MATA with Mihingarangi Forbes

The Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong sits down with Mihingarangi to discuss her party's newly released policies on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tino rangatiratanga and Māori development, and what they could mean for Māori voters.

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The Human Rights Commission says the government has failed to recognise and support the forestry workers, whānau and communities exposed to the highly toxic timber preservative pentachlorophenol (PCP). Mihingarangi speaks with Sawmill Workers Against Poisons co-chair Kereama Akuhata and longtime campaigner and former Green MP Catherine Delahunty about PCP’s intergenerational legacy and the ongoing struggle to access the support affected whānau need.

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The nation watched with urgency as police searched for Tom Phillips and his three children. But as the search faded from the headlines over the following three years, so too did the voice of the woman left behind. For the first time since her children were found, Cat Christey tells her story.

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One of Aotearoa’s oldest and most extraordinary archaeological discoveries remains buried beneath the sands of Rēkohu, two years after it was found. Mihingarangi Forbes speaks with archaeologist Dr Justin Maxwell, with additional perspectives from Monique Croon (Deputy Chair, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Trust), Thomas Lanauze (Chair, Moriori Imi Settlement Trust), and one of the local men who discovered the waka Vince Dix.

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Matariki is a time to remember loved ones who have passed. Reo and tikanga exponents Niwa Milroy and Heeni Te Mate Koiwi know that journey of grief intimately. Heeni shares the loss of her daughter Taiiringa last year, while Niwa reflects on farewelling both of her parents Wharehuia and Marion. Together with Stacey Morrison, they explore how tikanga and mātauranga Māori can help us navigate grief, honour our loved ones, and find healing.

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A day after announcing their flagship tax policy, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson speaks to Mihingarangi about tackling “corporate greed,” how banning bottom trawling will impact the bottom line for iwi, the Greens' strategy in the Māori seats, and the party’s coalition bottom lines -- would they consider working with NZ First to change the government?

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Kiringāua Cassidy belongs to a generation of Ngāi Tahu rangatahi raised in te reo Māori. As a tangata hauā who uses a wheelchair, he has also navigated Māori spaces that haven't always been designed with accessibility in mind. Kiringāua joins Stacey Morrison to discuss reo, leadership and belonging, and what it will take to ensure physical barriers never become barriers to language, identity and belonging.

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State abuse survivor and Māori advocate for Intersex Aotearoa, Tu Chapman discusses New Zealand First’s bill to legally define “woman” and “man” and the consequences critics warn it could have for intersex, transgender and non-binary communities.

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Hosted by Stacey Morrison, this special episode takes a hard look at whether the structure of our reo organisations is fit for purpose. Te Mātāwai’s Penetaui Kleskovich and researcher Dr Awanui Te Huia share their thoughts on what’s working, what’s not, and whether the current system is strong enough for the future.

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Everlee Wihongi's mother Betty discusses her daughter's detention in the US and issues a request for support from the New Zealand government.

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National's James Meager sits down for a wide-ranging interview, discussing the coalition government's controversial positions on te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, reflecting on his Ngāi Tahu identity & his mahi as Minister for Te Wai Pounamu alongside his Hunting and Fishing & Youth portfolios.

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The war in Tehran may feel a world away, but its impacts are already hitting home. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Deb Ngarewa-Packer says whānau here are feeling the squeeze. So what does this mean for Māori, how much worse could it get, and is the government moving fast enough?

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Following a High Court win, Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been reinstated after a very personal and public feud that's gripped the motu. But how will her "repatriation" work in practice? And will she stay?

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Willie Jackson speaks to Mihingarangi about Labour's plan to reclaim the Māori seats, what it has learnt from its last term in government, and whether it plans to work with or against Te Pāti Māori and the Greens.

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Labour leader Chris Hipkins joins MATA to share his views on the political landscape, including whom he would and would not work with, and what Labour could have done better in government.

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Ahead of Waitangi Day, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka joins Mihingarangi Forbes for a wide-ranging interview, discussing the Treaty Principles Bill, the Ngāpuhi settlement, emergency housing, whether he has ambitions to become Attorney-General, and Peeni Henare’s shock resignation.

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MATA Reports examines the crisis within Te Pāti Māori as an exclusive poll of Māori voters reveals the impact on its support.

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MATA Reports investigates how two rundown police houses in the Horowhenua town of Shannon slipped through the cracks of government process when they were supposed to be protected within a treaty land-banking process.

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Ousted Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris speaks candidly to Mihingarangi Forbes about the mounting internal tensions within Te Pāti Māori that led to the current fall out. John Tamihere was approached to respond to the allegations made in this episode. He declined to comment on what he described as "any matters based on hearsay, innuendo, accusation, or insinuation."

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In an extended interview, co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi discuss their plan to change the government, their priority policies, and how they will steady their waka after one of the most turbulent periods in the party’s history.

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For years, Destiny Church shaped every part of Lynia Morseu-Tol's life: her faith, her family, and her identity. As a takatāpui wahine Māori, its teachings left her feeling ashamed, conflicted, and alone—all while she endured years of abuse at home. 16 years after leaving the church, Lynia speaks out about its leaders, whom she believes failed to protect her, and condemns Ngāti Uenuku - Rainbow Community. This is Lynia's story of reckoning with faith, identity, and whānau.

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Minister of Finance Nicola Willis discusses the significant challenges facing Aotearoa's economy. The latest figures show GDP has contracted more sharply than forecast, while investor confidence has fallen to lows not seen since COVID. With unemployment climbing and the cost of living putting pressure on whānau across the motu, what is her plan to kick-start the economy, and what role might iwi play in the recovery?

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RNZ's latest Reid Research poll shows Te Pāti Māori's hold on the Māori seats could decide who forms the next government. We speak to Media Specialist Carmen Parahi and political commentator Shane Te Pou to discuss Te Pāti Māori's big win in Tāmaki, their controversial media ban, and an unapologetic MP's racially charged posts.

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The fight for te reo Māori has entered a new phase. From school books and government agencies to eacher training and even passports, the place of te reo is under intense scrutiny. In this episode of Mata, Te Taura Whiri Māori Language Commission chair Professor Rawinia Higgins joins Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira to discuss the future of Aotearoa's first language.

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As voters head to the poll for the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, Labour’s Peeni Henare and Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara join Mihingārangi to discuss the issues facing whānau in the biggest Polynesian city in the world. From housing to health to te reo Māori, he wānanga kei te haere.

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Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick joins Mihingarangi for an unflinching conversation about the surge in homelessness and energy poverty, the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the electoral law changes that could reshape democracy in Aotearoa.

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Former Black Fern Cheryl Waaka represented Aotearoa New Zealand with pride. Now she's fighting stage 4 bowel cancer, which she believes could have been caught earlier. As the government walks back a targeted Māori screening programme, she's speaking out about the cost of delay, the price of treatment, and the lives still at risk.

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Labour spokesperson for Children and Education, Willow-Jean Prime explains why she believes the education system and Oranga Tamariki are failing Māori, her opposition to Act’s bootcamps, and why Shane Jones’ Ngāpuhi settlement plan is a non-starter.

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Mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni lays out her vision for Tāmaki Makaurau, the challenges facing the Super City, and makes her case to voters in a race that could reshape Auckland's future.

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In the wake of an unprecedented punishment for the haka that drew global attention to the Treaty Principles Bill, Te Pāti Māori legal representative Tania Waikato reflects on the fallout, the opposition to the Regulatory Standards Bill, and what this moment reveals about Māori political power.

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Chris Hipkins discusses the impact of the budget on Māori and how Labour plans to win back voters.

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With ACT’s record 2023 election result and David Seymour’s rise to Deputy Prime Minister, the party is reshaping Aotearoa’s political landscape. But behind its growing power is a network of ideas—some homegrown, some imported—that raise questions about its stance on Te Tiriti and indigenous rights. Mata explores the forces shaping David Seymour’s ideologies, through the eyes of a former party insider.

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E tū Union National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh discusses the government’s controversial Equal Pay Amendment Act that makes it harder for women-dominated workforces to achieve pay equity.

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Shane Jones is back on the frontlines, taking the war on woke to the Waitākere Ranges and backing a bill that would define womanhood and manhood by biology. The NZ First senior minister on co-governance, culture wars, and the politics of identity.

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Minister of Education Erica Standford speaks to Mihingarangi about lifting Māori achievement in education and the delivery of the school lunch programme.

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Green MP Hūhana Lyndon on taking on the Public Works Act.

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From Whānau Ora and foreign policy to frozen (or scalding) school lunches, political veterans Nanaia Mahuta and Tau Henare unpack the political stories of the week.

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In an extended interview, Willie Jackson discusses the state of the Māori nation, including the controversial resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal.

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Following a “tense” pōwhiri at Waitangi, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith discuss the health of Māori-Crown relations.

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MP for Te Tai Tokerau Mariameno Kapa-Kingi discusses Te Pāti Māori’s proposal for a treaty commissioner and the challenges facing her electorate as Ngāpuhi hosts the commemorations for the 185th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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Greens co-leader Marama Davidson announces her return to mahi after breast-cancer treatment. In an exclusive interview with Mata, Davidson discusses her experience of the health system, her prognosis for parliamentary politics, and her priorities for the year ahead.

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Four months after her body was found on a Northland beach, Joanna Sione-Lauaki's murder is unsolved. Her whānau is desperate for answers -- and they want cruel rumours to stop, so they can grieve.

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“Insulting to everybody”—former Minister for Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little shares his views on the Treaty Principles Bill, the realignment of Te Arawhiti, the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, and the inquiry into state abuse.

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The mother of the three missing Marokopa children tells Mata Reports she believes a recent exchange between a pig hunter and her daughter was a cry for help.

Watch the video version of this story here.

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In 2022, Perenara McAllister was killed in emergency accommodation. It was captured on CCTV and seen by witnesses, but police refuse to charge the man who stabbed him. His parents speak out about their fight for justice.

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Early one Saturday evening back in March 2022, Ange McAllister’s phone started buzzing from a number she didn’t recognise.

She wasn’t feeling well and was trying to rest, so she ignored it. But the caller was insistent, ringing and ringing, so Ange eventually answered.

What she heard was a jumble of words, and the sound of tears and distress.

As she comprehended what was being said, and the message sunk in, Ange’s world collapsed.

She stumbled into the lounge to tell her husband, Noel, what she’d just been told: “Perenara’s dead.”

Their 30-year-old son – the matāmua (eldest) of their Te Puke whānau; the boy who’d grown up at the marae helping Noel mow the lawns, and had gone off to chase his dream of becoming a farmer before a brain-injury turned his life upside down – had been stabbed to death.

But even though he was killed in front of witnesses and the incident was captured on CCTV, the whānau is still seeking answers, still desperate for someone to take responsibility.

Police arrested a man at the scene that night and issued a press statement saying charges “are being considered”.

But soon after, the man – who could be heard on the CCTV admitting to stabbing Perenara – was released without charge.

Perenara (Tapuika) died moments after a chaotic, violent incident at emergency accommodation near Hamilton.

He had tried to intervene to calm the situation and protect a woman. His whānau were told by police he had done the right thing and died a hero.

But that did not take away the pain of their grief, or their frustration over the outcome of the investigation.

“The head detective came here maybe a week [after the tangi] … and they told us that our son did what any decent person would do but they’re not going to charge the guy, they’re letting him go,” Noel told Mata Reports. “We were in shock.”

The McAllisters say police told them it was self-defence, but after watching the CCTV they disagree.

“We watched it and that confirmed to me that they’d made a mistake,” Noel said.

Perenara’s mother, Ange, said watching the footage was difficult. “I was so proud of our son because the whole time he was calm and where other people stood back and did nothing, he did something. There’s no way it was self-defence.”…

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Treaty lawyer and former Mana Party candidate Annette Sykes discusses the amendments to the Marine and Coastal Areas Act, and Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris shares how it will impact his electorate and his first year in Parliament.

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Te Rūnanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori co-chair Rawiri Wright discusses Te Wiki o Te Reo, and Taxpayer Union Executive Director Jordan Willliams shares his views on the Treaty Principles Bill.

Te Rūnanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori co-chairperson Rawiri Wright discusses Te Wiki o Te Reo, and Taxpayer Union Executive Director Jordan Willliams shares his views on the Treaty Principles Bill.

Over the weekend, Te Rūnanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori co-chair Rawiri Wright shared a transformative experience with his two sons, Kereama and Manawa.

The three received their mataora at Ruamata Marae.

The pursuit of te reo Māori has been a form of activism for Rawiri and his whānau, and reviving mataora is another expression of that activism. Their mokopapa was held on the 42nd anniversary of the Māori Language Petition being delivered to Parliament and on the eve of te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

Wright told Mata there were more people speaking Māori now than there had ever been, but the proportion of Māori speakers as a percentage of the total population of Māori was declining.

"That's a concern for me," he said.

"We're close to a million people now. But the proportion of us, so if you take that 24 percent of us are speakers of Māori to one degree or another, that means that there are just under 250,000 Māori who speak Māori.

"Now, that's more Māori who have ever spoken Māori if we look back in history.

"Then you add to those the non-Māori who are speakers of Māori and, you know, that paints another picture.

"But it talks to me about the ongoing dislocation of the majority of Māori from te ao Māori."

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Mata is at the tangihanga of the seventh Maaori monarch as the motu descends on Tuurangawaewae to pay their respects. We speak to Waikato Tainui Communications Manager Jason Ake, broadcaster Rangi Pokiha, and Waikato communications strategist Amomai Pihama.

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Tina Olsen-Ratana is a landowner who's landless. For over a century, her whānau's whenua has been caught in perpetual lease, which prevents them from utilising it. As New Zealanders debate the notion of 'one law for all,' we look at the intergenerational impact of the perpetual lease system on Māori landowners.

Watch the video version here.

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In this new video investigation from the Mata Reports series by the Aotearoa Media Collective, Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee-Mather visit Kawerau and hear warnings about the fast-track legislation.

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As the country debates the merits of fast-track legislation, Mata Reports looks at an early example, one that took place in Kawerau under the 1954 Tasman Pulp and Paper Company Enabling Act.

The government of the time, committed to industrial development, led to the paper industry boom enabled by an abundant supply of raw material from maturing pine forests, planted decades earlier around the war.

But with the jobs and the profits came the issue of waste. Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill owners were looking for somewhere to dump industrial waste and soon after they decided they had found the perfect place.

Te Kete Poutama, an area of land on the outskirts of Kawerau, to the eye it looked like it wasn’t being used - a convenient place to pipe sludge, other than the Tarawera River which had become known as the Black Drain.

Despite the resistance from some Māori who believed the whenua and the nearby lake Rotoitipaku was significant and historic – the captains of industry had the law on their side.

“When [my parents] tried to argue with the people involved they said, ‘Well … there’s nothing you can do’,” says Tomairangi Fox, of Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau.

Back in 1954, Parliament had passed the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill Enabling Act, which fast-tracked its construction and gave the company sweeping rights to use land and waterways.

Decades on the boom days are well and truly over, the unemployment rate is nearly three times the national average and in 2018 New Zealand Index of Multiple Deprivation in the Bay of Plenty found Kawerau as one of the most deprived communities.

And with the growth in automation and newsprint in decline, the jobs Kawerau families relied upon had all but disappeared.

The mill is gone, too, with paper production cut in 2021, leaving hundreds jobless.

Meanwhile the original owners of the land used as a dumping ground have been left wondering whether their whenua can ever be restored – and who will pay.

The owner of the mill when it ceased operations, Norwegian-owned Norske Skog Tasman, has gone into liquidation.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has asked engineering experts to consider a “closure plan” for the dump site, and Norske Skog says money has been left aside to cover the proposed rehabilitation work.

But Fox and many others are concerned about the future of their whenua…

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Kaipara District Councillor Pera Paniora speaks about her council’s decision to scrap its Māori ward, and commentators Hinurewa Te Hau and Meka Whaitiri discuss the latest in politics.

After the Kaipara District Council voted to suddenly disestablish its Māori ward, Pera Paniora speaks about her seat being scrapped and how the vote unfolded amid loud protests.

Earlier this month Kaipara District Council became the first local government body to scrap its Māori ward after the government passed legislation ordering councils with Māori wards to either axe them or hold a referendum in the 2025 elections.

But it has been reported the move by the Kaipara District Council (KDC) could end up costing them more than $100,000 in legal costs, after it opted to scrap the ward before ratepayers had the opportunity to cast their vote in a referendum. Ngāti Whātua are taking legal action requesting a judicial review in the High Court.

Pera Paniora, who held the seat for the KDC Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori Ward when it was disestablished, by a six to three council vote (with one abstention), told Mata the move was sudden, and consistent with a string of moves the council has taken to shut out Māori voices.

She estimated about 300 people were at the council meeting and calling for the Māori ward to be kept, including members from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (in Auckland) and from Northland iwi Ngātiwai, Te Roroa, Ngāpuhi.

"The writing was on the wall from the time that I've faced in amongst this council of elected members in the last approximately two years, and so it wasn't surprising for me," Paniora said.

"But I was quite overwhelmed by the tautoko and the support that we received from all of our mana whenua, iwi and hapū during and throughout the day.

"It was a real show of kotahitanga - unity and solidarity - throughout that day."

Paniora believed the council held the meeting in a way that deliberately excluded those there to support keeping the Māori ward.

"The rest of the elected members had tried really hard to ensure that there was no room in the building - so that building had been chosen specifically to exclude our people - the blinds were put down so they couldn't be seen and the windows were all closed so that they couldn't be heard…

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Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime discusses the opposition to 7AA and the Ngāpuhi hīkoi to Parliament, and Green MP Tamatha Paul shares her views on military boot camps.

On Monday, Ngāpuhi representatives led a hīkoi to Parliament in opposition to the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.

Currently, 827 tamariki in state care whakapapa to Ngāpuhi.

Ngāpuhi walked out of the National Iwi Chairs Forum, attended by the Prime Minister and a number of other government ministers, on Friday.

Labour List MP in Northland, and spokesperson for children and youth, Willow-Jean Prime said Ngāpuhi are hōhā.

"They are hōhā with policies and legislation that this government is driving and the impact that that is having on Māori, and included in that is, of course, the repeal of Section 7AA."

"There are no Māori that have submitted to the select committee who have said, 'We support the repeal of Section 7AA', they are all opposed."

On 29 July, 10 youth offenders, aged between 15 and 18, began at the government's new boot camp pilot in Te Papaioea - Palmerston North. Nine are Māori.

Rangitāne Māori education expert Professor Meihana Durie, a descendant of Rangitāne from the hapū of Te Rangitepāia, was surprised about the lack of consultation with his hapū. Had consultation occurred, his hapū could have stated they believed other things could be done to better the lives of vulnerable rangatahi, he said.

Oranga Tamariki acknowledged it should have engaged with mana whenua earlier, but remains committed to the programme, despite damning findings into the Whakapakari boot camp, and others raised in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care…

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Former Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson shares his views on the upcoming Treaty Principles Bill and Seymour's Pharmac Treaty directive. Then we're joined by panelists Hinurewa Te Hau and Dr. Lara Greaves.

Labour Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson says the government is introducing the Treaty Principles Bill "by stealth."

Opposition to the ACT Party's proposed bill continues to grow, with former National Minister Hekia Parata describing it as a misuse of the select committee and backing calls to boycott the process.

She said it should be left as "an echo chamber of that small, easily identified crowd."

The criticism came after a group of mātanga reo Māori language experts criticised the bill for mistranslating the text of Te Tiriti.

A draft of the bill is expected to be released to the public this year.

Jackson said Parata's criticism of the bill was "meaningful," considering her background.

"You're not talking about, you know, some two-bit MP; you're talking about one of the star performers for National. Really proud to see her come out like that," he told Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes.

Jackson said he had heard other prominent Māori calling the bill an "unspeakable violation" and "the most flagrant breach of the Treaty in modern times."

"Chris Finlayson, Hekia's former colleague, is just furious… Andrew Kibblewhite, secretary of justice, he said there's no support for it in legislation, judicial interpretation, and expert opinion… Jim Bolger came out against it. Doug Graham came out against it. Professor Andrew Geddis came out against it—he's Pākehā, you know? We're not just talking Māori here calling it totally reckless.

"But this [ACT leader David] Seymour, no, he knows more than everyone."

Jackson said even if National did not support it, even letting it get to select committee was causing "so much damage."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has previously ruled out his party supporting the bill beyond select committee.

Jackson said recent changes to Pharmac's directive made it seem as if the bill had been "introduced anyway."…

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Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka discusses the big challenges facing Māori and how the coalition government plans to address them.

Watch the video version of this episode here.

The Minister for Māori Development is standing by what language experts call a "factually incorrect" translation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

A group of 27 licensed Māori translators have hit out at the upcoming Treaty Principles Bill, calling the translation of te Tiriti it's based on "deeply misleading."

Speaking to RNZ's Mata, Minister Tama Potaka admitted he did not know who in the ACT Party did the translation and reaffirmed his party's commitment to seeing the bill pass its first reading.

"I've seen the letter, and I'm very appreciative of it.

"I'm not aware of who within the ACT Party has been involved in doing this work. It's very important to me to ensure we follow through on our coalition commitments, but we also follow through on some of the genuine concerns of ours that our mātanga reo have raised."

[audio_play] Listen to the full episode

Asked whether he would continue to support the bill even if concerns around the quality of the translation continued, Potaka said he was "bound by coalition commitments."

"I will continue to raise the genuine concerns of constituents and mātanga reo. I will take those issues forward."

'Based on distortions'

Language revitalist Piripi Walker, one of the 27 signatories, told RNZ the translation was a "bluff."

"It turns out that it's false; it's kind of a bluff. It was able to be worked on during the election campaign, but it's based on distortions.

"The question is whether the government wants to be led along a very narrow and dangerous path by that kind of thinking."

Walker said the quality of translation that goes through Parliament should be of the highest quality.

"Translation is a humble profession. It is not easily understood by a lot of people because it just does its work quietly. But that's the point. It's got its own disciplines and rules and requirements to be pono or truthful.

"When you work with material from the history, you're not allowed to pretend that it is something else. You're not allowed to distort it or introduce things that aren't in there, and you're not allowed to leave a whole lot of the key things out…

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Green MP Teanau Tuiono on the failure of the latest carbon credits auction and what it means for our climate targets. Then Shane Te Pou and India Logan-Riley discuss the future of the ETS.

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Dr. Shane Reti on the government's failure to fund 13 promised cancer treatments and what the budget means for Maori. Then patient advocate Malcolm Mulholland and health expert Dr. Rawiri McKree-Jansen share their views.

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Te Pāti Māori leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi on their nationwide activation to disrupt Budget 2024 and commentators Dr Lara Greaves and Shane Te Pou discuss the latest in politics.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Te Pāti Māori leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi on their nationwide activation to disrupt Budget 2024 and commentators Dr Lara Greaves and Shane Te Pou discuss the latest in politics.

Māori are being called to "stand and rise" and join a national strike on Thursday by Te Pāti Māori leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, as the coalition government announces the budget.

In an Instagram post published jointly with Te Pāti Māori, organisers called for all Māori and Tangata Tiriti to go on strike on Thursday and protest the government's policies affecting Māori.

It is the latest chapter of Māori activation after Kiingi Tuuheitia called for a national hui at Tuurangawaewae Marae in January, attended by thousands of people.

Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi told Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes that their call for a strike was to continue the call of kotahitanga (unity in Māori) and also ask people to consider whether they had reached a bottom line where they would not tolerate the actions of the government any longer.

"For far too long, we've allowed them to assume, under the guise of kāwanatanga, absolute sovereignty and control ... for far too long we've allowed them to domesticate us," Waititi said.

Hikoi were planned throughout the country, including at Parliament.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was "wrong" for Te Pāti Māori to be calling people to take the day off work and the planned strike was "illegal".

Labour leader Chris Hipkins also voiced concerns over not breaking the law.

There are clear rules around strikes, including being in a collective agreement and striking in the context of bargaining.

However, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi dismissed those comments, and said they were not operating in a Western context.

"Of course, he's going to say it's illegal, because it's in a kāwanatanga space," Waititi said.

"He can say all he likes, at the end of the day we are acting in our rangatiratanga, we are acting in Article 2, which was the protection of the pre-existing rights of tangata whenua to be undisturbed  of our whenua, to be undisturbed of our kainga, to be undisturbed of our taonga."

Commentators Dr Lara Greaves and Shane Te Pou, who also feature on the episode, said just because striking law had clear rules, it did not have to stop people from joining in the action…

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Whānau Ora chairperson Merepeka Raukawa-Tait on 7AA and the future of Whānau Ora under the coalition. Then Kiritapu Allan and Haimona Gray discuss the politics of toilets and tikanga, as well as what might be in the budget for Māori.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Whānau Ora chairperson Merepeka Raukawa-Tait on 7AA and the future of Whānau Ora under the coalition. Then Kiritapu Allan and Haimona Gray discuss the politics of toilets and tikanga, as well as what might be in the budget for Māori.

Whānau Ora chairperson Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says she is concerned the government tabled a bill to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act during a recess week.

Raukawa-Tait told Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes anything good would have been done while Parliament was in session, so full exposure could be given to it.

She believed the timing was chosen to prevent people having their say about it.

Repealing section 7AA was devastating, Raukawa-Tait said.

It had only been implemented in recent years in an attempt by Oranga Tamariki to ensure tamariki do not become disenfranchised and lose their connection with whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Staying connected was "very important to their long-term health and wellbeing," she said.

Raukawa-Tait said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not understand what section 7AA was all about - and he needed to learn the history of Oranga Tamariki.

She said tamariki Māori had "never" been safe in state care, and there was a lot the government agency needed to correct.

"I know that it has been trying in recent years, but after so many reports over the last two decades - and that would be 15 to 16 to 18 reports - telling them what they're doing wrong, what they could do right, telling them about the safety issues, cultural, and also the physical and the emotional, and the other areas of concern that need to be addressed.

"So, this was a department that was attempting to do something so just to have it disappear, and not only that, he obviously doesn't understand that the culture is absolutely important to tamariki and shouldn't be denied them.

"That is not only their human right, their cultural right, that is their whakapapa right as well."

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We speak to Ngāti Pukenga representative Rahera Ohia about the iwi's Waitangi Tribunal claim over the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. Then panelists Charlie Rahiri and Koro Nicholas discuss what's on the agenda at the upcoming National Iwi Chairs Forum and the 160-year commemoration for the Battle of Pukehinahina.

Under 7AA, Ngā Pōtiki, Ngāti Pukenga, Waitaha, and Ngai Te Rangi created Te Whakaruruhau at the Ngā Parirau site for Oranga Tamariki in Papamoa, Ngāti Pukenga representative Rahera Ohia said.

"The thing that we really wanted to influence was the practice that they use at that site, particularly in relation to tamariki Māori, but also tamariki more generally.

"Because it's based on the idea that if you bring people's communities in to support them and to help them to guide them, to provide them with advice, then the results for them will be better than they would otherwise have been."

She said it had led to a drop in tamariki ending up in state care.

Ohia said the repeal of the section cast doubt on support for the organisation.

"The repeal of 7AA is creating a sense that the value of heritage and identity is being diminished, and if that's the case, since the early '80s, it's been clear that heritage and identity are critical to success if you're dedicated to improving outcomes for Māori, whether they be health or social outcomes."

The Waitangi Tribunal summoned the Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it and explain why she intended to repeal a section of the Oranga Tamariki Act.

Ohia expected Chhour to appear, but she did not.

"On the other hand, the evidence that was presented, notwithstanding that she wasn't there, is damning," Ohia said.

"We all have views about whether or not the practices of Oranga Tamariki have worked or not, but the evidence suggests in the case of Māori, it definitely hasn't. So without the assurance of 7AA, I don't know how we move forward."

She questioned if Māori could rely on Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.

"The only interest I have is whether or not Tama has our back."

Ngāti Ranginui chair Charlie Rahiri said more than 60 iwi leaders were expected to attend the National Iwi Chairs Forum from 1-3 May in Tauranga.

"Some of the hot-potato items obviously are the fast-track legislation, Oranga Tamariki, what's happening in the public sector with Māori-facing roles, and how our people are feeling at the moment…

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Former MFAT Minister Nanaia Mahuta shares her views on the Government's position on the war in Gaza, mandatory referendums for Māori wards, and the scrapping of Three Waters. Then we discuss the latest in politics with panelists Lara Grieve and Jack Tautokai McDonald.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Former MFAT Minister Nanaia Mahuta shares her views on the government's position on the war in Gaza, mandatory referendums for Māori wards, and the scrapping of Three Waters, and panelists Lara Grieve and Jack Tautokai McDonald discuss the latest in politics.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta said there was a high potential for the situation between Israel and Iran to escalate but also to cause "a regional spillover."

Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on Israel over the weekend, and New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined allies in urging Israel not to escalate tensions with Iran.

Mahuta said Arab nations in particular will be trying to calculate what Israel's next steps would be, and there would be pleas from numerous nations to de-escalate the situation.

What is happening in relation to Iran must be viewed in relation to what is happening in Gaza and the loss of around 34,000 Palestinian lives, she said.

"I think there's a lot of tense and tender observations from the international community to try and have a remedy to the situation in Gaza, which is a two-state solution, and accelerate talks there."

The United States' financial support for Israel's military action was also causing widespread concern across the international community, she said.

The weekend's strikes on Israel came following an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, which killed several high-ranking officers.

"Iran will be saying that it acted in a proportionate way to the actions of Israel. But if you get beyond words, no one can afford a regional spillover and further war escalating in that kind of way," Mahuta said.

Mahuta said she was observing what the Arab nations were doing to try to play an influencing role to ensure there was no retaliation.

Mahuta believed the New Zealand government was not doing enough to hold Israel to account for the situation in Gaza.

"I think there is more we can do to use our voice to continue to hold Israel to account for the loss of innocent lives that have taken place so far in Gaza - the loss of humanitarian aid workers, the inability to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the disproportionate actions that it is currently exacting on the Israeli people."…

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Historian Scott Hamilton on Aotearoa's dark history of segregation, and panelists Tina Wickliffe and Shane Te Pou discuss opposition to affirmative action, the surge in anti-trans protests, the government's 36-point plan, and we rate our new Māori MPs.

Historian Scott Hamilton on Aotearoa's dark history of segregation, and panelists Tina Wickliffe and Shane Te Pou discuss opposition to affirmative action, the surge in anti-trans protests, the government's 36-point plan, and we rate our new Māori MPs.

Many people find it "hard to believe" segregation existed in New Zealand, but it was widespread for decades, a historian says.

Scott Hamilton told Mata many people were familiar with the policy of assimilation, which existed in the 20th century. One of its most infamous examples was of Māori only being allowed to speak English at schools.

However, New Zealand had a "blend" of policies of segregation and assimilation right up until the mid-1900s.

Some of the most severe segregationist measures were introduced amid the smallpox epidemic of 1913, which began in the Māori community and was blamed on Māori.

"People were limited to their villages, they were cordoned off, they were only allowed to travel if they had a vaccination pass - and it was very difficult to get vaccinated," Hamilton said.

"There was a beginning, really, during the smallpox epidemic, of a pseudo-scientific idea which linked supposedly low standards of Māori hygiene to disease... It becomes a justification for all sorts of restrictions."

Pākehā pressured local government and businesses to adopt segregationist polices, and Māori were banned from, or restricted in their use of, public toilets, pools, hotels, and bars.

Hamilton cited a famous historical photo of the King's Arms bar in Auckland, which put up a sign saying 'natives will not be served here.'

Tangata whenua were not the only group targeted - Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern communities were also the victims of segregationist policies at different times, as were Jewish refugees in the 1940s.

In 1918, Indian residents of Hamilton complained to their mayor because all the barbers in the city were refusing to cut their hair, saying they posed a hygiene risk.

Hamilton said the Māori and Pasifika students' spaces at Auckland University - which drew ire from Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and ACT leader David Seymour last week - developed out of segregation suffered by those groups.

"They were unable to use their language on campus, there was nowhere they could go to express their culture, they were barred from pubs where Pākehā students could go and drink."…

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Mike Smith discusses his groundbreaking climate change court case, then commentators Khylee Quince and Matt Tukaki reflect on the first 100 days of the coalition government.

In this episode of Mata, Mike Smith discusses his groundbreaking climate change court case, then commentators Khylee Quince and Matt Tukaki reflect on the first 100 days of the coalition government.

The impacts of climate change on an iwi leader's whānau and whenua are already evident as he prepares to have his case against seven polluters heard in court, he says.

Climate activist Mike Smith, of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu, says the group, including Fonterra, Z Energy, and Genesis Energy (which together make around a third of New Zealand's emissions), have a legal duty to him and others in communities who are being damaged by planet-heating gases.

Smith told Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes a fundamental concern of his is that the government was going soft on polluting industries and will not take appropriate actions to bring them into line with Aotearoa's international obligations to reduce emissions as fast as possible.

"We're going to the courts to get binding decisions on behalf of the court that instruct the companies that they must start reducing their emissions at speed, and that, if they don't, they'll be liable for compliance and enforcement actions."

Smith's case focused on the impact the polluters were having on his whānau and whenua in the Far North.

"We can already observe the types of changes that climate change is impacting upon our people."

Smith said the Far North was suffering droughts and some towns have come "within days" of running out of drinkable water.

Storms, cyclones, coastal erosion, and floods were also happening more frequently, he said.

"It's blisteringly hot. This summer's been really, really hot... I look at some of our whānau working outside, and I'm sure that's having health implications for them."

Smith said his case was not just about adapting to climate change, but Aotearoa doing the best it can to prevent it, reduce emissions, and challenge industries and the government.

"We can all raise our voices together and create the type of mandate that's required for the government and our own iwi authorities and our own iwi businesses to start developing climate plans and to prepare for what's coming."

Smith said he was not sure when the case would be heard, but it was likely to be in 2025 or 2026.

For now, he was preparing his case, assembling evidence, and seeking expert witnesses it would call to give evidence in the trial…

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Former Minister of Broadcasting Willie Jackson speaks to Mihingarangi about the state of the media landscape following the demise of Newshub. Then, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson reacts to the review of the free school lunch scheme and the Government's transport plan.

Former Minister of Broadcasting Willie Jackson speaks to Mihingarangi about the state of the media landscape following the demise of Newshub. Then, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson reacts to the review of the free school lunch scheme and the Government's transport plan.

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In a fiery interview recorded at Waitangi, ACT leader David Seymour talks to Mihi about his views on Te Tiriti, Tino Rangatiratanga, and Te Ture Whenua Māori.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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In a candid interview on the eve of Waitangi Day, NZ First Minister Shane Jones discusses the recent criticism of his party by Māori, why he thinks it's time to review the Waitangi Tribunal, and whether or not Māori are indigenous.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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The fate of the Treaty of Waitangi is teetering on the brink of a popular vote, as the new coalition government pledges to introduce a Treaty Principles Bill, potentially triggering a referendum.

RNZ has upheld part of a complaint lodged by Jordan Williams of the New Zealand Taxpayers Union Inc. RNZ found that Mr Williams and the NZTU were not given sufficient opportunity to respond to statements made regarding the relationship between the NZTU and the Atlas Network.

The fate of the Treaty of Waitangi is teetering on the brink of a popular vote, as the new coalition government pledges to introduce a Treaty Principles Bill, potentially triggering a referendum.

The recent Australian voice-to-parliament referendum serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the precarious nature of safeguarding indigenous rights when subject to majority decision-making.

In an exploration of this critical issue, Mata speaks with prominent indigenous advocates, academics and treaty experts to uncover the motivations behind any potential erosion of Māori rights in Aotearoa.

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Launched in 2018, the Māori Carbon Collective was promoted as an indigenous approach to carbon farming, enabling iwi to prosper from the Emissions Trading Scheme while helping to tackle climate change. Mata investigates growing concerns around the group and its elusive managing director, as well as carbon farming's impact on Māori communities.

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In her first interview since the election, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta speaks about the latest in Gaza. Then former Labour MP for Northcote Shanan Halbert and former Māori Affairs Minister MP Tau Henare discuss coalition talks and the latest here at home.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Alf Filipaina and Kerrin Leoni speak to Mihingarangi about the Auckland Council voting against Māori wards, and commentators Tina Wickliffe and Dr. Lara Greaves discuss the latest in politics.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Tau Henare, Morgan Godfery, and a range of politicians join Mihingarangi Forbes to discuss the election results and what the future looks like for Māori.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Rawiri Waititi discusses racism, Te Tiriti, working with National, and his vision for Aotearoa hōu.

Watch the video version fo the episode here.

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In an extended interview, National Party candidate Tama Potaka discusses Māori development, co-governance, social housing, and land claims.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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In an extended interview, ACT leader David Seymour discusses whakapapa, te tiriti, co-governance, and his vision for Aotearoa.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Ikaroa Rāwhiti is set to be one of the most fiercely contested match-ups of the 2023 election, and the electorate's loyalty is about to be tested.

Go to 1news.co.nz or TVNZ+ to find the full video version.

Ikaroa Rāwhiti is set to be one of the most fiercely contested match-ups of the 2023 election. The seat has long been a Labour Party stronghold, but the electorate's loyalty is about to be tested.

The defection of Labour minister Meka Whaitiri to Te Pāti Māori and the announcement of NZ Rugby's Māori programme manager Cushla Tangere-Manuel as Labour's new candidate means Ikaroa Rāwhiti is up for grabs.

The electorate ranges from isolated rural settlements to struggling urban centres, and it's home to some of Aotearoa's most economically deprived communities. Voters here face a broad range of issues: climate change, failing infrastructure, perpetual land leases, meth addiction, and the cost-of-living crisis.

Now these two wāhine have to convince a cyclone-ravaged region that they have the skills and the experience to help rebuild the rohe.

Mata Reports takes a tiki tour from Matakaoa in the north to Wainuiomata in the south to speak to the people about the issues that will decide their vote.

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Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson talks to Mihingarangi about her role as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence. In an extended interview, she discusses the Green's relationship with Labour, tax, Hoki Whenua Mai, climate change, and the Kermadecs.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says a wealth tax bringing in $12 billion a year would provide the funds needed to reduce poverty in Aotearoa.

The Green's tax policy includes the 'income guarantee'. This promises every New Zealander their income after tax will never fall below $385 for a single person, $779 for a couple and $735 for a single parent.

"It will be paid for with a wealth tax that in total brings in about $12b in the first year. That will more than cover our income guarantee, our dental policies, our oceans policy, our hoki whenua mai, all of the policies that we are proposing," Davidson said.

"The Greens are clear we have to step up to the size of the challenges, and ending poverty - especially whānau and tamariki poverty - will go a long way to the Aotearoa that everybody deserves."

Māori land

A key Green policy, hoki whenua mai, would address the taking of Māori land and abolish the 2008 deadline for lodging new Treaty of Waitangi claims.

A $350m fund would be established to buy back stolen lands.

The policy would reinstate the ability for the Waitangi Tribunal to make recommendations about privately held land.

"When private land becomes available, iwi and hapū haven't had any way to hold onto that and that's what we would like to see the starting-off $350m fund being used for.

"Also, ending perpetual leases. Ending those 999 or even 99-year leases, where Māori have had no benefits and no control and no say and no ability to get their control back.

"Ending the ability for the Public Works Act to ... confiscate even more Māori land. All of those things are in our hoki whenua mai policy."

She said Māori did not want to "run whānau off their land with guns, which is what happened to Māori", but to begin discussions about the best way for Māori land to be released from historical leases and returned.

"Fair compensation" could be paid from the government's Treaty settlement funds to individuals or organisations whose leases were ended, she said.

The Greens want to establish a commission of inquiry into the extent of land dispossession and the adequacy of redress, …

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In an in-depth interview, Labour leader Chris Hipkins discusses Labour's tax policy, Māori housing inequity, the cost of living, and the climate crisis.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins believes there are better ways to bring down the cost of housing, electricity and groceries than new taxes.

But in at least three of those areas - electricity, banking and groceries - a third-term Labour-led government would not rule out taxes on excessive profits, should other measures fail to rein them in.

"Tax is not the only way you can tackle inequality," Hipkins - whose grasp on the prime ministership is looking shakier with every poll - told Mata this week.

"The policies that we are introducing and implementing as a government are actually I think making a meaningful difference on inequality."

An IRD document released in April, the High-Wealth Individuals Research Project Report, found the wealthiest New Zealanders pay an effective tax rate about half that the rest of us do, largely through untaxed capital gains.

Despite this, support for the idea from his former revenue minister and it being a key plank of likely coalition partner the Greens' platform, Hipkins has ruled out implementing any kind of wealth tax, should Labour lead the next government.

He has also ruled out a comprehensive capital gains tax, despite the recommendation from the Tax Working Group to target capital gains to ease the burden placed on wage and salary earners.

Housing

Currently, the bright-line test means residential property - aside from the family home in most instances, and a few other situations - attracts a capital gains tax if it is sold sooner than 10 years after purchase. National wants to lower this to two years.

Hipkins said other suggestions - such as a land tax, as proposed by The Opportunities Party - were not on the table.

"It's not something we're looking at at the moment," Hipkins told Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes.

"The main form of land tax we have at the moment is local government rates, which are levied on a combination of land and asset value - whatever sits on top of that land - so we already have that at the moment. We're not proposing to expand that further. …

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Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is shaping up to be one of the tightest races this election. We speak to its two leading candidates Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (Labour) and Meka Whaitiri (Te Pāti Māori).

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Shane Jones outlines NZ First's campaign to re enter parliament - their policies and priorities, including their controversial transgender toilet policy. Then we hear from commentators Tau Henare and Bernie O'Donnell

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Shane Jones outlines NZ First's campaign to re enter parliament - their policies and priorities, including their controversial transgender toilet policy. Then we hear from commentators Tau Henare and Bernie O'Donnell.

New Zealand First's campaign slogan 'Take back our country' is focused on five key issues: Taking a stand against racist separatism; fighting Australian owned banks and a supermarket duopoly; investing in health, social services and crime prevention; tax reform; and taking on the gangs.

NZ First is also promising to ban trans women from women's toilets and to make English an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Jones was part of a group which petitioned the government to "give effect to the aspirations" of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1978.

Jones said a lot of what they set out to achieve in terms of the Treaty had been delivered upon.

"Where I've ended up parting company is the way in which the Treaty has been, I feel unhinged from its moorings... and now it's used as a justification for every inequity that befalls us as a people."

It was impossible to deal with issues such as higher Māori mortality rates, truancy and prison rates simply by invoking the Treaty, he said.

"I genuinely feel that with the ideological fervour driving for co-governance, it has the capacity to weaken our status as a nation."

New Zealand had some big internal challenges and there was the potential for Sino-American conflict in the Pacific, he said.

"I'm very worried about internal bickering undermining our capacity and our robustness as a nation."

The best way to deal with inequities for Māori was by providing diverse delivery of services on the front line, he said.

"If you judge the quality of the service based on the outcome that's positive, but if you pretend by invoking the name of the Treaty and dredging up yet more tribunal reports, you're going to improve the quality of front-line service - I thoroughly disagree with that."

On the banning of trans women from women's toilets, Jones said there had been "no shortage of people" that had told the party it was an issue that needed to be addressed.

Jones said he believed attaching Māori names to organisations was tokenism in that doing so did not provide any corresponding improvement in services for Māori…

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In a special extended interview, Minister for Māori Development, Broadcasting, and Media Willie Jackson discusses housing, homelessness, Māori broadcasting, and his political future.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

In a special extended interview, Minister for Māori Development, Broadcasting, and Media Willie Jackson discusses housing, homelessness, Māori broadcasting, and his political future.

Labour MP Willie Jackson has described the Kiritapu Allan saga as "maybe the saddest thing I've ever seen."

Jackson, the manager for Labour's campaign to win the Māori seats at this year's election in October, told MATA he was planning to spend Wednesday with the former minister of justice.

"We talk every couple of days—but heartbreaking stuff, you know what I mean?" he told host Mihingarangi Forbes.

"We love Kiritapu. I know I do and my family does. She's a bit of a hero for my daughter—for a lot of young women, you know?"

Allan resigned all her ministerial portfolios in July after being charged with careless use of a motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer following a car crash in Wellington. She had returned a breath test over the legal limit, but at a level only considered an infringement offence.

The incident capped off a difficult few months for the East Coast MP, following allegations of bullying, a controversial speech made at a farewell party for an RNZ employee she was engaged to, then the split from her fiancé and taking time away from Parliament on mental-health leave.

"I've never seen anything quite like it," Jackson said of the car crash.

"We've never seen a justice minister get into this kind of trouble. But it doesn't take away the fact that she's got huge talent, she's passionate, a wonderful young woman."

Allan remains the MP for East Coast but will not contest the election in October. Jackson did not believe the charges meant the end of her political career.

"As I kept saying to her, 'You're only 39.' I've lived my life around people who have come back in terms of redemption. Kiritapu can do anything: she's a great entertainer, a lot of fun. She's a strong advocate. She's actually brilliant in that legal area—I've loved working with her in Parliament because she can break down all the intricacies so well. Some of us do the fronting and all that, but man, can Kiritapu break stuff down…

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Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono explains his party's new policy to return land wrongly taken from Māori. Then Mihingarangi Forbes talks to Professor Ella Henry and Shane Te Pou about Kiri Allan's resignation from cabinet and her decision not to stand for re-election.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

The Green Party's Teanau Tuiono spells out on how Hoki Whenua Mai would get more land back in Māori hands. Mihingarangi Forbes also speaks to panelists Professor Ella Henry & Shane Te Pou about Kiritapu Allan's decision not to stand at the next election, and how we might support MPs struggling with their mental health.

Henry said a strategy in Parliament which allowed MPs to be given formalised support from the communities that had put them forward could help people struggling with mental-health issues.

Two years ago, Kiritapu Allan was given a 13-percent chance of survival after a cervical-cancer diagnosis. She underwent months of treatment and returned to work.

Then recently she came under scrutiny from the opposition for alleged poor working relationships with some staff.

It came after her community was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle.

As her relationship ended with her long-term partner, Allan recognised she was struggling with her mental health.

The former justice minister resigned all her ministerial portfolios on Monday after being charged with careless driving and failing to accompany an officer following a car crash on Sunday night.

Today, Allan said she would not stand at this year's election, saying she had let her electorate down, her party down, and all those who relied on her.

Prof Henry said if Māori people were going to be put forward to Parliament, something needed to happen at the community level in terms of whānau, hapū, and iwi who should be prepared to wrap around them.

Allan obviously had a break point that she was not able to cope with, she said.

"You don't know when you go into Parliament what your breaking point will be, and so there's not only infrastructure needed around when that happens from within Parliament, but also you know the broader community that she works with and she's a part of."

True Māori leadership was being able to stand behind those people. "It's not who's out the front; it's who's out the back supporting the paepae," she said.

A strategy in Parliament that allowed that support to happen would not just benefit Māori, Henry said…

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In December 2021, three siblings vanished with their father from the isolated Waikato town of Marokopa, and it's now a year and a half since the tamariki were last seen. Their older sister Jubilee Dawson speaks for the first time about the toll it has taken on her whānau.

Go to 1news.co.nz or TVNZ+ to find the full video version.

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Dr Shane Reti explains why he'll shut down the Māori Health Authority if National is elected to the government. Mihingarangi Forbes also speaks to panelists AUT Dean of Law Khylee Quince & Te Pati Maori candidate Takutai Tarsh Kemp.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

The National Party's health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti explains why he'll shut down the Māori Health Authority if National is elected to the government. Mihingarangi Forbes also speaks to panelists AUT Dean of Law Khylee Quince & Te Pāti Māori candidate Takutai Tarsh Kemp.

Subconscious bias in healthcare is a large reason for the inequities between Māori and non-Māori, National Party health spokesperson Shane Reti says.

If the National Party were to win the election, Reti would disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora - Māori Health Authority and instead "ramp up" cultural-competency training for the sector.

"Nothing I've seen in the past year has convinced me otherwise," he told MATA.

"There may be some improvements. All the improvements I'm seeing are in structure, not actually in function—and actually, what Māori need are in functional outcomes."

He again called for the minister to release the independent review into the authority.

"This needs to be a balanced assessment of the review, but I'm hearing it just shows challenges."

Asked if there were any areas in health where there was no inequity between Māori and non-Māori, Reti said in "almost any area" of health you pointed to, "Māori do worse" than non-Māori.

"I think a large part of those inequities are actually grounded in subconscious bias, and for me, the way to address that subconscious bias is actually through cultural competency—both through medical and nursing school training, at an organisational level, at a college level..."

Māori health providers also need to be empowered so care could be delivered "close to the home and close to the hapū," Reti said.

Asked how he would roll out cultural competency so it reaches everywhere, if he was to become the Minister of health, Reti said he would make it a general policy statement…

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Children's Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers speaks about the investigation into Oranga Tamariki, then panelists Denise Roche and Tau Henare discuss the National Party conference, Labour's new candidate in Ikaroa Rāwhiti, and the health equity assessment tool.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Former Green MP Denise Roche has labelled opposition reaction to the health equity tool as "hysteria" and says it is "dogwhistling."

Roche, former Māori Affairs Minister Tau Henare, and former Green MP Denise Roche discussed the tool with Mihingarangi Forbes on MATA.

The 'equity adjuster' tool uses an algorithm to rank people waiting for surgery for more than two years.

Clinical priority, time already spent on waitlist, rural isolation, deprivation level, and ethnicity—namely, prioritising Māori and Pasifika over others—are the five criteria used.

A Newstalk ZB story published last week said the tool was introduced in February, in Auckland and Northland, though it was already in use before then—and had been reported on in various media outlets.

Opposition parties National and ACT have been critical of the ethnicity measure—and as Mediawatch reported, ACT launched a campaign and National pushed out a press release titled "Race Has No Place In Surgical Decisions" just hours after the Newstalk ZB story was published.

The opposition then used question time in Parliament to make their concern known.

National's Shane Reti called it offensive and wrong. His party's leader Christopher Luxon said waitlists should only be prioritised by need.

ACT's David Seymour said, "Everything should be nationwide, but this particular policy of putting some people up the list and some people down with the same need but different races, we just oppose. We think it's wrong. We think people should be treated according to their circumstances, and their clinical need, their location, and their deprivation—not their ethnicity."

Green Party leader Marama Davidson said the nature of the questions raised by MPs in Parliament were "absolutely intended to raise racist opinions amongst the New Zealand public." Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said opposition parties were "race-baiting."

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has asked for a hold to be put on the rollout of the tool after asking Health Minister Ayseha Verrall to review it…

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Manukau Ward Councillor Alf Filipaina talks about his opposition to the sale of Auckland International Airport shares. Then it's the latest in politics with Stuff political reporter Glenn McConnell & commentator Shane Te Pou.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Manukau Ward councillor Alf Filipaina speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes about why he opposed the sale of the Auckland International Airport shares and what it means to South Auckland. Then we discuss the latest in politics with Stuff political reporter Glenn McConnell & commentator Shane Te Pou.

Manukau Ward councillor Alf Filipaina told MATA it was important to keep the council's Auckland Airport shares—which it recently agreed to sell part of—within New Zealand.

Last week, Auckland Council voted to sell 7 percent of its shares in Auckland Airport, reducing its stake to 11.1 percent as part of a plan to reduce its debt and limit rate rises.

Mayor Wayne Brown's second compromise proposal was passed 14 votes to 6, with one abstention.

Some of the councillors who voted in favour of the sale expressed reluctance, noting they did not want to sell the shares but were voting for other parts of the mayor's budget.

"I don't feel happy, but it is what it is," Filipaina told MATA.

"Those that voted not to sell partial or full sale—we were always adamant that that is the line because of benefits that we can see, not only for our whānau now but our younger generations and generations to come."

During the council debate on 9 June, Filipaina asked for the council's current headroom in its debt-to-revenue ratio and was told there was about $2 billion to go before it reached its 290 percent cap.

Credit rating companies Moody's Investor Service and S&P had informed the council up to $140m could be borrowed without affecting the council's ratings, Filipaina said.

"We have a debt of just I think on $12 billion, but we've got an asset of about $70 billion, and they're the ones that said yes, we should. We've got no problems around the 140 million.

"This is our airport—Aotearoa's airport—so therefore then we should be keeping as much of a stake in the airport."

He said it was important to support any New Zealand groups, such as mana whenua or Waikato-Tainui, to ensure those shares stay within the country and did not go offshore.

The council had previously increased its shares to avoid a majority stake bid in 2007 by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, he said. An attempt by a Canadian pension fund to take a 40 percent stake in 2008 was vetoed by the then-Labour government…

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Former cabinet minister Hekia Parata discusses the Ministerial Inquiry she led into forestry debris in Te Tai Rāwhiti and Wairoa. Then Mihingarangi Forbes is joined by panelists Dr Lara Grieves and Dr Will Flavell to discuss the latest in politics.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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60-year-old closed adoptee Jenny Small is looking for her whakapapa. But the search to find her whānau is complex. It involves one of New Zealand's most notorious psychiatric institutions and a 68-year-old law that cut thousands of Māori off from their identity.

60-year-old closed adoptee Jenny Small is looking for her whakapapa. But the search to find her whānau is complex. It involves one of New Zealand's most notorious psychiatric institutions and a 68-year-old law that cut thousands of Māori off from their identity.

We'd like to advise listeners that this report contains traumatic accounts of minors kept in mental-health facilities.

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In this special episode of MATA, Mihingarangi Forbes hosts a panel discussion about Meka Whaitiri's defection from the Labour Party to join Te Pāti Māori. Her guests are former Te Pāti Māori MP Marama Fox, former Māori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels, former Labour executive member Shane Te Pou, and Morgan Godfery.

Whaitiri will replace the candidate already chosen for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate by Te Pāti Māori, Heather Skipworth, who has agreed to step aside.

In 2020 Labour won 67 percent of the party vote while Te Pāti Māori took just 12 percent, and the seat has not been flipped in 27 years, Forbes said.

Fox said Whaitiri's move would not be an easy decision for some to stomach. However, she believed it was "a master move" by party president John Tamihere. The timing was perfect with the Prime Minister overseas, and it avoided a by-election by being within six months of the general election.

"It needed to come now if it was going to come at all, but I do think there might be more following in her stead."

Godfery said it was moving to watch Whaitiri advance the reasons for her decision, which had now started to make some political sense.

Invoking the struggle over Māori land for the last 100 or so years and then linking it to the lack of progress over the last five or six years (while Labour has been in government) made a lot of sense for her as a politician but also for the wider Māori political movement.

"So I think there'll be a lot of sympathy for Meka."

However, Fox was more sceptical and believed that Tamihere was the "master crafter of these political movements." She had sat across the benches from Whaitiri while she smashed Te Pāti Māori and instead held up Labour as representing the Māori voice.

There were other Māori who had become dissatisfied with Labour, such as Louisa Wall, while others such as Willie Jackson & Peeni Henare had considered moving over to Te Pāti Māori before sticking with Labour, Fox said.

She accused Labour and National of not having Māori at the forefront of their political aspirations.

"The true voice of Māori sits in the hands of Māori,, and our people need to come to that understanding that they are not being taken care of under the current political climate, whether it's blue or red."

Fox believed with Te Pāti Māori's social-media presence growing and a stronger engagement at the grassroots level, it was a great time to be part of what it stood for.

"We are growing in this space of rangatiratanga, and the Māori Party is the home for this voice."

She believed Whaitiri would retain the seat, although it would be "a hard road" for her…

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Mihingarangi Forbes talks to Rawiri Wright, tumuaki at Te Rūnanga Nui o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, about the Kura Kaupapa Māori claim before the Waitangi Tribunal and panelists Khylee Quince and Bernie O'Donnell talk tax, Mozzies, and the race for Tāmaki Makaurau.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Cry me Three Waters: Far North Mayor Moko Tepania shares his views on Affordable Water Reform, then former Green MP Denise Roche & commentator Shane Te Pou discuss co-governance, "crybabies," and Māori candidates.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Mihingarangi Forbes speaks to the National Party's new Māori MP Tama Potaka about co-governance and Māori Development. Panelists Dr Lara Greaves and Ngarimu Blair discuss white cis men, free speech and political lobbying.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Mihingarangi speaks to Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson about the state of the planet and the party. Panelists Khylee Quince and Tau Henare share their views on the anti-co-governance tour.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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Rawiri Waititi joins us from Wellington to discuss Te Pāti Māori's Te Matatini and flood response. Then panelists Shane Te Pou and Jenny Marcroft reflect on Georgina Beyer's legacy.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

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After Cyclone Gabrielle, will the government crack down on forestry? In the first episode of new podcast MATA with Mihingarangi Forbes, Labour MP Kiritapu Allan says it's not that simple - her constituents on the East Coast depend on forestry for pay packets. Former politician Tau Henare says that's a signal the government don't plan to get tough.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

After Cyclone Gabrielle, will the government crack down on forestry?

In the first episode of new podcast MATA with Mihingarangi Forbes, Labour MP Kiritapu Allan says it's not that simple - her constituents on the East Coast depend on forestry for pay packets.

Former politician Tau Henare says that's a signal the government don't plan to get tough.

Meanwhile, political commentator Lara Greaves gives her verdict on Chris Hipkins' early days as prime minister.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

MATA with Mihingarangi Forbes discusses the latest in politics with a range of Māori commentators and newsmakers. Watch and listen to the trailer and subscribe now.

MATA with Mihingarangi Forbes discusses the latest in politics with a range of Māori commentators and newsmakers.

Watch and Listen to the trailer and subscribe now.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details