Hon Kris Faafoi

Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media

Hon Nanaia Mahuta

Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori Minister for Māori Development

Hon Aupito William Sio

Minister for Pacific Peoples

1 November 2018

MEDIA STATEMENT

Media group renews focus on collaboration, Māori and Pacific People

The Ministerial Advisory Group on Public Media’s terms of reference have been updated and two new appointments made, the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Hon Kris Faafoi announced today.

“The Advisory Group has completed its initial tasks and proven a useful source of independent expert advice,” Mr Faafoi said.

“I wanted to now take the opportunity to strengthen the group to provide advice on how Māori and Pacific People’s language, culture and perspective can be better represented across publicly funded media, to focus on collaboration between agencies, and to provide advice on funding of public media in Budget 2019.

“To strengthen the Advisory Group’s tikanga Māori and Pacific custom and practice perspective to their roles, broadcaster Stacey Morrison and communications consultant Sarona Ai’ono-Iosefa are joining the four-member team.”

The Advisory Group’s role has now been updated both to assist me with advice on the funding of public media for Budget 2019 and to consider the capacity for more effective collaboration between public media agencies.”

Radio host Stacey Morrison (Ngāi Tahu/Te Arawa) has also been a television broadcaster, researcher, director and producer. She currently works on Te reo Māori special projects for Massey University, is a member of the Spark Foundation and the E-Tangata Trust Board. In 2012 she co-authored the Ngā Matakīrea Mainstream Māori Broadcasting report for NZ On Air and in 2013 was the researcher and author of Te Rāngai Kawariki report on children’s programming for Māori Television.

Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta welcomed Ms Morrison’s appointment and said she would be a strong fresh new voice for Māori interests on the Advisory group.

Born in Canterbury to Samoan parents, Sarona Ai’ono-Iosefa is a senior communications and stakeholder engagement consultant based in Wellington. With a background in journalism, she was a founding board member of the National Pacific Radio Trust (2002 to 2006) and more recently the stakeholder and communications lead for the Kaikoura Earthquake response and recovery.

Hon Aupito William Sio, Minister for Pacific Peoples, said the appointment of Ms Ai’ono-Iosefa will provide a valuable Pacific perspective to the Advisory Group with her extensive background in corporate, local and central government, and strategic stakeholder engagement.

“I expect she will be well supported by our key Pacific media stakeholders to provide a strong, strategic and mature voice to the work of the Ministerial Advisory Group and a voice that reflects the aspirations of our Pacific people and our small but diverse Pacific media industry.”

The Advisory Group appointments are until 30 June 2019.

Note: Kevin Malloy was reappointed to the TVNZ Board for a further full term. He has experience in advertising, media buying, and digital convergence and has also served as a director on the Breast Cancer Foundation, and is currently a director on the Kiwibank Board, The Dingle Foundation and the Halberg Foundation.

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