Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:606;Page:3781] 
9.  
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Broadcasting 
: How did New Zealand’s General Agreement on Trade in Services commitments affect the way in which the Government approached Labour’s 1999 election promise to introduce “format specific quotas as soon as possible on radio and free to air television to increase the level of local content”? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Broadcasting) 
: 
 The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) did not affect the Government fulfilling the 1999 election promise that the member refers to. We have established a voluntary local music quota with targets for radio that are on track to meet the 20 percent target in the year 2006. We also have a memorandum of understanding with the television industry which is working to set voluntary genre-specific targets as we speak. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Can the Minister confirm that if voluntary quotas failed and the memorandum of understanding did not produce the results he wished and the Government legislated for a local television quota to achieve its election promise the Government would then be in breach of a New Zealand GATS commitment that was negotiated in secret 9 years ago by a previous Government and that that is unfair and undemocratic; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Yes we have looked at the issue of trying to legislate if necessary for a mandatory quota and the member is exactly right. The previous National Government negotiated away that ability. 
Mark Peck 
: Can the Minister tell us how the approach to local content works? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Commercial radio under the umbrella of the New Zealand Music Performance Committee works cooperatively to increase the amount of Kiwi music that is broadcast. The achievements so far are pretty good. Last year local music made up 15 percent of the commercial playlist beating the 13 percent target. The television agreement that has been signed with TVNZ TV3 the Screen Producers and Directors Association and New Zealand On Air pledges the group to setting 3-year targets for increases in New Zealand programming on New Zealand television. 
Katherine Rich 
: Can the Minister confirm that for all the discussion about quotas Labour was told by officials in 1999 that its policy to introduce mandatory quotas was in conflict with trade agreements and that for all its threats to the industry about introducing such quotas if it did not cooperate the Government has no ability to do so? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As I mentioned before the Government has looked at the possibility of mandatory quotas. As the member indicated the party of which she is a member negotiated away that right some time ago. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Given the Government’s expressed frustration at being bound by a foolhardy GATS commitment that was secretly negotiated 9 years ago will he commit to a full open and transparent process including debate in this House before this Government makes any commitments in his portfolio areas under the present GATS round; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: My understanding is that the Hon Jim Sutton has told members just recently in the House about the process that is going on in the World Trade Organization where countries are currently registering their interests and a range of views around GATS. That debate will undoubtedly continue in the future and I am sure those issues will come up in the House.  
Sue Kedgley 
: Will the Minister make a categorical commitment in this House today that the Government will not agree to any of the current requests in the present GATS round to open up our audio-visual services which would require the New Zealand Film Commission fund to be available to foreign film makers and further to consider any request to have a debate in this House; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I do not believe that anybody is asking for that under the GATS procedure at the present time but I can tell the member that if that were the case it would not be my position.