New Zealand First says the Government needs to learn from a painful past in the search for a new chief executive for Maori Television.
The Labour Party has made accusations in Parliament linking a leading candidate, Paora Maxwell, with the chair of the board of Maori Television, Georgina Te Heuheu.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says MPs have a right to publicly ask questions about a candidate for a state-funded channel.
He says ministers should remember when a Canadian former chief executive of the broadcaster, John Davy, was jailed for lying on his application form.
He says Davy's credentials were not properly examined, which was a disgrace.
Mr Peters says the appointment needs to be on merit and not for any other reasons, such as nepotism or favouritism.
Mr Peters says he is not critical of any candidate, he just wants the recruitment process to be properly followed.
