May 26, 2021
Maori radio funds long overdue
The chair of the Māori Development Minister’s Māori media advisory group says the $42 million tagged for the sector in the Budget is a start towards addressing equity issues that have been building up for more than a decade.
Ella Henry says iwi radio in particular has developed despite a lack of commitment by the crown.
"Iwi radio has been working at the coalface for 30 years. It has been training up a generation of broadcasters, telling stories, connecting communities in some of the most isolated, impoverished rural communities in the country and they have done doing it on the smell of an oily rag so I absolutely applaud the minister for being able to wrestle this amount of money," she says.
Dr Henry says a one-off infusion is not enough, and her panel has been asked to make suggestions on things like training and future platforms.
Copyright © 2021, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com