Parata quits Maori TV board

By AUDREY YOUNG

A board member of the fledgling Maori television service has resigned less than two months after the board was formed, citing lack of funding for the channel and constraints on commercial activities.

Hekia Parata also said her plans to seek selection as a National parliamentary candidate might cause difficulties.

"My concerns [about funding] could have been perceived as simply being political posturing, at which point it becomes counter-productive to the board," she said.

She said there was a misconception that the channel had been generously financed, but only $3.8 million was allocated for establishment costs in the first year.

Despite expectations of new money for programme making, "the best that can be said about the funding situation is that it is utterly confused. There are no guaranteed funds to the channel other than the $3.8 million for operations this financial year".

By 2004 the amount spent on Maori television would be $55 million a year, she said. But that included money allocated by New Zealand On Air for Maori programming (about $5 million last year) and by Te Mangai Paho (about $23 million last year) .

Hekia Parata also said the draft legislation for the channel barred the board from commercial activity without getting the approval of the Minister of Maori Affairs and the electoral college of Maori organisations, which appointed four of the seven board members.

"That's a constraint in any commercial environment," she said. "It introduces immediately the prospect of uncertainty and bureaucracy."

Other sources have suggested that Hekia Parata and board chairman Derek Fox had disagreed over whether he should become an executive chairman - a full-time chairman working operationally, not just in a governance role. But she said the issue had not arisen.

Hekia Parata is the business and personal partner of National Party Maori vice-president Wira Gardiner. She plans to seek the candidacy for Wellington Central.