Media access crucial to Maori cause—professor

Press, 12 June 1986, Page 4

Media access crucial to Maori cause—professor

PA Wellington Having some control of the mass media was essential to get the Maori language “into the home of our people” said Professor Hirini Moko Mead. He was giving evidence at the Broadcasting Tribunal hearing into a third television channel. Professor Mead, professor of Maori at Victoria University, has a background in education and anthropology. He spoke in support of Aotearoa Broadcasting Service. He emphasised the importance of keeping Maori as a living language.

“No culture can afford to allow another culture a total right of control of the media of communication, or to filter and virtu-

ally censor all communications by enforcing the use of the language of the other culture,” he said. This had been "the unfortunate lot” of the Maori people. A.B.S. would provide a rare opportunity to redress this injustice in a bold, imaginative way. Maoridom would be able to begin re-educating itself if it had access to television broadcasting. It could build a new unity, and would enable Maori people to interpret the world to their own people. Professor Mead said the A.B.S. application was in line with the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi and its commitments to the Maori people. The A.B.S. application “is directly related to the

success of us as a culture to retain our language.” Under cross-examina-tion, Professor Mead said anthropologists believed language was the heart of any culture. If a language disappeared a substantial part of the culture went, as the language was replaced by another along with another culture. “Development and maintenance of our culture is already difficult but will become increasingly harder to manage if A.B.S. is unsuccessful,” he said.