Matariki

Moving the rock: An election manifesto for people-led change

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In her final election 2020 column, Laura O’Connell Rapira argues that progressive voters hold more power than they may think. In the recent TVNZ young voters debate, Kiritapu Allan defended Labour’s decision not to implement a capital gains tax by saying that “what New Zealanders want is stability”. In a recent op-ed Labour Party candidate … Read more

Politics sozcast: This election campaign is on the cusp of something special

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The 2020 election has risen, bleary eyed, from its slumber, and so have Annabelle, Ben and Toby in a brand new Gone By Lunchtime. The campaign trail is alive once again, with Labour promising a Matariki holiday and National a health-driven response to meth addiction. The Greens are trying to put the train back on … Read more

The Bulletin: Ardern shoots for the stars as the campaign corpse reanimates

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Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Today: Jacinda Ardern promises a new holiday, Winston Peters’ uphill challenge, and New Zealand’s biggest privately owned broadcaster has been snapped up by the Discovery Channel. The discombobulating 2020 campaign lurched back into action yesterday, with leaders scattered about the country. Judith Collins is in Hawkes Bay, where … Read more

Five ways the next government can be an honourable Treaty partner

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Whoever is successful on October 17, there is urgent work that needs doing to meet obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Laura O’Connell Rapira offers five to begin with. In 1840, Māori rangatira and representatives of the British Crown signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  The Māori text, which is the version of the Treaty recognised … Read more

The Unity children’s bestseller chart for the month of July

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What’s the best way to get adults reading? Get them reading when they’re children – and there’s no better place to start than the Unity Children’s Bestseller Chart. AUCKLAND 1  Sleepy Kiwi by Kat Merewether (Illustrated Publishing, $20, 0-3) Black-and-white board book by the author/illustrator of all the Kuwi books. Tiny bubs love to look … Read more

After the longest school term in history, now is the time to reset

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In the sixth part of a series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Arihia Latham reflects on the life lessons her daughters will take into a new future.  This month we acknowledged te wā o Matariki me Pūanga, the Māori new year. It’s been a year huh. I have heard people … Read more

The people have spoken: we want a Matariki public holiday

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It’s long past time we officially recognised the Māori new year on Māori land, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. In May, Jacinda Ardern said more public holidays for Kiwis to experience Aotearoa New Zealand is among a number of things the government is “actively considering” to encourage domestic tourism. With many small businesses struggling to keep … Read more

Swimming from our comfort zones: The fabric art of Maungarongo Te Kawa

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Wrapping everyone in a blanket of love, whakapapa and mauri for Matariki is the brave, exuberant and generous fabric art of Maungarongo Te Kawa, writes Amanda Thompson. E te Atua Nau enei rau harakeke he taonga Tukuna ki a matou Kia tika o matou mahi Ko Papatuanuku e takoto nei Tuturu Whakamaua Kia tina, tina … Read more

Inheritance: The Matariki play that explores class privilege

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Inheritance plays as part of The Basement Theatre’s Matariki season this week. Sam Brooks talks to one of its creators about what the show wants to say. Jess Holly Bates has quite a bit of experience making shows that start conversations. Her show Real White Fake Dirt critiqued Pākehā privilege in a way that was both … Read more

The Unity children’s bestseller chart for the month of June

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What’s the best way to get adults reading? Get them reading when they’re children – and there’s no better place to start than the Unity Children’s Bestseller Chart. These lists of the bestselling children’s books at Unity Wellington and Little Unity in Auckland cover the four weeks to July 4 2019. AUCKLAND 1  Te Tiriti … Read more

Dietary Requirements podcast: We get hungry for hāngī in this Matariki special

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Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by hāngī master Rewi Spraggon and his co-owner in The Māori Kitchen, Ganesh Raj, to have a yarn about Matariki, the Māori new year.  Every winter, the nine stars … Read more

Matariki: about the Māori New Year and how to celebrate it

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Matariki is a time to gather with friends and family and reflect on the year that has been and plan for the year ahead. Here’s a quick explainer. Extra reporting by Leonie Hayden Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleaides star cluster. It rises during Pipiri (June/July) and marks the beginning of the Māori … Read more

Rangatahi take the UN… again

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They’re young, they’re hungry, and they’re not taking any crap. Waves of rangatahi activists are using the UN to share kaupapa Māori values with the world.  In 2017 Te Ara Whatu became the first all-rangatahi Māori delegation to attend a UN Conference, and played a significant role in advancing indigenous rights at the COP23 Climate … Read more

Tino reka! Fry bread, creamed pāua and boil-up for Waitangi Day

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Chef Luke Adams shares three delicious Māori dishes. As he whipped up an on-trend beetroot and farro concoction in the kitchen of a cafe in Auckland’s Newmarket, Luke Adams talked us through how to make something very different — the kai he was raised with. Adams (Te-Uri-o-Tai hapū, Te Aupōuri iwi) is head chef at … Read more

Futurism Aotearoa: A Māori sci-fi festival touches down in Auckland

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A series of Māori Futurist events take place this weekend (July 6-8) at Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland’s CDB. Self-identified ‘Space Māori’ Dan Taipua picks out some highlights from the schedule. In a few hundred years time the world will be washed into a new shape. Today’s islands will have disappeared from the the light … Read more

‘We all need kindness’: theatre director Rose Kirkup on her show Big J Stylez

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Everybody Cool Lives Here is one of Wellington’s most exciting theatre companies, and their work Big J Stylez comes to Auckland’s Herald Theatre this week as part of Matariki Season. Sam Brooks interviews artistic director Rose Kirkup. “The award-winning theatre company Everybody Cool Lives Here produces art that reflects and celebrates Aotearoa’s unique and diverse identity,” reads … Read more

Everything you wanted to know about Matariki 2018 but were too embarrassed to ask

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Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, we look at the meaning of Matariki. Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleaides star cluster. It rises during mid-winter and marks the beginning of the Māori new year. The word is an abbreviation of Ngā Mata … Read more

Putting diversity in lights on the Auckland Harbour Bridge

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One of the best reasons for lighting the Auckland Harbour Bridge is that it makes diversity impossible to ignore, writes Vector’s Beth Johnson. These days, the words ‘kia ora’ are everywhere: it’s part of our everyday chat throughout New Zealand. It’s how we say hello. In the not-too-distant past greeting customers with a “kia ora” … Read more