The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has dismissed a complaint about a Maori Television report on allegations of financial mismanagement at the Kohanga Reo National Trust board.
Kohanga Reo National Trust HQ in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The trust complained that Native Affairs' broadcast last September was inaccurate, unbalanced and unfair.
But the BSA declined to uphold the complaint, which reported concerns about the trust's governance, including allegations the trust improperly provided loans to trustees and senior managers.
It said the programme largely consisted of people's opinions, and the broadcaster gave the trust a number of opportunities to be interviewed.
The BSA said Native Affairs sufficiently summarised the trust's written response and that investigative programmes had an important role in a democratic society.
It said those people subject to investigation must accept that when they declined to engage, it was less likely that what they wanted to express would be said the way they wanted.
An independent report has cleared the Kohanga Reo National Trust of financial mismanagement.