July 05, 2024
Broadcast funding choke hold not right
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Former Māori development minister Nanaia Mahuta says the Government is obliged to continue investing in Whakaata Māori because if its importance in the maintenance and evolution of te reo Māori.
The Māori television service has flagged operational changes because of uncertainty over future funding and the fact baseline funding has not increased for more than a decade.
Ms Mahuta says Maori broadcasting in its current state exists because of claims taken through the courts 30 years ago, and the crown can’t walk away from its responsibilities.
“This Government and under the mantra of what it is promoting is it is trying to contain the flourishing of te reo Maori by limiting the funding available to our only Maori language television broadcaster and that in any language is not right and it is seeking to contain the way Maori are evolving,” she says.i
Ms Mahuta says the government should back Whakaata Maori to produce more content because of the international importance of revitalising indigenous languages.