Pānui - Māori policy commentary

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Tags: 2Degrees

Telecommunication companies offer Māori scholarship and graduate programmes: omnibus excerpt

Hautaki Trust, Te Huarahi Tika Māori Spectrum Trust, and 2degrees have created a scholarship and graduate programme for Māori studying information and communications technology at Auckland University.  Vodafone have also announced it will extend its current graduate programme by allocating an additional five places for Māori graduates.  These announcements follow the establishment of Ngā Pū Waea, the Māori Broadband Working Group, and are clear examples of the early results arising from the efforts of this group.

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Te Huarahi Tika interested in fourth generation spectrum allocation: Omnibus excerpt

Last week the Māori spectrum entity, Te Huarahi Tika Trust, clarified that they prefer an allocation of fourth generation radio spectrum with cash, when the spectrum is auctioned in 2012.  Communications Minister, Steven Joyce, has publicly indicated that the Government will allocate some of the radio spectrum to Māori, for both Māori language purposes and for Māori development.  The sale of fourth generation spectrum is expected to generate at least $120 million for the Government.  The key question is what quantum of this will be allocated to Māori to meet Treaty of Waitangi obligations (and second, how Māori are able to negotiate that). 

In July we provided a full outline of policy affecting Māori interests in spectrum (see Pānui July 22, 2011).  At that time Vodafone suggested that Māori should receive cash from the sale (not frequency allocations) because they felt Māori interests have been, and should remain, fully aligned with 2Degrees.  We will provide a further update on this matter once Government intent is clearer.

From week ending 14 October 2011

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