Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

New research is challenging health professionals to rethink the way they talk about food with Māori, finding kai is about far more than calories, nutrients and disease prevention — it is deeply connected to culture, whakapapa, whānau, whenua and wellbeing.

The research, led by Massey University’s Dr Nikki Renall, explores the meaning food holds for Māori and how those relationships could help shape more culturally responsive healthcare and nutrition advice.

The findings come as Māori health and nutrition remain firmly in the public conversation, including through the work of public health academic and advocate Professor Lisa Te Morenga, whose expertise has focused on nutrition, Māori health and health equity.

At the heart of the new research is a straightforward message: telling someone what they should or should not eat without understanding what kai means within their life can overlook much of what actually influences food choices.

For Māori, kai can connect people with whānau, whenua, identity, memory and community.

Food can be an expression of manaakitanga, a way of caring for visitors, maintaining relationships and passing knowledge between generations.

Sharing kai can strengthen social connections and reinforce belonging.

Researchers found enduring Māori values continue to shape relationships with food, including sharing, manaakitanga, avoiding waste and caring for people and place.

Those principles have persisted despite enormous changes to Māori food systems over generations.

Colonisation and the loss of whenua disrupted traditional sources of food and the ability of communities to maintain customary practices.

Urbanisation moved generations of Māori away from ancestral lands and traditional food-gathering environments, while environmental degradation has affected access to waterways, fisheries, native species and mahinga kai.

Modern food systems have transformed what is available, where it comes from and how much it costs.

Yet the research suggests the values surrounding kai have remained remarkably resilient.

Understanding Māori nutrition today therefore requires understanding history.

The transformation of Māori foodways did not occur simply because individuals made different dietary choices.

Land loss, colonisation, urbanisation and environmental change reshaped the conditions in which those choices were made.

When communities lose access to whenua, they can also lose access to gardens, gathering areas and traditional food resources.

When waterways and coastal environments deteriorate, customary sources of kai can become scarce or unsafe.

When whānau relocate to urban centres, knowledge and practices previously connected to particular places can become more difficult to maintain.

Those changes demonstrate why researchers believe discussions about nutrition cannot always be separated from social, cultural and environmental circumstances.

Conventional nutrition and healthcare approaches often concentrate on measurable outcomes.

Health professionals may consider calories, sugar, salt, fat, protein, vitamins, body weight or the relationship between diet and conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Those measures remain important.

But the research argues they represent only part of the picture.

A nutritionally ideal recommendation may achieve little if it ignores affordability, whānau circumstances, cultural significance, access to food and the role particular kai plays in a person’s identity and relationships.

That is where a more person-centred approach could make a difference.

Instead of beginning only with what needs to disappear from someone’s diet, health professionals could first understand what food represents within that person’s world.

Dr Renall’s research suggests recognising an individual’s relationship with kai could allow health professionals to provide advice that is both clinically useful and realistic.

That does not mean abandoning nutritional science.

It means placing nutritional science within the circumstances of the person receiving the advice.

A recommendation that respects cultural practices, whānau responsibilities and the emotional significance of food may be easier to maintain than one imposed without that context.

That could be particularly important when dietary changes are required to manage long-term conditions.

Sustainable health improvements often depend on changes people can maintain for years rather than restrictive interventions followed for several weeks.

Understanding kai could therefore help clinicians and patients identify compromises and alternatives that protect health without unnecessarily disconnecting people from important cultural and social practices.

The findings also encourage a broader understanding of what wellbeing means.

A meal can provide nutrients, but sharing it can also provide connection, belonging and manaakitanga.

Growing or gathering food can involve physical activity while strengthening relationships with whenua.

Passing knowledge about kai between kaumātua, parents, rangatahi and tamariki can reinforce identity and whakapapa.

Avoiding waste can reflect both economic practicality and values around respecting resources.

Those dimensions can disappear when food is reduced to a nutritional label.

For Māori health, the research suggests a more holistic model can recognise that physical wellbeing exists alongside cultural, emotional, social and environmental wellbeing.

The implications reach beyond Māori health.

Modern healthcare increasingly recognises that simply providing people with information does not automatically change behaviour.

People make decisions within families, communities, cultures, budgets and environments.

For Māori, understanding those influences also means recognising the historical forces that transformed access to traditional foods and whenua.

The research therefore presents health professionals with a different starting point.

Before asking what somebody eats, it may be valuable to ask what kai means to them.

That conversation could reveal the whānau relationships, cultural practices, economic realities and personal experiences that determine whether health advice will actually work.

For Māori, kai has never been simply fuel for the body.

It can carry whakapapa, memory, manaakitanga, identity and connection to whenua.

Recognising that complexity could help move nutrition services away from telling Māori what is wrong with their diets and towards working alongside whānau to develop changes that are healthy, culturally meaningful, achievable and built to last.

#MaoriKai #KaiMaori #MaoriHealth #HauoraMaori #LisaTeMorenga #NikkiRenall #MasseyUniversity #Nutrition #MaoriNutrition #PublicHealth #HealthEquity #CulturalSafety #CulturallyResponsiveCare #PersonCentredCare #Whanau #WhanauOra #Whakapapa #Whenua #Manaakitanga #MahingaKai #Kai #FoodSystems #FoodSecurity #IndigenousFoodSystems #IndigenousHealth #MataurangaMaori #TeAoMaori #TikangaMaori #Colonisation #Urbanisation #EnvironmentalHealth #TeTaiao #Kaitiakitanga #Tamariki #Rangatahi #Kaumatua #Wellbeing #HealthyEating #HealthcareNZ #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #HealthNews #ResearchNZ #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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It is Friday morning, which means Matthew Tukaki is back for Waatea’s Friday Morning All-Rounder, and this week the kōrero stretches from the battle for the Māori electorates to some of the biggest contests in sport.

With the 2026 General Election drawing closer, Labour’s prospects in the seven Māori electorates are under scrutiny after senior Māori Labour MP Willie Jackson expressed doubt his party can sweep all seven seats.

The comments highlight just how competitive the Māori electorates are shaping up to be, with Labour and Te Pāti Māori fighting for votes while wider coalition calculations add another layer to the campaign.

For Tukaki, the political contest raises a bigger question about what Māori voters are looking for this election and whether traditional party loyalties still carry the influence they once did.

The Māori seats will be crucial not only for representation but potentially for the shape of the next Parliament, making candidate strength, turnout and the mobilisation of rangatahi and whānau increasingly important as election day approaches.

Away from Parliament, attention turns to Christchurch and the Ranfurly Shield, with Northland taking on Canterbury in one of provincial rugby’s most fiercely prized challenges.

The Shield occupies a special place in New Zealand rugby because every successful challenge can transform a provincial season.

For Northland, the opportunity represents more than another NPC fixture.

A Shield victory would provide a major moment for rugby supporters across Te Tai Tokerau and add another chapter to a trophy whose history is built around provincial pride, unexpected challenges and communities rallying behind their teams.

Canterbury, however, presents a formidable obstacle on home territory.

The clash gives Tukaki plenty to dissect as provincial rugby again demonstrates its ability to generate passion well beyond the major international fixtures.

At international level, attention is already building around another chapter in the heavyweight rivalry between the All Blacks and Springboks.

Few fixtures in world rugby carry the history or intensity of New Zealand against South Africa.

The rivalry has increasingly become a benchmark for where the All Blacks stand against the world’s leading teams, particularly following South Africa’s sustained success on the international stage.

For New Zealand, these matches are about considerably more than another result.

Selection, forward dominance, discipline, tactical kicking and the ability to withstand the Springboks’ physical pressure will all come under scrutiny.

The encounters also provide an important measure of how the All Blacks are developing as they build towards rugby’s next major international milestones.

Tukaki’s sporting radar also stretches across the Tasman to one of Australia’s most distinctive athletics traditions — the Stawell Gift.

The 144th edition was staged at Central Park in Stawell, Victoria, over Easter, continuing a famous handicapped sprint tradition.

South Australian Olufemi Komolafe took out the men’s 120-metre Gift, running from a five-metre handicap, while international sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson claimed the women’s event from scratch.

Richardson’s performance was particularly notable, with organisers reporting she became only the third woman to win from scratch and recorded the fastest performance in the women’s event since its move to 120 metres.

The Stawell Gift’s handicap format makes it unlike conventional championship sprinting, placing elite athletes alongside competitors given staggered starts and creating races that can remain undecided until the final metres.

From the fight for the Māori seats to the battle for one of provincial rugby’s greatest prizes, Tukaki’s Friday kōrero reflects a weekend where competition is everywhere.

Politically, parties are fighting for Māori votes and positioning themselves for the coalition negotiations that could follow November’s election.

On the rugby field, provincial pride is on the line through the Ranfurly Shield while the All Blacks’ rivalry with South Africa remains one of the defining tests in world rugby.

And across the Tasman, the Stawell Gift provides another reminder of the enduring pull of sporting traditions built around communities as much as competitors.

For the Friday Morning All-Rounder, there is plenty to debate — who is gaining ground, who is under pressure, and who will still be standing when the political and sporting contests are decided.

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A culturally significant Canterbury wetland and traditional mahinga kai is receiving a major restoration boost, with Te Taumutu Rūnanga awarded $521,733 to help restore the health and biodiversity of Muriwai o Whata, also known as Coopers Lagoon.

The funding from the Department of Conservation Community Fund will support a three-year programme of pest control and environmental monitoring at the wetland, which holds immense significance for Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki.

Muriwai o Whata is a wāhi taonga and important mahinga kai, traditionally recognised as the birthplace of tuna.

The new investment will allow mana whenua to build on existing restoration mahi and strengthen protection for the indigenous plants, fish and birdlife that depend on the wetland.

Wetlands are among Aotearoa’s most important ecosystems, supporting freshwater species, birdlife and native vegetation while also helping manage water and providing habitat across the transition between land and aquatic environments.

At Muriwai o Whata, that biodiversity includes threatened freshwater fish and bird species.

Among the most significant is the matuku hūrepo, or Australasian bittern, a critically endangered wetland bird whose survival depends on healthy and functioning wetland habitats.

Protecting species such as matuku hūrepo means protecting the wider ecosystem around them.

The three-year programme will therefore focus on controlling pests and monitoring environmental conditions, allowing those involved to better understand how restoration is progressing and where further intervention may be needed.

For Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki, however, restoring Muriwai o Whata is about considerably more than biodiversity numbers.

The wetland is part of a cultural landscape shaped by generations of relationships between tangata whenua, wai, whenua and native species.

Its status as an important mahinga kai reflects the role waterways and wetlands have played in sustaining whānau through food gathering, knowledge, tikanga and connections between generations.

Its traditional association as the birthplace of tuna gives the restoration kaupapa particular cultural significance.

Restoring the wetland therefore strengthens both ecological health and the ability of mana whenua to maintain relationships and responsibilities inherited through whakapapa.

It is an example of conservation where environmental restoration and cultural revitalisation work together rather than existing as separate objectives.

The project will build on restoration work already undertaken at Waikēkēwai, extending efforts to improve the interconnected waterways, wetlands and mahinga kai of the wider area.

That landscape-scale approach recognises that restoring individual sites in isolation can only achieve so much.

Wetlands depend on the quality of the water flowing into them, surrounding habitats and the health of neighbouring waterways.

Likewise, tuna, freshwater fish and bird species move through landscapes that extend beyond administrative boundaries.

Successful restoration therefore requires cooperation across different areas and organisations.

The Muriwai o Whata project will bring together mana whenua, councils, DOC and the wider community over its three-year life.

That partnership provides an opportunity to combine mātauranga Māori, ecological science, pest-control expertise and community participation.

Mana whenua involvement is particularly important because the kaupapa is connected to generations of knowledge about the wetland, its species and its role as mahinga kai.

It also reflects a wider shift towards recognising iwi and hapū not simply as stakeholders in conservation projects, but as kaitiaki with enduring relationships and responsibilities to whenua and wai.

The $521,733 investment provides significant backing for the next stage of that work.

Long-term restoration requires more than planting native vegetation or carrying out occasional pest-control operations.

Monitoring is essential to establish whether interventions are working, whether threatened species are recovering and whether additional threats are emerging.

Three years of dedicated work should provide Te Taumutu Rūnanga and its partners with valuable information about the changing condition of Muriwai o Whata while allowing sustained pressure to be placed on pests threatening native biodiversity.

The investment also demonstrates the importance of providing conservation initiatives with funding extending beyond a single season.

Ecological restoration can take years or generations before its full benefits become apparent.

For Te Taumutu Rūnanga, the project forms part of the bigger task of restoring waterways, wetlands and traditional food-gathering areas across the rohe.

That means creating environments where threatened wildlife can recover, but also places where future generations can understand and maintain their relationship with the natural world.

A healthier Muriwai o Whata could mean stronger habitat for freshwater fish, greater protection for matuku hūrepo and improved ecological resilience.

For mana whenua, it also means protecting a place carrying histories and relationships that stretch back generations.

The success of the programme will ultimately be measured not only by how many pests are removed or monitoring surveys completed, but by whether the mauri of the wetland strengthens.

From the tuna beneath the water to the matuku hūrepo hidden among the reeds, the new funding represents another step towards ensuring Muriwai o Whata remains a living wāhi taonga and mahinga kai for the generations still to come.

#TeTaumutuRunanga #MuriwaiOWhata #CoopersLagoon #NgaiTeRuahikihiki #NgaiTahu #MahingaKai #WahiTaonga #Tuna #MatukuHurepo #AustralasianBittern #WetlandRestoration #Wetlands #DOC #DepartmentOfConservation #DOCCommunityFund #ConservationNZ #Biodiversity #NativeSpecies #ThreatenedSpecies #FreshwaterFish #PestControl #EnvironmentalRestoration #ManaWhenua #TangataWhenua #Kaitiakitanga #MataurangaMaori #Whakapapa #Mauri #Whenua #Wai #TeTaiao #Freshwater #IwiLedConservation #CommunityConservation #Canterbury #Waitaha #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #EnvironmentNews #ConservationNews #RegionalNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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A major new report from the Office of the Chief Coroner has brought together 57 coronial findings from the first three months of 2026, exposing recurring risks across Aotearoa and reinforcing a confronting message — identifying how people died is not enough if the lessons from those deaths are not acted upon.

The findings span some of the country’s most persistent safety challenges, including drowning, road deaths, child protection, mental health, healthcare, alcohol and drugs, and workplace safety.

Across the cases, coroners have identified opportunities for government agencies, health providers, councils and other organisations to reduce the likelihood of similar tragedies occurring again.

But the report also highlights the limitation of the coronial system.

Coroners can investigate deaths, expose systemic weaknesses and recommend change. They cannot themselves ensure those recommendations are implemented.

That responsibility falls to the agencies and organisations with the power to change policies, practices and safety systems.

Among the most concerning issues for Māori is the disproportionate representation of tamariki Māori in drowning deaths involving children aged under four.

The findings have prompted calls for further research and stronger preventative measures, particularly around portable swimming pools.

Small and portable pools can appear relatively harmless, but for pēpi and young tamariki even shallow water can present a potentially fatal hazard.

The coronial findings underline the importance of supervision, barriers and greater awareness of the risks posed by pools that may sit outside the traditional image of a permanent backyard swimming pool.

The disproportionate impact on tamariki Māori also raises wider questions about whether existing drowning-prevention strategies are reaching whānau effectively and whether more targeted research and culturally appropriate interventions are required.

The issue is not simply about telling parents and caregivers to supervise children.

Effective prevention also requires understanding why particular communities are experiencing greater risk and ensuring whānau have access to practical information, resources and safer environments.

The report also identifies serious concerns around child protection.

Coronial investigations can provide a rare opportunity to look across the different agencies and services that interacted with a child or whānau before a death.

That can reveal gaps in information sharing, risk assessment, communication and intervention.

When multiple organisations are involved, responsibility can become fragmented.

One service may hold one piece of information while another holds something different, with nobody necessarily seeing the complete picture of the risk facing a child.

The coronial findings reinforce the importance of agencies learning collectively from deaths rather than examining individual decisions in isolation.

For Māori whānau, that conversation also needs to include whether services are culturally safe, accessible and capable of building relationships strong enough for families to seek help before circumstances reach crisis point.

Mental health is another recurring theme.

The report points towards the importance of greater whānau involvement in mental-health treatment and decision-making, recognising that families can hold vital knowledge about a person’s behaviour, history and changing level of risk.

Whānau can often recognise warning signs that may not be immediately visible during a clinical assessment.

Their involvement can also be critical when someone moves between inpatient treatment, community services and home.

The findings add to a longstanding discussion about ensuring mental-health systems do not treat whānau as outsiders when their knowledge could contribute to keeping somebody safe.

At the same time, appropriate involvement must recognise patient rights, privacy and the circumstances of individual cases.

The challenge is building a system where clinicians and whānau can work together effectively when someone’s wellbeing or life may be at risk.

The coronial process begins at one of the worst moments imaginable for families.

A sudden, unexplained or preventable death can leave whānau navigating grief at the same time as Police investigations, post-mortem examinations, medical information and a coronial process that can take considerable time.

The report highlights the need for better support for bereaved whānau going through that process.

For Māori, death and grieving are also deeply connected with tikanga, whakapapa and collective whānau responsibilities.

How institutions communicate with grieving families, how information is provided and whether cultural practices are respected can significantly shape their experience following a death.

A coronial system focused on learning from tragedy must therefore also consider the people left behind.

Road safety features prominently among the findings, including concern about outdated road barriers.

Roadside barriers are intended to reduce the consequences of crashes, but older designs can themselves present risks as vehicles and safety standards change.

The findings reinforce the need for road-controlling authorities to assess whether existing infrastructure remains appropriate rather than waiting for another fatality to expose a known hazard.

That raises a broader infrastructure question for central and local government.

New Zealand has thousands of kilometres of roads and finite funding for upgrades. But when coronial investigations repeatedly identify particular designs, locations or infrastructure as contributing to fatal outcomes, those warnings provide evidence for where preventative investment may be required.

The 57 findings also traverse deaths involving the health system, alcohol and other drugs, and workplace safety.

While the circumstances differ from case to case, coronial recommendations serve a common purpose: identifying practical changes that could reduce future deaths.

In healthcare, that can mean examining communication, clinical decision-making, follow-up and the movement of patients between services.

Drug and alcohol deaths can expose issues involving treatment, harm reduction and the availability of support.

Workplace fatalities can reveal shortcomings involving equipment, training, procedures, supervision or the management of known hazards.

Each investigation starts with an individual death, but the potential value of a coronial finding lies in preventing that person’s experience from being repeated.

That is ultimately the central challenge emerging from the report.

Coroners occupy an unusual position within New Zealand’s safety system.

They investigate circumstances after a person has died and can identify failures that were not obvious beforehand.

Their findings can provide agencies with an extraordinarily detailed roadmap for prevention.

But a recommendation sitting in a report does not make a swimming pool safer.

It does not replace a dangerous road barrier.

It does not improve communication between child-protection agencies.

It does not bring whānau into mental-health decisions.

And it cannot change unsafe workplace practices by itself.

Those changes require organisations to accept recommendations, fund improvements, alter procedures and then monitor whether those changes actually work.

Behind the number 57 are 57 individual deaths, each carrying its own story and leaving behind whānau, friends and communities.

For Māori, the findings involving tamariki drowning and the importance of whānau participation in services demonstrate why prevention cannot rely solely on one-size-fits-all national systems.

Understanding whakapapa, whānau structures, community circumstances and cultural realities can be part of designing interventions that actually work.

The value of coronial investigations lies not simply in establishing what happened in the final moments of someone’s life, but in identifying what Aotearoa can do differently before another person reaches the same point.

The latest report provides another collection of those lessons.

The challenge now sits outside the Coroners Court.

If agencies receive warnings about preventable risks but fail to translate them into action, the next coronial finding may end up documenting a tragedy New Zealand already knew how to prevent.

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A powerful message is emerging from New Zealand voters ahead of the election — stop governing only for the next three years and start planning for the generations that come next.

New polling shows 82 percent of New Zealanders support legislation requiring governments to consider the long-term consequences of their policies on future generations, providing momentum to a rangatahi-led campaign seeking fundamental changes to how political decisions are made.

The Tomorrow Together campaign is calling for a Future Generations Act, inspired by legislation introduced in Wales, which would embed intergenerational fairness into government decision-making.

The proposal would require politicians and public institutions to consider how decisions made today could affect people decades into the future, particularly across major issues such as housing, climate change, infrastructure, employment and the cost of living.

For rangatahi behind the campaign, the argument is straightforward: political decisions made within a three-year electoral cycle can create consequences that their generation will carry for decades.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the polling is that support does not appear confined to one side of politics.

Backing includes 90 percent of Green voters, 89 percent of ACT voters and 87 percent of New Zealand First voters.

That level of cross-party voter support is significant in an increasingly competitive political environment.

While those voters may disagree strongly over what policies governments should pursue, the polling suggests broad agreement on one principle — governments should consider consequences extending beyond the next election.

The campaign has also attracted interest from young MPs across National, Labour, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori, giving the proposal a potentially unusual degree of political reach.

Many of New Zealand’s biggest challenges cannot realistically be resolved within one parliamentary term.

Major infrastructure can take decades to plan, fund and construct.

Housing shortages develop across generations.

Climate decisions made today can shape environmental conditions for decades.

Education and employment policies can influence a person’s opportunities across an entire lifetime.

The cost of servicing government debt can also extend far beyond the politicians who approved the original spending.

Tomorrow Together argues those realities require a political framework capable of looking further ahead than the next election.

A Future Generations Act would not necessarily dictate which policies a government must adopt.

Instead, its purpose would be to require decision-makers to systematically consider the long-term effects of their choices and the interests of people who will inherit those consequences.

The campaign is gaining momentum against a backdrop of widespread concern about the economic prospects facing younger generations.

Separate polling suggests 71 percent of New Zealanders believe the economy is working poorly or very poorly for young people.

That sentiment reflects a broader debate about whether rangatahi today can expect the same opportunities previous generations experienced.

Housing affordability, rents, wages, employment security and the cost of everyday essentials have become defining economic issues for younger New Zealanders.

For those unable to afford a first home or establish financial security, decisions around land use, infrastructure, taxation and housing supply can have consequences stretching across much of their adult lives.

That makes intergenerational fairness more than an abstract political concept.

It becomes a question of who benefits from decisions today and who ultimately carries their costs tomorrow.

For Māori, the principle of thinking across generations is hardly new.

Concepts of whakapapa, kaitiakitanga and responsibility to mokopuna inherently connect decisions made by one generation with the wellbeing of those who follow.

Environmental management provides a particularly clear example.

Decisions affecting an awa, ngahere, whenua or moana today can determine whether future generations inherit thriving taonga or are left attempting to repair decades of degradation.

The same principle can be applied to housing, health, education, infrastructure and economic development.

A long-term approach also raises important questions about how Māori perspectives and Te Tiriti responsibilities would be reflected within any Future Generations Act.

If legislation is intended to protect people who do not yet have a political voice, the design of that system will matter just as much as its ambition.

Tomorrow Together is looking internationally for inspiration, particularly to Wales, where legislation has established a framework requiring public bodies to consider the wellbeing of future generations.

The attraction of such a model is its attempt to make long-term thinking part of ordinary government processes rather than relying on individual politicians voluntarily taking a generational view.

New Zealand governments already produce long-term strategies and forecasts in various areas.

But the rangatahi-led campaign is seeking something stronger — a legislative expectation that intergenerational consequences become part of how decisions are routinely assessed.

The challenge is that governments still have to respond to immediate pressures.

Families struggling with grocery bills cannot wait decades for economic relief.

Businesses need certainty now.

Hospitals, schools and housing require investment today.

A Future Generations Act would therefore have to balance the needs of people experiencing hardship in the present with the interests of those who will inherit the consequences.

There is also the question of accountability.

If a government were legally required to consider future generations, what would happen when it failed to do so?

Would decisions face independent scrutiny? Would an institution represent future generations? Would ministers simply have to demonstrate that long-term consequences had been considered?

Those details would determine whether such legislation fundamentally changes government behaviour or becomes another requirement sitting inside policy documents.

The campaign nevertheless arrives with one major advantage — unusually broad public support for its central principle.

At 82 percent, the polling suggests New Zealanders across political affiliations recognise a problem with decisions being dominated by short electoral horizons.

The challenge for political parties is now whether they are prepared to translate that sentiment into legislation.

Young New Zealanders will live longest with decisions being made today about housing, climate, infrastructure, debt, employment and the economy.

Many of their children and mokopuna will live with them even longer.

The Tomorrow Together campaign is therefore asking politicians to redefine who counts when governments make decisions.

Not only today’s taxpayer.

Not only today’s voter.

Not only the people who will cast ballots at the next election.

But also the generations who cannot yet vote, lobby Parliament or demand change — and who will nevertheless inherit the Aotearoa today’s political leaders leave behind.

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The health of Tīkapa Moana, the Hauraki Gulf, is back under the spotlight as Waatea asks whether Aotearoa is doing enough to protect one of its most culturally, environmentally and economically significant marine environments.

The latest State of Our Gulf reporting provides examples of communities fighting back against decades of environmental pressure, including iwi-led mussel restoration, beach clean-ups and work targeting kina barrens and the invasive exotic caulerpa.

But behind those restoration efforts is a much more confronting picture.

Sedimentation, plastic pollution, dredging, bottom trawling and pressure from fishing continue to threaten the Gulf, raising questions about whether restoration projects can keep pace with the damage being done.

For mana whenua, the issue reaches far beyond environmental statistics.

Tīkapa Moana is a living taonga connected through whakapapa to generations of Māori communities around its shores and islands. Restoring its health is therefore also about protecting customary relationships, mātauranga, mahinga kai and the ability of future generations to exercise kaitiakitanga.

There are reasons for hope.

Iwi and community-led restoration programmes are demonstrating what can happen when resources, mātauranga and long-term commitment are brought together.

Mussel restoration is particularly significant.

Once widespread across parts of the Gulf, mussel beds provide more than kaimoana. They create habitat for other marine species and can contribute to healthier marine ecosystems.

Their restoration demonstrates an approach increasingly central to the future of Tīkapa Moana — rebuilding ecosystems rather than simply attempting to slow their decline.

Work to tackle kina barrens is another example.

When ecological balance is lost, kina populations can expand and strip areas of kelp, transforming productive underwater forests into relatively barren environments.

Restoring that balance requires looking at the entire ecosystem, including the relationships between predators, kina, kelp and fisheries management.

The arrival and spread of exotic caulerpa has created an additional challenge.

The invasive seaweed can spread across the seafloor, potentially altering habitats and competing with native marine life.

Managing it is difficult and potentially expensive, placing further pressure on agencies, iwi and communities already dealing with longstanding environmental problems.

Its emergence is also a reminder that marine protection cannot focus solely on traditional threats such as fishing and pollution.

Biosecurity and the ability to rapidly respond to invasive species are increasingly part of protecting the mauri of the moana.

Some of the biggest threats facing the Gulf begin well beyond the coastline.

Sediment entering waterways from development, erosion and land-use activities eventually makes its way into the marine environment.

Once there, it can smother habitats and change the ecosystems relied upon by shellfish, fish and other marine species.

That means restoring Tīkapa Moana cannot be achieved through marine policy alone.

Decisions about urban growth, earthworks, stormwater, forestry, agriculture and freshwater management can all eventually affect the Gulf.

The challenge is therefore a catchment-wide one — what happens on the whenua ultimately affects the moana.

Plastic pollution is another highly visible problem.

Beach clean-ups can remove enormous quantities of waste and mobilise communities, but they primarily address pollution after it has already entered the environment.

Long-term improvement requires preventing plastics and other waste from reaching waterways and the coast in the first place.

That raises questions about product design, waste systems, stormwater infrastructure, consumer behaviour and regulation.

Community volunteers can clean beaches, but they cannot carry responsibility for solving the entire pollution problem.

Few issues surrounding the Gulf generate as much debate as bottom trawling.

The fishing method involves equipment interacting with the seafloor, and critics have long argued that continuing to permit it within Tīkapa Moana is inconsistent with efforts to restore marine ecosystems.

The debate brings conservation and fishing interests directly into contact.

Commercial fishing supports jobs and provides food, while recreational and customary fishing are deeply embedded in communities around the Gulf.

But the long-term viability of all those activities ultimately depends on having a healthy ecosystem capable of sustaining marine life.

The challenge for government is determining where fishing can continue, what methods should be permitted and which areas require much stronger protection.

One of the major ideas being discussed is extending meaningful marine protection to 30 percent of the Gulf.

Such a move would represent a significant change in how Tīkapa Moana is managed.

But the percentage alone does not answer every question.

Where protected areas are located, what activities are prohibited, how customary rights and mana whenua interests are recognised, how restrictions are enforced and whether protected areas cover ecologically important habitats will determine their effectiveness.

For Māori, any expansion of marine protection also needs to involve genuine partnership with mana whenua rather than treating iwi as another stakeholder to be consulted after decisions have largely been made.

Protection and kaitiakitanga must be able to work together.

The future of Tīkapa Moana is also becoming a political test.

The Government faces questions over whether the scale and speed of its response match the seriousness of the environmental decline.

But opposition parties face a test of their own.

It is relatively straightforward to criticise the Government for not moving quickly enough. The harder task is setting out exactly what stronger protections they would introduce.

Would they support protecting 30 percent of the Gulf?

Would they further restrict or prohibit bottom trawling?

How would they reduce sediment entering the moana?

What additional resources would they commit to controlling exotic caulerpa?

Would iwi-led restoration receive substantially greater and longer-term funding?

And how would mana whenua be involved in making decisions about the future of their ancestral moana?

Those are the policy choices behind today’s environmental debate.

The State of Our Gulf picture shows that communities are already doing considerable work.

Iwi are restoring ecosystems. Volunteers are cleaning beaches. Conservation groups are rebuilding habitats. Scientists and communities are confronting invasive species.

But local action has limits.

If the forces degrading the Gulf continue faster than restoration can repair them, community projects risk becoming an environmental ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

Government policy determines many of the larger settings around fishing, biosecurity, development, pollution and marine protection.

That makes political leadership essential.

For Tīkapa Moana, the measure of success will not simply be how many restoration programmes are announced.

It will be whether the mauri of the Gulf actually improves.

That brings Waatea’s #QuestionOfTheDay into sharp focus:

Are we doing enough to protect our marine environment?

And if the answer is no, the next question for every political party seeking to govern is even more important:

What are you prepared to change to ensure Tīkapa Moana is healthier for our tamariki and mokopuna than it is today?

#QuestionOfTheDay #TikapaMoana #HaurakiGulf #HaurakiGulfMarinePark #StateOfOurGulf #MarineEnvironment #MarineProtection #ProtectOurMoana #OceanHealth #Moana #Mauri #Kaitiakitanga #ManaWhenua #TangataWhenua #Iwi #Hapu #Whakapapa #MataurangaMaori #Kaimoana #MahingaKai #MusselRestoration #KinaBarrens #ExoticCaulerpa #Caulerpa #BottomTrawling #Overfishing #PlasticPollution #Sedimentation #Dredging #MarineBiosecurity #MarineConservation #Biodiversity #TeTaiao #ClimateResilience #EnvironmentalJustice #GovernmentAccountability #Election2026 #NZPolitics #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #EnvironmentNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

The post #regional: Tīkapa Moana at a Tipping Point: Is Aotearoa Doing Enough to Save the Hauraki Gulf? appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

21082026 Matt Tukaki | Ranfurl

More than 17,000 Māori voters have switched between the Māori and general electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 General Election, as enrolment activity accelerates and thousands of new voters prepare to have their say.

Between 31 March and 6 August, 9,400 voters moved from the general roll onto the Māori roll, while 7,633 shifted from the Māori roll to the general roll.

That leaves a net movement of 1,767 voters towards the Māori roll.

But the roll changes are only part of a much bigger surge in electoral activity.

More than 60,000 people of Māori descent changed rolls, enrolled for the first time or updated their enrolment details during the period, highlighting the growing focus on participation as the country heads towards the 7 November election.

As of 6 August, 565,092 Māori voters were enrolled across Aotearoa.

Of those, 55 percent were registered on the Māori roll, compared with 45 percent on the general roll.

The choice has important implications.

Māori who select the Māori roll vote for candidates contesting one of the Māori electorates, while those on the general roll vote for candidates in their local general electorate.

Both groups still cast a party vote under the MMP electoral system.

The number of people choosing the Māori roll also plays a role in determining the number and boundaries of Māori electorates over time, making individual enrolment decisions collectively significant for Māori political representation.

For voters already enrolled, the opportunity to switch rolls before this year’s election has now closed.

A three-month pre-election cutoff is in effect, meaning enrolled voters cannot move between the Māori and general rolls again until after polling day.

The cutoff provides certainty over which electorate voters belong to as election officials prepare electoral rolls and administer the election.

However, the deadline does not mean unenrolled Māori have lost their opportunity to participate.

People of Māori descent who are not yet enrolled can still enrol and choose either the Māori roll or general roll until 25 October.

That creates an important window for first-time voters, particularly rangatahi becoming eligible to participate in a general election for the first time.

Officials say enrolment activity, particularly among new voters, has been significantly higher than during the 2023 Māori Electoral Option period.

That will be encouraging for organisations working to increase Māori electoral participation.

Historically, getting eligible voters enrolled has been one of the major challenges facing electoral campaigns, with particular attention frequently placed on rangatahi and communities where enrolment and turnout have been lower.

The latest numbers suggest heightened political interest is translating into action well before polling day.

More than 60,000 enrolments, updates and roll changes among people of Māori descent in just over four months represents substantial movement within the Māori electorate.

The decision between the Māori and general rolls is a personal one, but collectively those choices have significant political consequences.

For Māori electorate candidates, the size and composition of the Māori roll determines the pool of voters they must reach.

For political parties, movement between rolls can reshape campaign calculations and influence where resources, candidates and voter-mobilisation efforts are concentrated.

And for voters themselves, the decision determines which electorate contest they participate in.

A Māori voter on the general roll may choose between candidates standing in their geographical general electorate.

Someone living at the same address but enrolled on the Māori roll instead votes among candidates contesting the corresponding Māori electorate.

Their party-vote choices remain the same.

The figures arrive during an election in which Māori political representation and the future direction of Crown-Māori relations are expected to remain significant issues.

That makes the mobilisation of Māori voters particularly important.

The movement is also happening in both directions.

While more voters moved onto the Māori roll than left it, more than 7,600 people chose to shift to the general roll, demonstrating there is no single approach among Māori voters to how they want their electorate vote represented.

What the figures do show is engagement.

Thousands of Māori have actively reconsidered where they want their electorate vote counted, while thousands more have enrolled or updated their details.

With switching between rolls now closed for existing voters, attention will increasingly turn towards Māori who remain unenrolled.

The 25 October enrolment deadline leaves time for eligible voters to get onto the roll and choose which electoral roll they want to join.

For rangatahi Māori, that decision may represent their first formal participation in national politics.

Campaigns, iwi, Māori organisations and community groups are therefore likely to intensify efforts to ensure eligible voters understand both the enrolment process and the difference between the two rolls.

The latest figures indicate those efforts may already be having an impact.

With 565,092 Māori voters enrolled and 55 percent choosing the Māori roll, Māori will enter the final months of the campaign with significant electoral power.

More than 17,000 have already made an active decision to change where their electorate vote will be cast.

Now the bigger question is how many of those enrolled voters will turn that engagement into a vote on 7 November — and what their collective choices will mean for the next Parliament.

#MaoriVote #MaoriRoll #MaoriElectoralRoll #GeneralRoll #MaoriElectorates #MaoriVoters #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #GeneralElection #Vote2026 #EnrolToVote #GetEnrolled #RangatahiVote #RangatahiMaori #MaoriPolitics #MaoriRepresentation #PoliticalRepresentation #MMP #PartyVote #ElectorateVote #VotingNZ #DemocracyNZ #TeAoMaori #Whanau #Iwi #Hapu #TangataWhenua #ManaWhenua #Aotearoa #NZPolitics #ElectionNews #MaoriNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

The post #election2026: Māori Roll Movement Surges as 17,000 Voters Switch Ahead of Election appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Ka tū anō te Huihuinga o te Ao mō te Ārai i te Whakamomori o ngā Iwi Taketake ki Aotearoa, tekau tau i muri mai i te whakarewatanga tuatahi o te Whakapuakitanga o Tūramarama ki Rotorua.

Nō taua wā, kua horapa te kaupapa ki ngā tōpito o te ao, ā, kua kawea e ngā hapori taketake o Ahitereiria, o Kānata, o Amerika ki ō rātou ake hapori.

E ai ki te Heamana Tuarua, e ai ki a Michael Naera, he mea nui whakaharahara te whakahoki mai i te kaupapa ki tōna mātāpuna.

The post Michael Naera | Te huinga whakakotahi i ngā iwi taketake ki te wānanga i ngā take whakamomori. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Kei te tautohetia te āhua o te mahi a Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Kua puta ngā hua o te arotakenga i kōkiritia e te kāwanatanga, engari kāore anō aua kōrero kia tukuna ki te ao.

E ai ki te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, e ai ki a Tama Pōtaka, he wānanga ā-motu tēnei, ā, mā taua wānanga tahi a te kāwanatanga me te motu, ka āta whakaritea te anga e hāngai ana ki ngā āhuatanga o ēnei rā.

The post Tama Potaka | He wānanga ā-motu kei te haere mō te āhua o ngā mahi a Te Taraipiunara. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

The heart of Tāmaki Makaurau will come alive with kapa haka, kōrero, toi Māori and kai this September as the inaugural Poumatua Festival brings three days of Māori culture and history into Auckland’s city centre.

Running from 17 to 19 September 2026, the new festival will take over Auckland Town Hall, Aotea Square and Q Theatre, creating a major platform for Māori performance, storytelling and intergenerational learning.

Led by Tumutumuwhenua Cultural Trust in partnership with Auckland Live, and supported by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Auckland Council Events, Poumatua is designed to bring generations together while celebrating the whakapapa and history of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Kapa haka will be at the centre of the programme, with some of Aotearoa’s most celebrated rōpū taking the stage.

Audiences will have the opportunity to experience legendary groups including Waihīrere, Te Waka Huia, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Te Rōpū Manutaki, bringing decades of kapa haka excellence into the central city.

But Poumatua is not only about celebrating established performers.

Tamariki will also take their place through Te Kahu Tōpuni, creating a direct connection between those who have carried Māori performing arts across generations and the rangatahi who will take that legacy forward.

That intergenerational kaupapa runs throughout the festival.

Alongside kapa haka, the three-day programme will feature Māori arts, kōrero, kai and cultural experiences intended to showcase the breadth of Māori creativity and provide opportunities for whānau and visitors to connect with the history of the city.

At the heart of Poumatua is Tuku Whenua, a traditional ceremony commemorating the tuku whenua associated with Ngāti Whātua rangatira Apihai Te Kawau.

The ceremony acknowledges the generosity and historical decisions that helped enable the establishment of Auckland, placing Ngāti Whātua history at the centre of a festival being held within the modern city that grew from those foundations.

That historical focus gives Poumatua a significance extending beyond entertainment.

For many people moving through central Auckland today, the Māori history beneath the streets, buildings and public spaces can easily be overlooked.

Poumatua provides an opportunity to bring that whakapapa back into public view and reinforce the relationship between Ngāti Whātua, the whenua and Tāmaki Makaurau.

Holding the festival across prominent central-city venues also gives Māori culture visibility in spaces visited by thousands of Aucklanders and international visitors.

Aotea Square and Auckland Town Hall have hosted countless major civic and cultural occasions. Poumatua will now bring kapa haka, tikanga and Ngāti Whātua narratives into those spaces across three days.

The festival arrives at a time when kapa haka continues to demonstrate its power as much more than performance.

It is a vehicle for te reo Māori, whakapapa, mātauranga, identity and collective memory, providing a way for knowledge to move from kaumātua and pakeke through to rangatahi and tamariki.

Bringing iconic kapa haka rōpū together with the youngest performers makes that transmission visible on the same stages.

From tamariki taking their early steps in Māori performing arts to some of the most respected kapa haka performers in the country, Poumatua aims to show Māori culture as a living continuum rather than something confined to the past.

For Tāmaki Makaurau, the inaugural festival will also provide an opportunity to celebrate the Māori foundations of the city itself.

For three days this September, the centre of Auckland will become a place where whenua, whakapapa, history, waiata and generations meet — putting Māori identity firmly at the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau.

#PoumatuaFestival #Poumatua2026 #TamakiMakaurau #Auckland #NgatiWhatuaOrakei #NgatiWhatua #ApihaiTeKawau #TukuWhenua #KapaHaka #Waihirere #TeWakaHuia #NgatiRangiwewehi #TeRopuManutaki #TeKahuTopuni #Tamariki #RangatahiMaori #Kaumatua #Whanau #Whakapapa #Whenua #ManaWhenua #TangataWhenua #TeReoMaori #TikangaMaori #MataurangaMaori #ToiMaori #MaoriArts #MaoriCulture #MaoriHistory #MaoriPerformingArts #AoteaSquare #AucklandTownHall #QTheatre #AucklandEvents #AucklandLive #Tumutumuwhenua #TinoRangatiratanga #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #AucklandNews #WhatsOnAuckland #NZEvents #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

The post #regional: Poumatua Festival Brings Kapa Haka Legends and Tāmaki History to the Heart of Auckland appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.