As the Minister for Māori development faces the music for a poorly-received Māori media sector review, new and contradictory details are emerging. A government review of the Māori media sector released last week that recommended Māori news be centralised into a single service at Māori Television was received poorly by many in the sector. It … Read more
Covid-19 has reset our understanding of the world. From this crisis comes opportunity, and University of Otago professor Merata Kawharu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) believes it’s a chance to apply traditional principles to our new normal. In a really short time, we have become attuned to doing things very differently. In just a few months, Covid-19 … Read more
Māori authorities have acted swiftly on behalf of their people, but some say they’re concerned about the lack of communication from government. Māori have not fared well in pandemics of times past. Health statistics remain grim compared with other demographics, and there are fears that should the Covid-19 coronavirus spread via community transmission, it’s Māori … Read more
There was a lot of kōrero at Waitangi this year about women’s speaking rights, both at Waitangi and around the motu. Dr Rawiri Taonui looks at the history. The call for Māori women to speak on marae was reignited this year when Mere Mangu, the chair of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi, welcomed Prime … Read more
He Kākano Ahau is a podcast by writer and activist Kahu Kutia (Ngāi Tūhoe) that explores stories of Māori in the city, and weaves together strands of connection. In episode one: the legacy of urban marae Tapu te Ranga. I grew up where the tarseal on the road crumbles away into loose rock and dust. … Read more
The refusal of a Serco prison officer to take his shoes off at a marae, for the tangi of a prominent New Zealand musician, has been labelled disrespectful and rude, writes Leigh-Marama McLachlan for RNZ. Tensions were running high last week for the whānau of the late Tama Renata from the reggae band Herbs – not … Read more
One of this year’s must-see moments of NZ television aired at 10am on a quiet Sunday morning and almost everybody missed it. It’s not often that New Zealand television presents debate as you’d imagine it: critical, emotional, and at risk of derailing at any moment. The last election debates between party leaders, though pitched as … Read more
Rangatira ki te rangatira: Ardern’s approach to Waitangi commemorations offers the chance to break from the bad old days under PMs of both parties, writes Annabelle Lee Every Waitangi it’s the same. The lack of gratitude shown by Māori at being among the poorest, sickest, most unemployed and incarcerated people in Aotearoa is an ongoing source … Read more
What’s in a name? Only everything, writes Miriama Kamo. I didn’t always love my name. When I was in primary I used to wish I was called Lisa or Michelle, something easy that didn’t raise eyebrows. As I recall this, another memory comes to mind. I remember plucking a flower from a tree on the … Read more