20 May 2002

Lack Of Ministerial Responsibility Recipe For Disaster

The lack of accountability and Ministerial responsibility for the new Maori Television Service is a recipe for disaster, National Maori Affairs Spokesperson Georgina te Heuheu said today.

"The Government has still to pass the legislation, and government departments are writing cheques for things that their Minster either don't know about, or don't want to take responsibility for.

Mrs te Heuheu says the debacle with disgraces Chief Executive John Davy, shows the lack of clear lines of reporting and accountability.

"While the Government slithers and slides, no one wants to take responsibility. The Government needs to rethink the whole issue of Ministerial responsibility for the service."

Something the Government, Mrs te Heuheu says, will be loath to do with an election looming.

"What needs to be remembered is this is not just a Maori television service, it is Government and Maori together," Mrs te Heuheu said.

Mrs te Heuheu predicts that the reports due this week into the appointment of John Davy will be a whitewash.

"The reports will not answer the real questions the public wants answered, which are who was in charge and where does the buck stop?" she said.

Ends

© Scoop Media