TV coverage

TV1 should hang their heads in shame. The abysmal playing of the national Anzac commemoration in Wellington was, to say the least, not understood by most of us who watched. Ninety per cent was in Ma¯ ori, which was fine but incomprehensible to me and others who were unfortunate enough to tune in. Had it had subtitles in English, which after all is the language which is most used, would have been helpful.

At noon we tuned into Sky News Australia where we had great coverage from Canberra and Sydney. They had some in aboriginal language which was nice and acceptable. We watched from noon our time till 2pm and enjoyed every moment.

So TV1, if you are going to do that next year, don’t, or at least have subtitles in Ma¯ ori, or English. In my humble opinion it was disrespectful to our servicemen and women, past and present.

Jim Rae

Timaru

Response from TVNZ: TVNZ aired a number of programmes on Anzac Day to commemorate New Zealanders killed in war and to honour our returned servicemen and women. Our programming included a dawn service, wreath laying service in Wellington, documentary Paradise Soldiers and film They Shall Not Grow Old. Our programming was in English throughout the day, but Ma¯ori language also featured on TVNZ 1 in greetings and some of the introductions used.

We choose to reflect our unique cultural identity on our channels every day. On Anzac Day we feel this commitment strongly. Those who serve come from a huge array of backgrounds and we acknowledge the sacrifice of all through an inclusive broadcast.