Quality of te reo under fire in Maori TV review

Jim Mather says that while he welcomes the report, language quality depends on who the audience is. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Maori Television has been criticised for below-standard te reo and entrenching common language mistakes.

A report on the effectiveness of the Maori Television Service Act says that while many people take pride in the channel's overall successes and influence, others are less satisfied with the overall quality of language.

It said the legislation called for a "high quality" service, which implied a set of standards, but it offered no definition or guidance on what that meant.

"The panel heard many stakeholder requests for MTS to exhibit more responsibility about the quality of te reo that it broadcasts.

"Language experts fear that MTS unwittingly entrenches and normalises incorrect Maori language, rather than offers quality language for the benefit of Maori language learners and others."

The review panel, which included broadcaster Tainui Stephens and former TVNZ executive Hone Edwards, called for a clause to be inserted into the act to define what quality of language was expected.

Quarterly reports on the monitoring of performance targets or measures could also be legislated for, and quality control could include using ordinary members of the public to give feedback.

Mr Stephens emphasised the "wonderful job" Maori Television had done in five years in establishing itself, and said the recommendations to the Maori Affairs and Finance Ministers weren't about wholesale change. Instead they were about "tinkering" to make sure the broadcaster met future challenges.

Other recommendations included moving the government component of the funding cycle from a year-to-year appropriation to a three-year cycle, which would allow for better planning.

The panel also backed the broadcaster's present management rights to hold on to frequencies it is not using, even though the Economic Development Ministry wants them to revert to the Crown for reallocation.

The panel said that was inappropriate when Maori Television's establishment was the outcome of a Treaty grievance settlement.

Maori Television chief executive Jim Mather welcomed the report as a positive mechanism to working towards improvement.

Language quality was a nebulous concept that depended on who the audience was, he said.

"You talk to 10 different people and ask them whether they consider something to be of high, medium or low quality and you'll get 10 different answers."

However, it was an issue the channel took seriously and it was working on a formal te reo policy to be completed by July.

Mr Mather said more radical funding changes were needed and Maori Television was awaiting a response to a proposal it had put to the Treasury outlining alternative models.