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The Minister of Maori Affairs is questioning the decision
of the Te Matatini organising committee to make an agreement
to restrict media access to the prestigious Maori event
that comes around only once every two years.
With only seven days to go before Te Matatini begins,
many media outlets have now been banned from broadcasting the event.
The ban was announced in the last two days,
despite previous assurances from Te Matatini
that the event would be open to broadcasters
to provide as much coverage as possible.
So why was the ban put in place?
Te Matatini has allowed for
just one TV broadcasting station to broadcast the event,
which means that only that station
can take and provide footage of the event,
with other Maori shows such as Te Karere left out of the equation.
Te Matatini receives taxpayer funding
from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and Te Puni Kokiri,
so we asked the Maori Affairs Minister
for his thoughts on the ban.
I want the world to see our performing arts,
to see how important it is to us —
how it fosters our links to each other.
For our babies to grow up
safe in the knowledge that they are Maori.
This is about intellectual property rights,
so maybe our elders need to decide how we proceed.
In addition, Dr Pita Sharples
has commented on whether the idea of exclusivity
is a Western construct that Maori
should adopt to protect and promote Maori culture.
The Labour Party says it supports Te Matatini and its work,
but doesn't agree with its media restrictions.
Shane Jones says Te Matatini
should be encouraging more coverage and exposure of the event,
not shutting people out,
and that withholding from one another is not the foundation
that the event was built upon.
I am disappointed with Te Matatini.
There's a lot of taxpayer's money involved,
not only for Te Matatini but also Maori Television.
This isn't about Te Karere or Maori TV.
The buck rests with Te Matatini and its executives;
they've got the power to open and close the door,
and it looks as if they've entered into this agreement with Maori TV.
Te Matatini is about embracing everyone
so that a positive event is widely broadcasted to the country.
This shouldn't be a contentious issue
between Te Matatini and broadcasters.
We should point out that programmes like Te Karere will be able to show
just two minutes of kapa haka per day.
Te Matatini says it is satisfied that the festival will be available
to most of New Zealand's television-viewing public.