A review of the Māori Television Service Act 2003 is happening now and is due to be completed by April 2009. The Māori Television Service Act 2003 says a review of the operation and effectiveness of the Act must take place as soon as practical after the first five years of the Act. A report about the review with any recommendations for amendments has to be presented to the House of Representatives within six years of commencement.

Terms of Reference for the review were established by the responsible Ministers (the Minister of Māori Affairs and Minister of Finance) in April 2008. These were confirmed in consultation with Te Pūtahi Paoho (the Māori Electoral College).

The former Ministers, also in consultation with Te Pūtahi Paoho, selected an independent panel to conduct the review.

The review considers the Act, not the Māori Television Service. This means that any operational activities of the Māori Television Service, including any decisions about programme content or timing and other editorial matters, are not part of the review.

The specific topics the review will cover are described in the Terms of Reference. Generally, these include: Access. The nature of MTS’s broadcasting platform, the UHF Spectrum Right and the establishment of MTS as a multi-platform broadcaster.Focus. The role of MTS in promoting the Māori language and culture. Quality. Any aspects that impact on the ability of MTS to provide high-quality, cost-effective services. The panel has produced a discussion document to give background about the review. It also contains some questions that they are interested to learn your responses to.

If you would like to make a submission to the panel, you can download the discussion document by visiting www.tpk.govt.nz