KEY POINTS:
The National Party says the latest version of Television New Zealand's charter is "waffly" and meaningless to the average person.
The charter is required by law to be reviewed by Parliament at least every five years. The proposed redraft will be sent to a select committee this week as part of that review, to begin by the end of February.
The charter requires TVNZ to balance commercial performance against social responsibility and make a more significant contribution to the country's cultural and national identity through programming. TVNZ redrafted the charter this year and put it out for public consultation. A working party, chaired by broadcasting academic Peter Thompson and TVNZ and Ministry for Culture and Heritage officials, considered the 281 public submissions and came up with a revised, redrafted charter.
Broadcasting Minister Trevor Mallard said yesterday that it was up to the select committee to undertake the review as they saw fit, including timing issues and the level of consultation.
But National Party broadcasting spokesman Jonathan Coleman yesterday described the revised, redrafted charter as "a big waffly mission statement that has no teeth".
"If you look at this rehash of the charter, it's not going to mean much to the New Zealand public. It's going to be interesting for academics and policy wonks, but really it's not going to make any difference to what's on our screen."
He said the charter review was a sideshow, which distracted from real issues.
The revised charter has eight sections: An Informed Society, National Identity and Citizenship, Maori, Diversity, High Standards, Innovation, New Zealand Talent, and Presenting New Zealand Overseas.
CHARTER CHANGES
Old version
TVNZ shall: Ensure in its programmes and programming planning the participation of Maori and the presence of a significant Maori voice.
In fulfilment of these objectives TVNZ will: In its programming enable all New Zealanders to have access to material that promotes Maori language and culture, and feature programmes that serve the interests and informational needs of Maori audiences, including programmes promoting Maori language and programmes addressing Maori history, culture and current issues.
New version
Maori: To provide entertaining, educational and informative programmes that reflect Maori interests, including language, history, culture and contemporary issues, and to convey these interests to a wider NZ audience.
TVNZ will:
(a) Provide programmes by, for and about Maori, involving significant Maori participation and perspectives; and
(b) Provide programmes intended for general audiences that promote Maori language and culture. Revised TV charter 'waffle'
