te Puni Kokiri was asked during the estimates process whether it had a robust process in place to avoid the kind of debacle of recent months when members on this side of the House were telling the Minister what was going on in Te Mangai Paho. That is an absolute disgrace. 
In addition to that we see money going into Te Puni Kokiri annually to monitor the big State sector agencies. It cannot even monitor Te Mangai Paho properly so we are kidding ourselves that it is capable of monitoring big-spending agencies. After all while we might review the spending that goes on in Te Puni Kokiri who will be accountable for that spending? Nobody seems to be chasing down the millions of dollars that are going to waste in big agencies on the closing the gaps programme or reducing inequalities or whatever one wants to call it. Whatever it is nobody is monitoring that. It is time that some focus was put on the money being spent in those big agencies. If major health issues are looming for Maori people we have to ask what was the purpose of “gaps” money going into for instance the Ministry of Health? Until some proper benchmarks are set and some proper monitoring is going on we will never know the purpose of it. We will only see the results and the results are shameful so on and on it goes. 
In slight defence of Te Puni Kokiri—and the committee certainly realised this—the issue of its ability to monitor the big spending agencies is a farce. Trevor Mallard announced a review of Te Puni Kokiri following the debacle over Te Mangai Paho and as part of that review I hope that the ministry’s “sheriff role”—it is like a sheriff riding without guns—will be reviewed. The committee expressed concerns about whether Te Puni Kokiri was properly resourced to monitor the big agencies particularly when it has had difficulty monitoring Te Mangai Paho and whether it gets cooperation from the big spending agencies because they appear to be very clever at avoiding monitoring. 
While I am mindful that Te Puni Kokiri has a role in that area at the moment I reiterate the concerns that members of the committee expressed about whether that role is appropriate for a ministry that calls itself—and would like to see itself—as a development ministry. In my view somebody else should chase the big-spending agencies. Maybe Te Puni Kokiri would like to see itself free of that role anyway. There are other departments and agencies including Audit New Zealand and the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit. Why could they not monitor the big agencies? Why should taxpayers’ money be spent on a small agency like Te Puni Kokiri that has difficulty monitoring another small agency like Te Mangai Paho so that it can chase down the big agencies? The Minister should take note of that issue and if it is not included in the current review it should be. 
Lastly I come to the issue of the Minister himself. I certainly saw the Minister in full force at the hui in Paeroa. Yes he is right—on the marae he is great and I support him. He gave a great performance at the foreshore and seabed hui in Paeroa but the fact of the matter is that when one takes the ministerial warrant one takes the responsibilities that come with it. Being able to engage with Maori up and down the country is a very small part of the responsibility that goes with that warrant. A big part of it is discharging one’s responsibilities here in Parliament being accountable for the money being spent— 
Jill Pettis 
: And delivering to the people which we are doing. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: Did that member hear me? Is she worried about the health of little Maori children and the poverty that exists in various parts of the country ?