Leonie Hayden 
Start learning te reo Māori anywhere in Aotearoa with this list of introductory, part-time classes. ‘Learn te reo Māori’ is at the top of a lot of people’s New Year’s resolutions. The problem is, it can be hard to enrol after the new year, which is typically when resolutions are meant to be resolved. Many … Read more
Stuck for gift ideas? We got you. The great news is: you’re spoiled for choice this year. The sheer number of high quality products being made or produced by Māori and Pasifika creators in Aotearoa means it’s easy to buy beautiful and local for friends and whānau this Christmas (and beyond). The bad news is, … Read more
It’s a way of living that is often mistaken for either a ‘hippy commune’ or a boarding house, but cohousing is slowly becoming a viable solution to New Zealand’s growing housing needs. It’s also a way of fighting the isolation and loneliness that is harming our collective wellbeing. The quarter acre section is a legacy … Read more
They have a storied history, from Waitangi Tribunal triumphs to bitter infighting, but the current NZ Māori Council are reinvigorated and ready to make big changes on behalf of Māori in Aotearoa. However some people are asking questions about its new leader. At the start of the year, after what felt like years of media … Read more
She’s been a stalwart on our screens and airwaves for two decades and could easily rest on her laurels, but the indefatigable Stacey Morrison is all about giving back to her community. Across Auckland on any given weekday, you’ll find a free te reo Māori class being taught, from Unitec and AUT’s popular classes to … Read more
There are few things better to do than watch The Hui on a Sunday morning, but this week’s episode was especially spicy. Leonie Hayden on an amazing appearance by Auckland Nimby activist Lisa Prager. The protesters opposing Ōwairaka’s native regeneration programme have been camped out at the maunga for two weeks now, believing that the … Read more
A new documentary by Mihingarangi Forbes and Great Southern Television for RNZ tells of the first conflicts over the fertile lands of Taranaki. A re-enactment shouldn’t be this touching. In the opening scenes of NZ Wars: The Stories of Waitara, a young wahine methodically plants her kūmara crops in the fertile Taranaki soil, unaware of … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack. Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out of your mouth with … Read more
An update from Auckland, Waitematā and Manukau DHBs reveals that two women have lost unborn babies as a result of complications from measles. Fewer cases are being reported, but the risk is still real. What happened? The Auckland Regional Public Health Service advised that while there have been no deaths, five pregnant women have contracted the … Read more
Every year Matariki X brings Māori innovators and entrepreneurs together to share their experiences and inspire one another. Callaghan Innovation’s Vinnie Campbell says the Māori economy’s biggest strengths have nothing to do with money. This story was funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. … Read more
Families come in all different shapes and sizes. But when the British came to New Zealand they decided Māori families were the wrong shape. In this episode of Kaupapa on the Couch, we have a look at what family means in different cultures and the effects of colonisation on whānau and whakapapa. Written and presented … Read more
On The Rag host Leonie Hayden got (fake) pregnant and decided to get a (fake) abortion. This is her story. Every year in New Zealand about 13,000 people have abortions. And every year in New Zealand about 200 people are denied abortions. Under our current abortion laws we have an illusion of choice. Abortion care … Read more
A team of University of Otago researchers and weavers will unlock the secrets of one of te ao Māori’s most precious taonga for the first time in more than 200 years. The late Hec Busby was in his 50s when the Hawai’ian ocean voyaging waka Hokule’a landed at Waitangi in 1985. By that point, most … Read more
In the ongoing battle to prevent 480 houses being built on ancestral land, a petition with more than 26,000 signatures was delivered to the Prime Minister’s Mt Albert office yesterday. Leonie Hayden was there. Lead by the inimitable Pania Newton, about 100 kaitiaki set off from Ihumātao near Māngere yesterday morning for the 18km walk … Read more
Talking to Ātea editor Leonie Hayden, Herbs: Songs of Freedom director Tearepa Kahi discusses the ‘constant riddle’ of documentary making, and the joys and sorrows of celebrating 40 years of one of our most important bands. A Tongan, a Sāmoan, a Cook Islander, a Māori and a Pākehā walk into a bar, and make music … Read more
When we decided to do an episode of On the Rag on ageing, I knew immediately I wanted to talk to one of my kuia, and I knew who I wanted it to be, writes Ātea editor Leonie Hayden. Growing up, Naida Glavish (Ngāti Whātua) was one of my adopted mum’s very good friends, her … Read more
In February 2018, justice minister Andrew Little wrote to the Law Commission asking for advice on abortion law reform that would ensure New Zealand’s laws are consistent with treating abortion as a health issue instead of a crime. Today the government announced its intention to remove abortion from the Crimes Act. So what just happened? … Read more
A number of activists have been arrested tonight after attempting to blockade Auckland’s Southwestern Motorway, as part of an ongoing standoff between police and land protectors at Ihumātao. However, a spokesperson for the group coordinating the occupation say they did not know the action was going to take place. Just after 5pm today a red … Read more
Aroha Bridge writer and director Coco Solid talks about the new characters on the show, the ‘psychic vat of reality’ that birthed them, and her Ihumātao call-out of PM Jacinda Ardern. In season two of locally made cartoon series Aroha Bridge, 10-year old wunderkind pop star Angeline announces on television: “I’m Māori so obviously I … Read more
Our government and leaders are (still) divided on the question of compulsory te reo Māori. Who’s for it, who’s against it, and who’s flip flopping around in the middle? Under article two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the government pledges to protect “taonga katoa” (all treasured things), amongst which sits te reo Māori, one of … Read more
Ātea editor Leonie Hayden headed out to the hui for a Māori-led inquiry into Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children, and found a unified Māori force that has decided enough is enough. When first announced, Saturday’s Oranga Tamariki hui was to be hosted at Ngā Whare Waatea marae in Māngere. When four times the projected … Read more
At the heart of the issue surrounding Oranga Tamariki and their disproportionate uplifting of Māori children from their families is the desire for solutions to be found within iwi, hapū and whānau. Recognising that the Māori family structure looks different from the Western one would be a great place to start. In English we have … Read more
Dance down memory lane with us to a time when the Māori showbands ruled supreme. After World War II, Māori concert parties became a huge attraction in Aotearoa, like the kapa haka groups we know and love today. Action songs and haka were still a novelty for Pākehā New Zealanders that hadn’t been to Rotorua … Read more
Two major studies show that women and minorities in New Zealand are being harassed to the point that they’re leaving online spaces in droves. Leonie Hayden reports on the growing tension between the right to free speech and the right to live without fear. You don’t know unless you know. This is the only way to … Read more
Launching next Tuesday, Te Ao with Moana is a new current affairs show for Māori Television that sees singer, producer, writer, te reo advocate and now current affairs anchor Moana Maniapoto fronting a show looking at the local and international issues affecting Māori. If it seems like the multitalented musician is a Jill of all … Read more
A lot of knowledge has been lost about traditional Māori attitudes to menstruation, but some extraordinary Māori women are making sure it’s not lost forever, writes Leonie Hayden Like a bolt of lightning out of the blue it sometimes occurs to me that a thing I’m doing, or feeling, is a product of colonisation. When … Read more
Film is a powerful influence in our lives that shapes how we see the world, and how we see ourselves. So it’s pretty important that we see people that look like us up on the big screen. New Zealand has an incredible film history – dark, funny, innovative, evocative of our past and peculiar worldview. … Read more
Activist, actor and advocate Anzac Wallace has passed away yesterday at the age of 74. Anzac Wallace (Ngāpuhi) is lying in state at Ngā Whare Waatea marae in Māngere, the urban marae he helped build in the 1980s. Ngā Whare Waatea chairman, Minister Willie Jackson paid tribute to Matua Zac Wallace last night, describing him … Read more
Auckland Zoo is no longer about humans on the outside looking in at the animals. Now, it’s all about being part of the landscape together. Monica Lake has handed me a high vis vest and a hard hat (my preferred outfit any given day) and is showing me around a large construction site: mounds of … Read more