Opposition asks what it takes to get fired

10.30am - By SHARON LUNDY

Te Mangai Paho's (TMP) retention of Trevor Moeke as a "project manager" following his resignation as chief executive has the opposition questioning what it takes to get fired.

Mr Moeke went on paid leave last month while a review into his performance was carried out.

The review was prompted by several matters, including a Treasury report which criticised the way the Maori broadcasting funding agency handled a conflict of interest involving former employee Tame Te Rangi.

Mr Te Rangi was involved in approving grants to a sports broadcasting company while he was being paid by it for rugby commentaries.

Since then there have been disclosures of failed contracts TMP signed with production companies which were supposed to make programmes for the new Maori Television Service.

The review, conducted by Herewini Te Koha, focused on Mr Moeke's handling of the Slightly Offbeat Productions project and his attempts to retrieve some licences while the company was in liquidation.

Mr Gardiner announced yesterday that the review found Mr Moeke "acted professionally" in his handling of the project but that he had become a "focal point" for resulting negative publicity.

Mr Moeke had therefore resigned as chief executive, effective immediately. However, the board had asked him to remain on staff to "effect the tidy handover to help resolve any outstanding matters and to tackle a number of projects that the board has in mind".

National MP Katherine Rich said the decision was an "absolute outrage".

"What does it take to get fired under Helen Clark's regime? We've had mismanagement, a lack of accountability, and yet the guy gets to stay on for nine months," she said.

"This is a golden handshake. It's nothing less than that. It's just dressed up as being some special projects idea for hanging on for the next nine months."

ACT MP Rodney Hide also said the deal was effectively a golden handshake and called for both Mr Moeke and Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia to resign.

"Parekura Horomia and Trevor Moeke oversaw the complete scandal at TMP. The result of that is Parekura Horomia keeps his job and Trevor Moeke is given, effectively, a golden handshake," he said.

"The taxpayer is being stung twice -- once by funding TMP and what has gone on, and again now by having to fund a useless minister and a disgraced chief executive who's apparently not good enough to do his job but being kept on the payroll."

Mr Hide said he did not accept Mr Gardiner's assertion that public scrutiny of the case had been excessive; Mr Gardiner said the last time he had seen such intensity was in 1995, with Aotearoa Television Network.

But Mr Hide said if there was unfair scrutiny, it was because Maori broadcasters were complaining.

"It's Maori broadcasters that have brought their concerns to us over the operation of TMP," he said.

"They've been the ones that have been missing out and its been the poor taxpayer that has been stung."

Mr Moeke's resignation is the second as a result of the scandal. Chairman Toby Curtis resigned in late May, when the Treasury report was released.

Mr Te Koha will take over as chief executive.

Mr Horomia today told National Radio he supported the board's decision to give Mr Moeke a nine-month contract to help with the transition.

"Can I say.. from the outset there's been slippage and I moved to fix it, along with this Government we are clear on accountability."

Mr Te Rangi was removed, the board chairman had gone "and I believe Trevor Moeke has done the honourable thing and stepped down and I am more than happy with Mr Gardiner and the new board that we have there".

Mr Horomia said Audit New Zealand was doing a report on TMP which was going further than the standard check on processes and systems.

Two previous reports showed TMP's processes for allocating grants were "pretty good". Out of 229 recent contracts, three had to be "really shaken up and pushed along but ... I really feel that we're on the way," Mr Horomia said.

- NZPA