Mahuta Nanaia: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14934. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): I want to take a short call on this bill the Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Bill. I joined the Māori Affairs Committee towards the end of its consideration and can recount some of the discussion that may be useful in this part of its progress. There was a lot of discussion which members have pointed to around Te Pūtahi Pāoho and its role as an electoral college and concerns that some of its constituent organisations were not fully representative of the supposed interests that they are there to promote. We had quite an in-depth discussion about what more could happen but in the end we noted for all the reasons that my colleague Shane Jones has outlined in his discussion that it should not impede the progress of the bill.With regard to the digital switch-over the pragmatism of the select committee was that we wanted to ensure that Māori Television could continue to do what it does really well and let us face it: it is the public broadcaster of New Zealand. It does promote the identity of New Zealand in ways that we would not see on Television One or TV3. What it does is provide an access point for many New Zealanders to see our New Zealand through a different lens. We have a platform that promotes indigenous broadcasting. We have a platform that promotes Te Reo Māori through a number of mediums—throughHōmai Te Pakipaki through game shows through documentaries through sitcoms and the like and through Māori language learning programmes.One of the impacts of the review that will be a positive gain I think for the development of Te Reo Māori is to ensure that the language becomes more accessible in contemporary broadcasting terms. So as a mother of young kids I am absolutely delighted that Māori Television will be promotingDora the Explorer in Te Reo Māori. My son watches—Iain Lees-Galloway: AndSpongeBob.Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: That is right—andSpongeBob Square Pants. I have to say that that is probably more for an older audience—probably for us in here. The point of it is that our children wherever they are live in a very diverse world. Whether it isDora the Explorer whether it is Māui whether it isDiego or whether it is something about dragons or something about taniwha the fact is that our children today are not limited to the world of Te Ao Māori and they want to have accessible access to what is on offer in their global community. That is the world that I am bringing my child up in and I am absolutely delighted that Māori Television has taken the step to ensure that there are programmes that are accessible in Te Reo Māori for a new emerging generation who see the world as their oyster who want access to the global indigenouscommunity and to the global community and who will see that through Māori Television. So I am certainly supportive of the aspects of this bill that will open up that prospect.The other part of the conversation that is important to this bill is I guess the future relationship of the Ministers responsible for Māori Television and how that relationship will continue with Te Pūtahi Pāoho especially in the future review of Māori Television. We ensured in the select committee and we took on board advice that there would be a good amount of negotiation and agreement around the terms of reference for the review of Māori Television. The benefit of doing that is to ensure as was initially envisaged when Māori Television commenced that the partnership approach to the governance and the setting of direction for Māori Television was one that would be done by agreement. With the hindsight of 20-odd years looking at how things have happened and could happen better I think this is a progressive step and a step in the right direction.Members before me have spoken about the governance issue. I really do not want to add too much more to what has been said except to agree with the comments of my colleagues certainly on the Labour benches that the governance of Māori Television is absolutely critical. It should not have a level of perceived interference by political appointments which recently became a part of the focus. The reason why I say this is that there will be some of us in this House who would remember that back in the days of Aotearoa Television it was not so easy to get over the threshold of having such an innovative approach to Māori language and Māori broadcasting through a Māori television station. So there is a spotlight whether people want to acknowledge it or not on everything that happens in this space. At the governance level it is I guess an area where we will have to assure ourselves that there is a robust and transparent way of appointing those who lead Māori Television.I have seen the growth of the people in the Māori Television space. Jim Mather has since left and gone to Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. He has certainly provided enough sunlight for talented potential to grow in Māori Television. It has been good to see the people who initially started at the lower levels or on the lower rungs if you like in the broadcasting space now assuming roles at the management level in the programming parts of Māori Television and can I make this comment. In an organisation such as Māori Television which I believe is making a huge contribution to the development of Te Reo Māori to see the growth of talent through that organisation being reflected in all parts of its operation is absolutely exciting. Whether those people are in front of the camera or behind it or negotiating the various programmes and the way in which Māori Television is marketed externally talent has been growing through this particular medium alone and I am really positive about the way in which Māori Television can go into the future.When I first used to visit schools and ask the kids: “Well what do you want to do?” initially the answer was: “Oh you know I think I want to be a teacher.” or it would be that they wanted to do law or commerce or things like that. Now it might be: “I want to get into tourism into hospitality into broadcasting—hopefully I am going to be making my own programmes on Māori Television.” and this is certainly what is reflected back from Māori young people within the school system. So that is the extent to which Māori Television has had a positive impact on another generation coming through.There are some aspects of the bill that I will be only too happy to allude to in the Committee stage in order to contribute to this debate but for this small part can I say again that notwithstanding the concerns around Te Pūtahi Pāoho the Māori Affairs Committee did not feel that those concerns were significant enough to impede the progress of the bill. But we still want to ensure that the Minister of Māori Affairs’attention around ensuring the robustness of that particular body and the fulfilling of its obligations is something that he may consider a watching brief. Nō reira i tēnei wā ka tuku te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora.Bill read a second time.