14 Mar 2013

Maori TV airing Te Kaea in Australia

6:36 am on 14 March 2013

The head of Maori Television says it's looking to air more of its in-house programmes in Australia.

Its flagship news programme Te Kaea aired for the first time on Australia's free-to-air National Indigenous Television on Sunday night.

A partnership between the two broadcasters will see Maori TV's Saturday night news programme play every Sunday across the Tasman.

Maori TV chief executive Jim Mather says social media feedback shows many Maori in Australia have felt moved by being able to get a weekly update on key events in Aotearoa, especially because a lot of the news is in te reo Maori.

He says it's more and more important to air Maori content in Australia, where about 140,000 Maori and more than 800,000 New Zealanders live.