Derek Fox quits as head of Maori Television Service

The controversy-plagued Maori Television Service (MTS) is in trouble again, this time with the resignation of chief executive Derek Fox.

Chairman Wayne Walden announced Mr Fox's resignation today, saying it was received "part way through an investigation regarding a human resource issue between Mr Fox and the MTS".

He did not elaborate on the "issue" but said the resignation was not related to management, operational or financial issues.

Mr Fox had resigned of his own volition, Mr Walden said.

MTS has gone through a series of delays and arguments over how it will be set up, how it will transmit and who will run it. It was supposed to go to air in June last year but that had been delayed time and again, and now was not likely to start transmitting until at least next March.

It has also been hit by scandals, most notably hiring Canadian John Davy to be its chief executive and sacking him when it was found he lied about his background.

Opposition MPs were further angered by MTS eventually appointing its own chairman, Mr Fox, as chief executive after he was involved in interviewing replacements for Mr Davy.

National MP Murray McCully today demanded answers from the Government which had, he said, made Mr Fox chairman in the first place to stop him setting up a rival political party.

"This is a situation totally of the Government's making and they need to provide a full explanation as to how we've got to a position where many millions of dollars and many months past the on-air date, we have a mysterious disappearance of (Mr Fox)," he said.

"It's hard to think of anything else that can go wrong for MTS. It's just been a gigantic disaster from beginning to end and this just tops it off."

ACT MP Rodney Hide called on Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia to front up over MTS, which he said was costing the taxpayer millions and embarrassing Maori.

"The minister needs to do some real fast explaining, and we need the auditor-general to get inside and find out just where all these millions of dollars have gone," he said.

"How much money are they going to pour into what is an obvious failure?"

But a spokesman for Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia refused to comment, saying it was an internal issue.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters described the resignation as "extraordinarily curious".

"The whole thing raises very, very serious questions and, obviously, the public want to know what is going on,".

The resignation was just the latest in a series of problems for MTS and called into question whether money should continue to be poured into something which would benefit very few Maori.

"How about focusing on the things that Maori do need and not this, like housing, education, decent healthcare and decent salaries and wages," Mr Peters said.

Mr Walden would not elaborate on the human resource issue being investigated.

TV One reported Mr Fox as saying he had resigned because he had had enough; he had been fighting for Maori television for 20 years and his family was starting to suffer.

MTS deputy chairwoman Ani Waaka will take over as acting chief executive, starting immediately.

Ms Waaka had extensive experience in business and project management, governance and training, operated her own consultancy business and had recently completed a short-term contract as chief executive for the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute.

Mr Horomia recently released figures showing how much had been spent on MTS, following written parliamentary questions from Mr Hide.

Funding for Maori programming: 1999-2000, $13.6 million; 2000-01, $16.9m; 2001-02, $21.2m; 2002-03, $18.35m.A further $12.9m had been allocated for 2003-04 for operational purposes, and $37.9m for programme making.

- NZPA