Te Mangai Paho to receive refund

A television production company contracted by Te Mangai Paho to make a series of programmes has admitted it did not finish the work and says the money will be refunded.

Te Mangai Paho said last week it was trying to recover $250,000 from West Auckland company Te Reo TV.

The funding agency's interim chairman, Wira Gardiner, said the contract had been terminated because the production deadline of last December was not met.

Te Reo TV director Ray Waru said he had received a fax telling him the contract had been cancelled and he had read Te Mangai Paho's statement.

"The story is true. Te Reo TV was funded to make a series of Maori language programmes and for a number of reasons we haven't done that," he said.

He declined to say why the work was not finished.

Herald Feature: Maori TV

- NZPA