Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

Te Tai Tokerau is preparing to welcome some of Aotearoa’s most talented rangatahi as Kaikohe hosts the 61st National Ngā Manu Kōrero competition.

Organiser Ngaire Tauwhara-White is helping bring together young speakers from across the motu for one of the country’s most significant Māori and bilingual secondary school speech competitions.

Ngā Manu Kōrero provides a national stage for rangatahi to demonstrate excellence in te reo Māori and English, while strengthening confidence, leadership, identity and the art of whaikōrero and public speaking.

For Te Tai Tokerau, hosting the 61st national competition is also an opportunity to manaaki rangatahi, whānau, kura and supporters travelling north, while showcasing the region’s own strong traditions of reo, whakapapa and oratory.

The competition has become an important pathway for generations of young Māori leaders, providing a platform to tackle issues affecting their communities and articulate their aspirations for the future.

As preparations continue in Kaikohe, the spotlight will soon belong to the rangatahi themselves — young voices carrying the reo, whakaaro and kaupapa of their communities onto the national stage.

#NgaManuKorero #Kaikohe #TeTaiTokerau #NgaireTauwharaWhite #TeReoMāori #Rangatahi #RangatahiMāori #MāoriEducation #Whaikōrero #Kōrero #PublicSpeaking #Kura #MātaurangaMāori #ManaMāori #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

The post THE ART OF KŌRERO: KAikohe PREPARES TO WELCOME AOTEAROA’S YOUNG ORATORS appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones has rarely been far from the political headlines as Election 2026 approaches, with immigration, resource development and disagreements inside the Coalition putting the veteran politician firmly in the spotlight.

Jones has defended New Zealand First’s proposal to tighten citizenship rules, including changes that could affect some Māori families who have lived in Australia for generations. The party argues New Zealand needs a reset of immigration and citizenship settings, while opponents have questioned the implications for Māori with longstanding connections to Aotearoa.

As Resources and Regional Development Minister, Jones has also continued to champion mining and economic development. New Zealand First is campaigning for greater opportunities for economic activity on conservation land, with Jones backing provisions requiring DOC to recognise and enable economic opportunities where appropriate.

But Jones has also demonstrated that New Zealand First will not automatically follow its Coalition partners on every issue.

Speaking recently to Waatea, he backed a stronger standalone Te Puni Kōkiri and drew a distinction between New Zealand First and ACT over the future of the Waitangi Tribunal. He has also signalled renewed attention on finding a pathway forward for Ngāpuhi in Te Tai Tokerau.

Those differences are increasingly important as the campaign gathers pace, with New Zealand First positioning itself as having its own policy agenda on Māori affairs, resources, immigration and regional economic development.

For Jones, the final weeks before Election 2026 look set to keep him exactly where he has spent much of this term — right in the middle of the political debate.

#ShaneJones #NZFirst #NewZealandFirst #Election2026 #Immigration #Citizenship #Māori #TePuniKōkiri #WaitangiTribunal #TeTiriti #Mining #Resources #RegionalDevelopment #Conservation #TeTaiTokerau #Ngāpuhi #CoalitionGovernment #NZPolitics #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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More young Māori and Pacific people are being encouraged to join the New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry, with greater diversity critical to improving the chances of patients finding a potentially lifesaving match.

The call comes as World Marrow Donor Day puts the spotlight on the need for more stem cell donors, particularly from communities currently underrepresented on donor registries.

Finding a compatible donor can be difficult because stem cell matching relies heavily on inherited genetic markers. That means patients are often more likely to find a suitable match among donors with a similar ethnic background.

While there are more than 40 million potential donors worldwide, around 25 million are of European descent. In New Zealand, the registry has only about 6,000 Māori and 3,000 Pacific potential donors.

For people diagnosed with blood cancers, blood disorders and some immune deficiencies, a stem cell transplant can offer a crucial pathway to treatment and, in some cases, the possibility of a cure.

Joining is relatively simple. New Zealanders aged 18 to 35 who meet blood donor eligibility requirements can start with a cheek swab, including by ordering a free kit to complete at home.

The Registry hopes more rangatahi Māori and young Pacific people will consider signing up, knowing that one small decision today could one day provide a lifesaving match for another person and their whānau.

#WorldMarrowDonorDay #BoneMarrow #StemCellDonor #MāoriHealth #PacificHealth #Rangatahi #Māori #Pasifika #BloodCancer #NZBoneMarrowDonorRegistry #NZBlood #DonateLife #SaveALife #HealthEquity #Whānau #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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A University of Auckland researcher is helping lead an innovative project developing robotic sign language interpreters specifically designed for Turi Māori, bringing together robotics, accessibility, te ao Māori and language.

Dr Tauwehe Tamati is involved in the work, which aims to explore how emerging technology can better support Deaf Māori rather than expecting communities to adapt to technology designed without them in mind.

The project brings an important Māori dimension to rapidly developing robotics and artificial intelligence, recognising that communication is about more than simply translating individual words or movements.

For Turi Māori, accessibility can also involve cultural context, identity, tikanga and the ability to communicate within te ao Māori.

The research is exploring how robotic technology could eventually help deliver sign language interpretation in ways that respond specifically to the needs and experiences of Deaf Māori communities.

It also raises wider questions about who participates in the development of new technology and whose language, culture and knowledge are built into emerging AI and robotic systems from the beginning.

For Dr Tamati and the research team, the kaupapa represents an opportunity to put Māori accessibility and innovation together — ensuring Turi Māori are not left behind as the technology continues to advance.

#TuriMāori #DeafMāori #SignLanguage #NZSL #Robotics #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #MāoriInnovation #Accessibility #InclusiveTechnology #UniversityOfAuckland #TauweheTamati #TeAoMāori #MāoriResearch #Technology #Innovation #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

The post ROBOTS LEARNING TO SIGN: AUCKLAND PROJECT PUTS TURI MĀORI AT THE CENTRE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Tama Potaka has spent the past fortnight moving across some of the Government’s biggest Māori-facing portfolios, announcing new homelessness support, a refreshed te reo Māori strategy, conservation initiatives and investment in Māori enterprise.

As Associate Housing Minister, Potaka announced more than $1 million for homelessness services in Lower Hutt, Hamilton, Upper Hutt and Whangārei, following an earlier $14.5 million package targeting rough sleeping. A further $580,000 has been committed to homelessness support in Taranaki.

In Māori Development, Potaka has launched a refreshed Maihi Karauna, the Crown’s Māori language strategy, aimed at increasing the visibility, value and everyday use of te reo Māori.

Economic development is another focus. Earlier this month the Government announced more than $3.4 million through the Māori Development Fund for three Māori enterprises spanning green hydrogen, horticulture and wine exports. That comes as Māori authorities now control $32.6 billion in assets, with the challenge increasingly about converting that economic strength into jobs, incomes and intergenerational prosperity.

Potaka’s Conservation portfolio has also remained busy, including work on community conservation and the Government’s wider overhaul of conservation legislation. The Government says those reforms are intended to modernise the system while improving conservation outcomes and enabling appropriate economic activity.

But the announcements come against a wider political debate over whether the Coalition’s broader programme is improving outcomes for Māori, particularly around housing, education, Te Tiriti, te reo Māori and the cost of living.

For Potaka, one of National’s most senior Māori ministers, the election-year test is increasingly whether the Government can demonstrate that its programme is translating from announcements and investment into measurable improvements for whānau.

#TamaPotaka #MāoriDevelopment #MāoriEconomy #MāoriHousing #Homelessness #TeReoMāori #MaihiKarauna #Conservation #TeTaiao #MāoriBusiness #PakihiMāori #Whānau #TeTiriti #Election2026 #NationalParty #NZPolitics #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

The post POTAKA JUGGLES FOUR FRONTS AS MĀORI POLICY DEBATE INTENSIFIES appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I puta te oati a te Rōpū Kākāriki e mea ana ki te tū rātou hai kāwanatanga ka tukuna te $200 miriona ki ngā kaupapa whakaora reo ki ngā kaupapa whakapakari reo hoki.

Ka ahu atu te nuinga o te pūtea nei ki te rāngai mātauranga hei tautoko i ngā kaiako me tauira i ngā kura o te motu, ka tau hoki tētahi whatinga pūtea ki a Te Mātāwai whakawhārahi ake i te tautoko mō ngā kaupapa reo Māori a ngā whānau, hapū me ngā iwi, ka tau hoki he pūtea ki a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori hei whakawhanake i te reo Māori me te tautoko i te whakamahi tika o te reo.

E ai ki a Marama Davidson, mā te whakangao pūtea ki ēnei wāhanga katoa, ka kaha ake te tipu o te reo Māori i ngā kura, i ngā hapori i ngā whānau huri i te motu.

The post Marama Davidson | Te Rautaki reo Māori a Ngā Kākāriki. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I tukuna te petihana a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Pāremata i tērā wiki, tata ki te 53,000 ngā hainatanga e karanga ana ki te Kāwanatanga kia tiakina ngā tohutoro ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi i roto i ngā ture.

E ai ki a Minita Shane Jones, he rerekē ngā tohutoro ki Te Tiriti i roto i ngā ture.

Mā te pire a te Kāwanatanga e muku, e whakarerekē rānei i ētahi o aua tohutoro, ā, i ētahi wā, ka tono noa kia whai whakaarohia a Te Tiriti.

Ahakoa te karanga a ngā iwi kia mau tonu ngā tohutoro ki Te Tiriti i roto i ngā ture, e ai ki a Jones, kāore ētahi o aua tohutoro ki Te Tiriti i te hāngai, ā, kua tae te wā ki te whakahou i tēnei āhuatanga.

The post Shane Jones | Kāhore ētahi o ngā tohutoro ki te Tiriti i ngā ture i te hāngai. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I ngā wiki tata ka hipa, i waitohu ai a Ngāti Rangi rātou ko te Ope Kātua i tētahi whakataunga e whakahoki ai tētahi wāhanga whenua o Waiouru ki a Ngāti Rangi.

E ai ki te Heamana o Te Kumete o Paerangi, e ai ki a Kemp Dryden, he whanaketanga pai tēnei mō te mahi tahi a te Karauna me te iwi, kia hoki ai ō rātou whenua, ā, kia whai wāhi hoki ki te hanga whare ki runga i te whenua kua roa nei e puritia ana e te Ope Kātua hei kāinga mō ngā hōia me ō rātou whānau.

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I whakahoutia te Maihi Karauna, arā, te rautaki a te Kāwanatanga mō te whakarauora me te whakapakari i te reo Māori.

E ai ki te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, e ai ki a Tama Potaka, ko te aronga ko te whakatenatena i te tangata kia kitea te wāriu o te reo Māori.

Kei te waihangatia tonutia te mahere whakapakari i te reo Māori mā ngā tari Kāwanatanga puta noa i te motu.

E whai ake nei ko te whānuitanga o āna kōrero.

The post Tama Potaka | Te whakahoutanga o te rautaki reo Māori a te Kāwanatanga. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Health Coalition Aotearoa has formally added gambling to its list of major commercial drivers of preventable harm, warning the rapid growth of online gambling risks worsening poverty, financial stress and health inequities.

The coalition already focuses on the harms associated with tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food, and says gambling now needs to be treated with the same public-health lens.

The move comes as New Zealand prepares for a new regulated online casino market. Under legislation before Parliament, up to 15 online casino licences would be available, with licensed operators able to advertise within regulated limits. The Government says the regime is intended to bring an existing offshore market under New Zealand regulation, strengthen consumer protections and reduce harm.

Health Coalition Aotearoa takes a different view of the risks, warning that increasing the visibility and availability of online gambling could expose more people to gambling-related harm and intensify pressure on communities already experiencing economic hardship.

That concern is particularly significant for Māori and Pacific communities. Ministry of Health gambling data has consistently identified inequities in gambling harm, including disproportionate impacts for Māori and Pacific peoples.

The coalition argues gambling harm should not simply be viewed as an issue of individual choice. Its public-health approach instead focuses on the commercial environment surrounding gambling, including accessibility, advertising, product design and the financial incentives of operators.

With household budgets already under pressure, the debate is now moving beyond whether online gambling should be regulated to a broader question — how far should commercial gambling be allowed to expand when the social and health costs are not experienced equally across Aotearoa?

#GamblingHarm #OnlineGambling #HealthCoalitionAotearoa #PublicHealth #MāoriHealth #PacificHealth #HealthEquity #Whānau #Hauora #Poverty #CostOfLiving #GamblingReform #OnlineCasino #ProblemGambling #CommercialDeterminantsOfHealth #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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