TV Review: Te Ao with Moana – 5 stars

Marae is must watch weekly TV.

The Hui is must watch weekly TV.

Add to that list Te Ao with Moana.

Why the living Christ do Māori continue to make the best current affairs in this country?

The understanding of the relationship of power between those who have it and those who don’t should be the essential focus of all current affairs, but it so rarely appears in programming run by the mainstream corporate media.

Māori as an abused minority understand that relationship so intrinsically and they manage to provide insight in a way that doesn’t alienate while never pulling any punches. The injustice is always expressed as a hurt against the group, and not the personal which manages to give the debate a moral high ground. It is a narrative gift that so few activists from many other spheres of power imbalance understand.

This week Moana dissects the farce that is the Treaty negotiations process. The ability for this legal noose to create more injustice than solve is something rarely spoken about in mainstream debate, which tends to favour the ‘one law for all’ crap.

Moana’s guests, Former Minister for Treaty negotiations, Chris Finlayson, Treaty settlements expert and negotiator Professor Margaret Mutu and former Treaty negotiator Chris McKenzie all provided incredible insight to how unjust the process really is.

The extra dimension that is being added here now are a new generation of Māori who understand the full injustice of colonialism and who reject the pittance settler nation NZ have been prepared to pay in compensation. We see this new reality dawning at Ihumātao.

TV shows like Te Ao with Moana should be prime time on TVNZ. The fact it isn’t demands a meaningful response from the Government as they struggle to articulate a functioning public broadcasting policy.

This is intelligent respectful debate. 5 stars.

Te Ao with Moana

Māori TV Tuesday 8pm