NZ On Air releases original proposal for documentary that morphed into reality show The GC

NZ On Air, which has been subject to Official Information Act requests from NBR ONLINE's Rod Vaughan and others to release the original proposal for The CG, has made the pitch public.

Opponents of the series have claimed it morphed from its original pitch of following a group of Maori families who had emigrated to the Gold Coast to low-brow youth reality series in the vein of Jersey Shore.

Certainly, most of the people described in proposal below didn't make it to the final show, with struggling young parents and small busiiness owners replaced by younger, party-focussed "cast" members such as Rosanna Arkle and Zane Houia.

Only a single person - Tame Noema - made it from the pitch (which won $419,408 in NZ On Air funding) made it to the final series.

The proposal does not paint a picture of a serious, sociological documentary. Rather it says it will follow a group of unskilled Maori as they seek more opportunity in Queensland - and it says it will do so in "entertaining" style. Yet it is still some distance from the final show's opening credits, which say: "Nearly 130,000 Maori now reside in Australia. This show is about a bunch of them living the good life on the Gold Coast. Some live together, some work together. But they're all chasing the dream of...money, sex and fame on the GC."

In a preamble to the proposal, NZ On Air says it "supports a diverse range of programming for all New Zealanders". 

"The GC was funded with the aim of showing positive, confident Maori in prime time on a commercial channel.  

"It appeals to a younger audience and the first episode was watched by more than 400,000 people with more than 40% of Maori watching TV at that time watching The GC.  

"Subsequent episodes have continued to draw strong audiences. Due to interest in The GC, NZ On Air is releasing the proposal for the series.

"Once the series has finished screening NZ On Air will assess the results."

RAW DATA: The orignal GC proposal:

01. PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
It is estimated that the Maori population now living in Australia is nearing 145,000! A staggering one in six Maori are choosing to live across the Tasman, particularly on Queensland’s Gold Coast. And the exodus from New Zealand has just reached a 32-year high.

There they’re known as "Mozzies" – Maori-Aussies. Lured across the ditch by the promise of better money, a better climate and better career opportunities, they’re living large and making their mark.

Their business success stories are starting to stack up. So, too, is their desire for the things they love about "home" – the marae, kapa haka groups and the official marking of uniquely Maori celebrations like Matariki.

The Tasman drift is nothing new.

But what differentiates this latest group from previous generations of Maori who have immigrated to Australia, is their driving entrepreneurial ambition coupled with their staunch determination to stick together and keep their culture intact.

In essence, a new tribe is evolving – a tribe of health-conscious, positive achievers who, despite their new Aussie home, wear their ethnicity and culture with pride.

They are drawn together to socialise, support each other, maintain values, share spirituality and preserve their culture.

The observational documentary series, GOLDEN MOZZIES, follows seven young Maori who left New Zealand as “unskilled” workers but are now striving for and achieving, business and personal success on the Gold Coast.

They are in a new place with new hope. They are a new generation with a new vision. But they are also striving to hang on to the old.

Golden Mozzies will spend three months with some of the shining lights of this social and cultural phenomenon of Maori success in Australia in an informative, yet entertaining, and aspirational observational documentary series.

All of the subjects came to Australia looking for opportunities they feel they did not have in New Zealand.

They are people who would, on this side of the ditch, would have been deemed "ordinary" and they believe, would have achieved little. Now they get their chance in the land of plenty.

Our series story arc will centre around seven "Mozzies" – young Maori who have lived on the Gold Coast for less than 10 years.

We’ll explore their dreams, their realities, their successes and struggles as well as their issues of cultural identity.

Our group of key characters is rich in personality and diversity. They are bound together by friendship, a shared desire to keep their culture alive and a determination to achieve.

They live separate lives except that each week they come together – to train at kapa haka and stay in touch with their fellow Mozzies.

While this documentary series is essentially aspirational, it will also examine their concerns about how their new life is perceived so negatively by those back home.

Commonly referred to as "plastic" Maori and apparently "rolling in it", they struggle to justify sometimes even to themselves, their decision to live on the Gold Coast, so apart from their culture.

02. MEET OUR MOZZIE ENTREPRENEURS
Seven Mozzies will be followed for the series. Below is a cross-section of some of the sorts of characters we might have. They are currently connected by a kapa haka group.

32-year-old Carlos Bishop (Nga Puhi) owns and runs a barber shop on Burleigh Beach, called The Godbarber. After just one year of operation the business is doing so well that Carlos is about to create a franchise and open an additional five shops.

Over the past four years, 29-year-old William Gardner (Tuwharetoa) has built up a successful personal training and massage therapy business. And he’s juggling the business with his desire for an even better education – studying for a degree in health and nutrition. The combination of a great climate and a fitness and body-conscious population means he’s never short of clients. 

At just 23, Tame Noema (Tuhoe) already owns six houses but his goal is to be rich enough to retire within five years. He funds his real estate portfolio working as a scaffolder.

“I think about home every day. I just miss it all the time. I would move back in a heartbeat but it’s just the money. Back home I was on $15 per hour; over here I’m on $45 per hour. The money is what keeps me here.”

TAME NOEMA (TUHOE)
23, Single
Scoffolder/ Property Developer
Four years in Brisbane, One on the Gold Coast.
I work hard to keep te reo alive – my dad teaches te reo in Brisbane
“I moved to get amongst it because I’m all about the lifestyle…/ gym it hard every day…I go to the beach… I fit in here… they get me!
“Back home I was on $15 per hour…over here I’m on $45 per hour…the money is what keeps me here.
“I want to retire in five years…I’ve got six houses at the moment…! see myself as a property tycoon…! want to make loads of money through property”.

CARLOS BISHOP (NGA PUHI)
32, in a long term relationship.
Owner of his own Barber Shop in Burleigh Beach ‘The Godbarber’
3 years on Gold Coast.
People here just love Maori. We are treated better. We’re hard workers and we’re really proud… it seems to be nothing but good things that come from being Maori over here… we are respected
“I’ve been with my wahine since I was 14years old…have always loved the Gold Coast from when we used to come on trips over here…and we just wanted to live here.
“I want to have five shops in five years… The Godbarber will rule the world!…and just make it a successful franchise so I don’t have to work and can let the business run itself”.

MEKETU DELL (NGATI POROU) 27, Single
Safety Inspector for a roofing company 3 years on Gold Coast.
I love that I stand out from the crowd. I’m so proud to be Maori and the Auzzies think I’m funny.
“I wasn ‘t getting anywhere back home and kept moaning about it and then Dad bought me a one way ticket to the Goldie and here I am.
“It’s always sunny and warm. There’s so much to do…rugby, beach, gym, parties.
“I have a five year plan… I want to have enough money to buy a comfortable home … find Mrs Dell… get her tamoko’d on my arm…have a family…and eventually work with children.”

WILLIAM GARDNER (TUWHARETOA)
29, Single.
Personal Trainer and massage therapist and studying a degree in health and nutrition
4 years on the Gold Coast.
It’s definitely an advantage to be Maori here. We stand out… we’re a bit different… different accent… different colour… and fun.
“I work for myself and I travel around gyms as a PT…and I love what I do…I’m only working part time at the moment because I’m studying full time on line.
“The opportunities here are huge… more people want to keep in shape and look good and take care of themselves.
“I love to go surfing…! exercise a lot”.

HAYLEY HACK (NGA PUHI)
28, Single Mum to a 7 year old. Manager of a Makeup Artistry Company. 3 years on the Gold Coast
My house is filled with Maori artwork… tikis on everything. I miss my whanau so much, but being here is such a positive thing.
“What drew me here at first was mainly the weather and the beach…and I also have some family here.
“I just love the fast-paced lifestyle. The money is way better, I feel more confident here… I have had to grow up really fast and I have learnt a lot about myself…! just feel like it’s challenging and I always need to bring it.
“I would love to start my own business…to just achieve and do things better and keep challenging myself… I would really like to buy a nice house here one day”.

MOANATERANGI
28, Single
Sales Rep for Universal Supplies – Plumbing Supplies
5 years on the Gold Coast.
We’re Maori and everyone knows it. We radiate it… we’re cheeky… we’re proud… we hold our heads up high.
“I have the meanest job!…they have given me the mean ute…cellphone…fuel card even!
“Most of the people I hang with are Maori…it feels like I’m always on holiday…I come home to my mean pad…go for a swim…it’s’ so beautiful here.
“There’s more opportunities and more money and it’s easier to network. ..it’s really about who you know and not so much about what you know… but the more the better.
“I’m going to own my own home…my own BIG home”.

RIKKI-LEIGH TE AROHA COSTA
(NGATI MANIAPOTO/TARANAKITUTURU)
28, Married
Zumba Instructor and Occupational Health and Safety
Administrator
3 years on the Gold Coast.
I love to share my te reo… I use a lot of greetings in my class… I think it’s very important for me to share my culture with my students
“I’ve been teaching Zumba for the last 18 months… classes consist of 20-30 ladies …I’m also studying my cert 4 in health and safety.
“It’s a great lifestyle…it’s amazing being able to keep so fit in a beautiful place…I love going to all the festivals over here…I love going to the beach and the amazing bush walks. It feels like a healthier lifestyle.
“Finding work has been really hard and a massive challenge but we just wanted a change…if I wasn’t doing zumba I wouldn’t have a life on the Gold Coast.
“As long as you learn how to adapt to the Australian way of life and understand the culture here then it’s fine… “

At 28, Haley Hack (Nga Puhi) manages a make up artistry company and is a single mum to a seven-year-old. She has plans to start her own business. “I feel more confident here on the Gold Coast. I have had to grow up really fast and I have learnt a lot about myself. I just feel like it’s challenging and I always need to bring it. I want to achieve and do things better and keep challenging myself.”

That these young Maori are thriving in business is no coincidence.

The 2006 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report identified a strong entrepreneurial streak in Maori. In that year, Maori represented 17.7 per cent of all entrepreneurial activity in New Zealand.

The study also showed that 83 per cent of Maori entrepreneurs are "opportunity entrepreneurs" as opposed to creating a business of necessity to survive.

In summary, statistics suggest that Maori commonly possess an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to spot a good opportunity for business.

For our characters, the Australian economy means that hard work brings tangible rewards.

• $A425,000 will buy you a house on the Gold Coast with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, spa, outdoor swimming pool, out door area, separate dining and family areas and double garage.

• $A465,000  buys a three-bedroom, two-bathroom (one ensuite), double garage house in South Auckland.

The rewards extend beyond the financial, however. A warm climate allows for relaxed outdoor living and recreation. Exercise and sport are ingrained into the local culture.

“I love living by the beach,” says Carlos Bishop, “We have a big family so we love hanging out with friends …and working hard and playing hard. We live 150 metres from the beach and I can walk to work.”

For some of our Mozzies, being Maori has proved a distinct advantage in their new home.

“I love that I stand out from the crowd, I’m so proud to be Maori and they think I’m funny,” says Meketu Dell, 27 (Ngati Porou).

William Gardner also believes it’s an advantage to be Maori. “We stand out, we’re a bit different -different accent, different colour and fun.”

“People here just love Maori,” says Carlos Bishop. “We are treated better. We’re hard workers and we’re really proud. It seems to be nothing but good things that come from being Maori over here, we are respected.”

Not all of our group have encountered only a positive response, however.

Tama Noema, 23, (Tuhoe) has found the perceptions surrounding his ta moko, challenging. “I love being Maori, I’m proud, however I find there is prejudice and I’m constantly judged, especially because of the ink on my body. I find when I go out it’s hard getting into clubs and police often look at me rather than the Australian boys to start trouble.”

Zumba instructor Leigh Te Aroha Costa, 28, (Ngati Maniapoto/Taranaki Tuturu) claims she has to work hard to get rid of the stereotypes that some people have. “I’m not here to take their crap, I’m here to be respected and I will continue to make sure they respect me as a Maori woman. It’s tougher here. It seems like more of a challenge for us work wise, than it was in New Zealand.”

According to Te Puni Kokiri’s 2007 report, ‘Maori in Australia, Nga Maori I Te Ao Moemoea’, the Mozzies harshest critics come from an unexpected quarter.
When a sample group of Maori living in Australia were asked what Maori in New Zealand thought of them, the following responses were recorded.

Table 17.2: Responses To Survey Question 34- What do
NZ Maori think of you as a Maori Australian (Multiple
Responses Allowed).
Response: Percentage
They aren’t really committed to Maori 29.8
culture
They think about money too much 32.9
Other 25.0
Don’t know/no opinion 40.7
Of the 301 "other" respondents, 51 (16.95%) fell into a category similar to the first option about lacking commitment to Maori culture, although they emphasised more a lack of Maori cultural authenticity. A common example was "they think we are plastic Maori". The word "plastic" was used no fewer than 30 times.
A further 88 (29.2%) of all "other responses" concerned the perceived wealth of Maori living in Australia. Common statements here were that Maori in New Zealand think that Maori in Australia are "rich" (a word used 44 times), ‘loaded’ or ‘rolling’ in money.
Additional themes to emerge from the "other" responses at question 34 were that Maori in New Zealand are believed to view Maori in Australia as: • "Sell-Outs", "deserters" or evaders of whanau responsibilities (20 responses)
"Stuck-up", "snobs" or "up themselves" (18)
Having become "white", "pakeha" or "Australians" (7)
Needing to come home to help out (5)
Despite the "Plastic Maori" moniker, these young people are staunch about preserving and living their culture.
For dance teacher Rikki-Leigh Te Aroha Costa this includes sharing her tikanga as much as she can with her new compatriots. “I use a lot of te reo greetings in my class. I think it’s very important for me to share my culture with my students. I take them to the Kiwi festivals and try to educate them through my mihi and knowledge of Aotearoa and they love it.”

The instinct to stick together is also a strong driver in this group.

“I didn’t want hang out with other Maori at the beginning. I came here to meet Aussies…and now all my bros are Maori…we just seem to find each other. It’s the lifestyle,” says Meketu Dell. “I throw out the odd karakia now and again…I perform with my sister’s kapa haka group when they come over. I hang out with whanau.”

Carlos Bishop agrees. “We naturally just find each other and hang out. We don’t mean to…it just happens. Kai, hangi, whanau get-togethers are all really important. Jamming and singing together.”
This joint love of performance extends to a Gold Coast-based kapa haka group to which all seven Mozzies belong.

The Queensland Maori Performing Arts Association hosts annual kapa haka competitions in Brisbane. The competition sees kapa haka groups from all over Queensland come together to compete.

Part of this series will document the group’s decision to travel home and compete in a New Zealand competition.

“We really get each other. The boys just know how I roll. We ‘re tight as bro, we ‘ve got each others’ backs,” says Moana Te Rangi. “It’s who we are, we’re Maori and everyone knows it… we radiate it… we’re cheeky we ‘re proud… we hold our heads up high.”

But can they have it all?

Can these ambitious young people straddle both sides of theTasman and maintain a dual identity?

Do the financial and lifestyle benefits outweigh the separation from whanau?

Can they live as both Maori and Australian?

These are the questions Golden Mozzies will pose as we follow these extraordinary New Zealanders in a defining period of their lives where they are striving for business success and training with their Mozzie kappa haka group for their return to New Zealand.

03. STRUCTURE & STYLE

This eight x half hour observational documentary series will be filmed on location on and around Queensland’s Gold Coast.

The series will centre around seven key characters, ‘Mozzies’, who were part of an ‘unskilled’ migration from New Zealand but have turned their lives around and are working towards achieving their dreams of a better life on the Gold Coast while still retaining their connection to their Maori culture.

The series will track their personal and professional stories as individuals trying to make it in business – a new generation of goal-oriented, high-achieving expats – and also collectively, as they are determined to keep their Maori cultural identity intact through kapa haka. GOLDEN MOZZIES will follow the progress of their kapa haka group that they hope will be good enough to compete back in New Zealand.
tracks” recorded at the time of filming to achieve intimacy and credibility.

The series will be largely observational. It follows their progress as it happens, warts and all.
The tone of the show will be entertaining, but with an intelligent and questioning undertone throughout.
Golden Mozzies will be shot in full 1080 x 1920 high definition to ensure we are recording at the highest international standards. This maximises what is a unique opportunity to capture a visually stunning snapshot of a group of extraordinary New Zealanders.

Similar to a serial drama structure, each episode will contain both self-contained stories and ongoing story arcs.
Stories will feature the trials and triumphs of these ambitious young people on a personal, professional and cultural level.

Narration will be minimal. Our cast will tell their own stories through interviews and “thought

AUSTRALIA VS NEW ZEALAND – THE FACTS

*Pay rates are better for most jobs across the Tasman, from chief executives to unskilled labourers. Australians earn an average of 35 per cent more than New Zealanders.

*An average family of four is worse off in New Zealand by about $64,000 each year, according to a Government-appointed 2025 taskforce on closing the income gap between the two countries.

*The Taskforce reported that Australians also had more and better “stuff” across a wide range of measures – from bigger new homes (212sq m on average to 193sq m in New Zealand) and more cars (619 per 1000 people compared to our 560) to more TVs (505 to 477 per 1000) and broadband access (10.3 to 8.1 per 1000).

*But a survey in January 2011, found Australia had the least affordable housing in the world, with Sydney ranked the second-most expensive city after Hong Kong.

*A Weekend Herald survey in 2010 found a typical supermarket shopping trip was more expensive in Australia than in New Zealand, Britain or the United States. Dairy products were cheaper than in New Zealand but fruit and many basic items like tinned tomatoes and pasta were more expensive.

*Although petrol is generally cheaper, used cars are more expensive in Australia (thanks to high tariffs in the past).

*The Australian dollar’s strength against the US dollar makes big-ticket items cheaper. For instance, a new Ford Falcon XR6, which in New Zealand would cost about $53,990, cost A$36,000. A big-screen television, worth $4000 here, cost A$2100.

NEW ZEALAND HERALD 22 JUNE 2011
RECORD KIWI EXODUS TO OZ
By Lincoln Tan and Jarrod Booker

The Kiwi exodus across the Tasman has hit a 32-year-high, swelled by people fleeing quake-ravaged Christchurch.
Statistics NZ figures show 3300 New Zealanders left for Australia last month, topping the record of 2900 set in 1979.
The number who fled Christchurch last month was 800 – up from 500 in May last year, said Government Statistician Geoff Bascand.

“Since the earthquake on February 22, the city has experienced 1300 more departures and 400 fewer arrivals than in the same period in 2010,” he said.

The chief executive of the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development, Peter Neilson, said the higher wages and living standards in Australia were always an attraction for Kiwis, and the earthquake gave them “added incentive” to move.

“Real wages after tax of middle income New Zealanders have been on the decline in the last year or so, so it is not surprising given that real wage growth is happening in Australia that you get a significant migration outflow,” he said.

But Mr Neilson said he expected some people would return as jobs in
Christchurch became available when the rebuilding programme “goes into full steam” within the next six months to a year.

“The long-term issue is if we don’t pick up our living standards again so the incentive to go to Australia is less, then we’ve got a major problem.”

That optimism was not shared by sociologist and immigration expert Paul Spoonley of Massey University who warned that the exodus was a “very dangerous sign” for New Zealand and its economy.

“Once these people have found a job and are settled in Australia, then the short answer is that they are unlikely to be coming back,” he said.

“We are losing people who are in their prime working age and very often, they take their family and children along with them.

“So effectively, New Zealand is losing two generations of Kiwis at least.” Professor Spoonley said Australia was a popular choice because it was one of the few destinations that non-skilled Kiwis could migrate to outside of New Zealand.

“The people who are leaving can afford to go, in terms of getting employment and many of those left behind in Christchurch are locked in there because they haven’t got any option.”

The 2006 Census showed that about 390,000 people born in New Zealand were living in Australia. Christchurch commercial cleaning contractor Daniel Yeoh said he had seen first-hand the exodus from Christchurch as his business cleans up after those who have fled the damaged city.

“Landlords are left with hundreds of properties abandoned by people who have left the city, and I have been cleaning a countless number of them since the quake,” said Mr Yeoh.

Many Cantabrians were continuing to “pack up and go” and “just leaving properties in a hurry”.

Nationally, on a seasonally adjusted basis, there was an overall net outflow of 400 people last month.

“Net migration has been negative since March, when departures from Christchurch jumped,” Mr Bascand said.

In the year to last month, New Zealand’s net migration gain was 4600 – down from 18,000 the previous year, and below the average annual net migration gain of 12,000 over the last 20 years.

“The decrease in net migration compared with 2010 was mainly due to an increase in departures to Australia,” said Mr Bascand

04. RAUTAKI MAORI – GOLDEN MOZZIES
•
Golden Mozzies is an exciting, innovative series for primetimetelevision thatwill explore the ‘new tribe’ of Maori who are now choosing to live within Australia, and in particular the Gold Coast. Despite the fact this series will be based in Australia, this will be a Rautaki Maori series-focused initiative focusing on ordinary Maori achieving success they don’t believe they could achieve in their own country.

Firstly, it provides a fresh perspective on a new type of entrepreneurial Maori achiever, one keen to redefine themselves in a different country whilst still holding onto their own culture.

Maori are a migratory people, having arrived from Hawaiki nearly eight centuries ago. In many respects their moving to Australia could be seen as an extension of this migratory pattern. ‘A better life’ and ‘more opportunities’ are listed as key drivers of this new journey.

Golden Mozzies will focus on a group of Maori who make up one kapa haka group and represent a cross-section of new immigrants to Australia. They are outwardly very proud of who they are and the prominence of ta moko (Maori tattoo) and Otara Market-inspired t-shirts emblazoned with their iwi and Maori slang words, are this collective’s aesthetic way of showing their ‘colours’. This is enforced by cultural icons such as rugby league superstar Benji Marshall, singer Stan Walker and rugby player Quade Cooper. All three are proud Maori who are now Australian pop culture superstars.

Secondly, Golden Mozzies will explore the connection this demographic is choosing to have
with Aotearoa. At face value, this includes the ta moko and t-shirts but more importantly this series will focus on how culturally anchored this group of Maori are. How do they choose to actively reconnect with their Maori language and/or culture? Do they embrace the cultural practices of Australia or are they just a sub-set? Or are they a culture that chooses to live within themselves and not conform to their adopted country’s ways?

Thirdly, will be the ever-increasing Maori production pool that Black Inc Media has been able to develop over recent times. This has allowed a number of Maori to greatly increase their production experience on mainstream and primetime-focused programming.

In the past two years these include the following people; Nicole Horan (Ngati Mainapoto), Piripi Davis (Te Arawa), Taare Belton-Bodsworth (Ngati Raukawa) Te Kohe Tuhaka (Ngati Porou), Chelsea Winstanley (Ngai te Rangi), Nevak Rogers (Rongowhakaata), Aroha Mane (Ngai Te Rangi), Raukura Huata (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou), Susan Leonard (Te Arawa), Tom Sorrell (Ngati Kahu).

They are all Maori-speaking, thinking practitioners who will continue to contribute to the industry at a high level. This is also the case with this project.

On top of this group are other senior Maori practitioners who have further strengthened their experience including Brendon Butt (Ngati Whakaue/ Ngati Pukeko), Wayne Leonard (Te Arawa), Carmen Leonard (Te Arawa) and Peter Burger (Ngai Tahu).

05. KEY PERSONNEL
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – BAILEY MACKEY (NGATI POROU/TUHOE/RONGOWHAKAATA)
Bailey is the award winning director of Black Inc Media Ltd, a vibrant production company specialising in Maori content programming for broader audiences. Throughout his career Bailey has been at the forefront of many exciting ethnic programming initiatives including the NZ On Air-funded documentary series ft Pa (co-Executive Producer), the sports entertainment series CODE (Executive Producer – Maori TV), Te Reo Maori on 3 News/Nightline (reporter) and the whangai and tangi storylines on ShorttandStreet(Maori advisor). Bailey was also the Executive Producer of large scale productions for Maori TV such as the launch of their second channel, the Maori Queen’s tangi and the Breakers basketball coverage. Bailey is also a key board member of New Zealand second largest tribe Ngati Porou and is heavily involved with Maori social, economic and cultural development. Bailey and Black Inc have just completed a successful co-production with Eyeworks New Zealand for TV ONE, the primetime historical documentary series Te Pa – One Land, Two Peoples.

PRODUCER – MARIA HANDAS (TE AUPOURI)
Is the Head of Factual Programming at Eyeworks New Zealand. For 10 years, she has worked as a producer, director and writer on primetime factual series [Ground Force, Changing Rooms, The Fence), as producer of Eyeworks flagship shows [My House My Castle – now in its 11th series – DIY Rescue and three series of Missing Pieces,) and the documentary series, The Perfect Age and World’s Strictest Parents. She is passionate about authentic factual television.

DIRECTOR – SUSAN LEONARD (TE ARAWA)
Susan Leonard has worked in the television industry for 15 years. In that time she has been a presenter for the children’s programme Get Real, has written and directed for children’s shows What Now?’and Sticky TV, directed award winning early childhood series Zip & Mac, and written and directed the teenage youth Maori flagship show for TVNZ, IAMTV. Most recently Susan has been a segment producer for the award winning series My House My Castle.
She is currently writing and directing the prime time documentary series Breaking the Cycle due to air on TV3 in 2012. This series documents the struggle of six obese youth who are trying to overcome their weight issues.