te Heuheu Georgina: Maori Television Service Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Speaker Recalled 
te Heuheu Georgina: Maori Television Service Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Speaker Recalled 
[Volume:607;Page:4999] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (NZ National) 
: 
 Given this Government’s big sway over Maori and the big pronouncements of the Minister of Maori Affairs in particular over how the Government will support promote and protect te reo Maori and so on and so forth it surprises me that this bill does not have a Maori title when that would have been proper and appropriate. All that we have by way of a title is the Maori Television Service Bill—and it will be for 2003. Given that the Minister is a great promoter of te reo Maori I hope he will support my amendment that proposes we have another choice which is that the bill should also be cited as “Te Ture mo te Ratonga Pouaka Whakaata Maori 2003.” [ 
Interruption 
] I had to beat my colleague Murray McCully to that. He was going to put something similar in. 
I think we should mean what we say in this Committee when we say it is important to promote and protect the Maori language te reo Maori. We have the preamble which we have just discussed and some hard-fought-for litigation that went before both the Waitangi Tribunal and the Privy Council is referred to there. Maori members on the Government side of the Chamber will know from their own iwi involvement in that litigation that we are dealing with hard-won stuff here. This bill is about the protection and promotion of te reo and what better way is there of showing that than to have a Maori title for the bill as well as the English one? 
I sought some advice about the title from my own colleagues and particularly from Murray McCully who is on the Maori Affairs Committee. He made some suggestions but on balance we both agreed to the title that has been proposed here. He was not quite sure about the word “ratonga” but when we thought about it we decided that it best embodies the word “service” and that it is probably the most appropriate word. 
I heard Deborah Coddington say that we should mean what we say about protecting te reo so I am looking forward to the support of all members across the Committee for this amendment and particularly of the Government members because they are the ones whom Maori look to. They are the ones who gather up the Maori vote. The Prime Minister goes around the country attending lots of hui. I have been to two or three of those hui where the Government has talked about protecting te reo Maori. [ 
Interruption 
] Madam Chair can you quieten down the Committee? I can hardly hear myself speak and that is a big shame. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: I think that applies to members on both sides of the Chamber. I also remind the member to speak to the title. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. Can you please explain the meaning of the comment you have just made to me? I have been talking solely on the title except for a few little comments. By and large I have been talking on the title. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: The member has made some other comments over the last couple of minutes. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: So I propose that the bill be named “Te Ture mo te Ratonga Pouaka Whakaata Maori 2003.” Basically “Te Ture” means “the Act” “mo te Ratonga” means “for the service” and “Pouaka Whakaata Maori” means “Maori television”. I know everybody will support that. It makes sense and it is totally appropriate. It would be a dereliction of the duty and responsibility of all 120 members of this Parliament if we did not see the propriety and the appropriateness of having a Maori title for this bill. I am looking forward to the Minister’s support and if he does not support it we will want to know his reason for that as will Maori people outside this Committee and other New Zealanders given that they have been brought along as a result of the treaty obligation programme.