February 25, 2013
$30m fund no substitute for spectrum
The chair of Te Huarahi Tika Māori Spectrum Trust says a proposed $30 million digital fund falls well short of what Māori need to participate in the future digital economy.
Instead of setting aside for Māori any of the 700 megahertz spectrum needed to run the next generation of mobile data networks, Communications Minister Amy Adams has floated the idea of a Crown-controlled fund which could be used to help Māori realise some of the benefits from new technologies as well as promote and support the language and culture in a digital world.
Daphne Luke says that's something the Crown should do anyway, without tying it to the spectrum issue.
“One of the things about a $30 million ICT fund manage by a government entity, is that it can’t engage in the type of commercial and investment opportunities that Māori can invest in outside of the crown, purely because they are the Crown”. Ms Luke says.
Daphne Like says Te Huarahi Tika has shown that when they have spectrum, Māori can use it in ways that benefit the whole nation.
Copyright © 2013, Uma Broadcasting Ltd