Edwards a quiet crusader but no Hone-come-lately

By JULIE MIDDLETON

So who is Hone Edwards, Television New Zealand's new Maori leader?

Appointed kaihautu on August 12 - the word means the person in a waka who directs paddlers - his role will be to advise TVNZ on its Maori content.

The news was greeted with allegations in Parliament that the appointment was tokenistic and politically correct and that Edwards' alleged $180,000 salary ludicrous.

But a vast silence followed, and Edwards wasn't filling it. In the vacuum, questions: Why won't Edwards front? And just how will he go about advising on Maori content?

Requests for interviews are referred to TVNZ, which says there won't be any before Edwards, 49, starts on September 22. He is flat out finishing at the embryonic but troubled Maori Television Service, where he has been head of commissioning for 10 months.

You could call him a quiet crusader.

Edwards, of Ngati Hikairo and fluent in te reo, has a low mainstream profile but is no Hone-come-lately in the articulate Maori world.

His CV covers reporting, directing, producing and editing in mainstream and Maori programmes, and he's spent a large chunk of his career with TVNZ.

Talk to friends and colleagues about what drives Edwards and they agree he is "passionate" about cultivating wider - and correct - use of Maori language on air.

Fellow broadcaster and friend Tainui Stephens says Edwards is outgoing, charismatic and intelligent, with a strong sense of his Maoriness. But he wears it lightly; this is no angry radical.

"He's a humble guy. He's never sought a public profile."

Nicole Hoey, who has co-produced award-winning kids' shows with Edwards, says there are few with his breadth of skills or his network of contacts.

Socially, Ponsonby-domiciled Edwards is gregarious, with loyal friends, and flamboyant (some years ago he turned up at work in a flowing kaftan and turban). He tells friends he was "born gay", but doesn't make a big deal of his sexuality.

Edwards was born in Kawhia to teacher Anita Moke, but around his father details are hazy.

He was raised in Kawhia by his late maternal grandparents, Amy and Wiremu Edwards, who spoke only Maori at home. Former Maori Affairs Minister Koro Wetere is an uncle.

Edwards is close to his family, whose members nickname him "Boy", and he often returns to Kawhia for holidays.

As TVNZ's kaihautu, and one of the 11 people reporting directly to boss Ian Fraser, he will have one of the most influential jobs in Maoridom.

Edwards, whose appointment springs from TVNZ's social service charter, will aim for more Maori-oriented programmes and perspectives, and more in prime-time.

An insider who didn't want to be named says Edwards was "dismayed" about the flap in Parliament over his appointment.

He told friends his salary was $150,000 - not the $180,000 claimed in the House.

He was also concerned at reports that he would be some sort of frowning cultural safety officer.

But he wants to "make sure that people pronounce Maori words correctly on air", says the insider.

He's also keen to see more Maori current affairs, and wants the Te Karere Maori news team to join the main news floor so journalists are in better touch. He's also mooting more Maori drama.

Some are disappointed at his departure from the Maori Television Service, which is still struggling to find its feet after a string of scandals. But friends report that Edwards sees TVNZ's 100 per cent reach as offering opportunities too good to miss.

Hone Edwards' CV

BA in Maori and linguistics, University of Auckland.

Post-graduate diploma in journalism, University of Canterbury.

Started as a telephonist at TVNZ. News jobs include reporting, editing and presenting jobs in mainstream news and Maori programmes Te Karere, Kohaand Marae.

Spent six months in 1996 on a scholarship researching minority-language television channels in Britain and Spain.

Producer, with Nicole Hoey, of children's Maori-language shows Tumeke and Pukana.

Member of the Government's Maori Broadcasting Advisory Committee in 2000.