Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora is tightening the reins on recruitment, with vacancies facing greater scrutiny and senior-level approval as the organisation attempts to bring workforce costs under control.

The tougher approach comes as the health system remains under considerable pressure, creating a difficult balancing act between meeting Government savings and efficiency expectations and ensuring hospitals and health services have enough people to safely care for patients.

Internal documents show filling vacancies is no longer necessarily a straightforward replacement process, with recruitment requiring additional scrutiny before positions can be approved.

The controls are intended to manage one of Health NZ’s largest expenses — its workforce — as the organisation attempts to operate within tighter financial settings.

But unions and frontline health workers are concerned that leaving positions vacant for longer could simply transfer financial pressure into other parts of the health system.

When nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, administrators and support workers are not replaced, remaining staff can face heavier workloads while patients potentially experience greater pressure on access and waiting times.

That creates a fundamental question for Health NZ: when does controlling workforce spending begin costing the health system somewhere else?

Vacancies can potentially produce immediate savings on a balance sheet, but prolonged understaffing can contribute to overtime, burnout, increased reliance on temporary workers and difficulties retaining experienced staff.

If services lose capacity, pressure can also move elsewhere — including emergency departments, primary healthcare and already stretched hospital services.

For Māori, workforce decisions carry an additional concern.

A strong Māori health workforce and culturally capable services are important to improving access and outcomes for whānau, particularly in communities already facing barriers to healthcare.

Recruitment restraints therefore need to be considered not only in terms of overall staff numbers, but also their potential impact on Māori health workers, specialist roles and services supporting whānau.

The controversy comes amid a wider political argument over the state of New Zealand’s public health system and how much money is required to maintain and improve frontline services.

The Government is seeking greater efficiency and financial discipline across Health NZ, while health unions and opposition parties have repeatedly warned against achieving savings by allowing vacancies to remain unfilled.

Health NZ faces a genuine financial challenge.

Healthcare spending continues to compete with rising demand, an ageing population, workforce costs and increasing pressure across hospitals and community services.

But the consequences of getting workforce planning wrong can also be significant.

Too little financial control risks an unsustainable health budget. Too much restraint risks weakening the very workforce needed to deliver the services taxpayers are funding.

That means the debate over Health NZ’s hiring crackdown ultimately comes down to more than how many vacancies receive approval.

The real measure will be what happens on the frontline — whether patients continue receiving safe and timely healthcare, whether existing staff can sustain their workloads, and whether short-term savings today create bigger health and financial costs tomorrow.

#HealthNZ #TeWhatuOra #HealthNZHiring #HiringCrackdown #HealthWorkforce #HospitalStaffing #HealthcareNZ #NursesNZ #DoctorsNZ #FrontlineHealth #HealthFunding #HealthBudget #PatientSafety #PatientCare #HealthcareWorkers #WorkforceShortage #Hauora #HauoraMaori #MaoriHealth #MaoriHealthWorkforce #HealthEquity #Whanau #Kaumatua #Rangatahi #PublicHealth #GovernmentSpending #CostCutting #NZPolitics #Election2026 #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #HealthNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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One of Aotearoa’s major logistics companies is entering a new era, with Cardinal Logistics sold to a consortium of long-term New Zealand investors that includes several iwi commercial entities.

The new investor group brings together Raukawa Iwi Development, Pare Hauraki Asset Holdings, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Holdings, Tama Asset Holding Company and Rangitāne Holdings, alongside New Zealand family offices.

Together, the investors have around $1 billion in combined equity backing, giving the consortium significant financial strength as Cardinal enters its next phase of growth.

The transaction also represents another significant example of Māori capital moving into major commercial businesses and industries central to the New Zealand economy.

Logistics sits at the heart of the country’s supply chain, connecting manufacturers, importers, retailers and consumers and ensuring products move efficiently around Aotearoa.

For iwi investors, businesses such as Cardinal offer opportunities to diversify commercial portfolios while building assets capable of generating returns for current and future generations.

The change in ownership also marks the end of an era for Cardinal founder Tony Gorton, who is exiting the business 35 years after establishing the company.

While ownership is changing, operational continuity remains, with Chief Executive Brendon Furness staying at the helm.

Cardinal is also investing heavily in the future of logistics through technology and automation.

The company has recently completed Stage 2 of its automated Drury distribution centre, significantly expanding its capability as automation increasingly transforms the logistics sector.

Once fully fitted out, the Drury facility is expected to become the largest third-party logistics automation site in the Southern Hemisphere.

That investment points towards a logistics industry increasingly driven by robotics, sophisticated warehouse systems, data and automation as companies look for faster and more efficient ways to move goods through their supply chains.

For Māori investors, the Cardinal transaction also highlights the increasing scale and diversity of the Māori economy.

Iwi commercial entities have traditionally held substantial investments in areas including property, fisheries, farming and forestry, but Māori capital is increasingly reaching into infrastructure, technology and major operating businesses.

Those investments can provide another pathway towards intergenerational wealth, allowing commercial returns generated today to support iwi aspirations, whānau development and future generations.

With around $1 billion in combined equity behind Cardinal’s new investors, the acquisition demonstrates the growing capacity of iwi and other New Zealand investors to participate in significant domestic transactions.

For Cardinal, the sale closes the chapter on 35 years under its founder while opening another centred on long-term New Zealand ownership, technological expansion and automation.

For the iwi entities involved, it represents something bigger — Māori capital taking an increasingly influential position within the infrastructure and businesses that keep Aotearoa moving.

#CardinalLogistics #Cardinal #IwiInvestment #MaoriInvestment #MaoriEconomy #MaoriBusiness #IwiBusiness #RaukawaIwiDevelopment #PareHauraki #TeAtiawa #Rangitane #MaoriCapital #MaoriEnterprise #MaoriEconomicDevelopment #IntergenerationalWealth #IwiEconomy #IwiAssets #SupplyChain #LogisticsNZ #Drury #Automation #Robotics #Technology #Infrastructure #EconomicDevelopment #MaoriOwnership #TinoRangatiratanga #Whanau #Iwi #Hapu #Mokopuna #NZBusiness #NZEconomy #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #BusinessNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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One of Aotearoa’s longest-running land disputes has reached a historic milestone, with the Nelson Tenths Bill passing its final reading in Parliament after more than 180 years of struggle for recognition and justice.

The dispute stretches back to the early days of European settlement in the Nelson region and centres on the Nelson Tenths arrangement.

Under that arrangement, a portion of land sold for settlement was supposed to be reserved for Māori. However, the promised whenua was never fully provided, creating a grievance that descendants of the original customary owners have pursued across generations.

The passage of the legislation addresses longstanding Crown failures associated with those commitments and gives effect to redress intended to finally resolve the historic dispute.

For descendants of the customary owners, the legislation represents far more than the conclusion of a legal process.

At its heart is a struggle over whenua, whakapapa and promises made to tūpuna, and the consequences that flowed through successive generations when those promises were not honoured.

The dispute has endured for more than 180 years, making the final passage of the Bill a significant moment in the relationship between the Crown and the descendants who continued seeking recognition of their rights.

It also demonstrates the extraordinary persistence required of Māori communities pursuing historic land grievances.

Generations have carried the Nelson Tenths kaupapa forward, ensuring the original commitments were not forgotten despite the passage of time.

The legislation now provides a pathway for redress and brings a measure of resolution to one of the country’s most enduring disputes over Crown land dealings.

But while Parliament’s final vote closes an important chapter, the significance of the Nelson Tenths story extends beyond the legislation itself.

It is another reminder of how decisions made during colonisation continue to have consequences for Māori communities today, particularly where promised whenua was lost or withheld.

More than 180 years after the Nelson Tenths arrangement was established, Parliament has now acted to address those failures.

For the descendants who kept the kaupapa alive across generations, the passage of the Bill marks a long-awaited step towards restoring what was promised and recognising a grievance that refused to disappear with time.

#NelsonTenths #NelsonTenthsBill #TeTauihu #Whakatu #Nelson #Whenua #WhenuaMaori #MaoriLand #MaoriLandRights #ManaWhenua #TangataWhenua #Whakapapa #Tupuna #Iwi #Hapu #CrownMaoriRelations #HistoricalRedress #MaoriHistory #NZHistory #IndigenousRights #LandRights #Justice #TinoRangatiratanga #TeTiriti #TeTiritiOWaitangi #ParliamentNZ #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #NZPolitics #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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A new directive advising public servants not to attend a Māori Language Week parade during paid work time has reignited debate over the Crown’s role in supporting and normalising te reo Māori.

The guidance reportedly makes clear public servants are still free to participate in the parade, but should attend in their own time or take leave rather than treating the event as part of their normal paid employment.

The distinction has raised wider questions about whether participation in activities promoting te reo Māori, an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand, should be regarded as legitimate cultural and professional engagement within the public service.

For government agencies, the issue goes beyond attendance at a single parade.

Public-sector organisations have spent years developing greater capability in te reo Māori, tikanga and engagement with Māori communities, while many have incorporated language objectives into their organisational planning and staff development.

The new guidance therefore raises questions about where the Government draws the line between supporting those objectives within the workplace and allowing staff to participate in public celebrations of te reo during work hours.

It also comes as Te Wiki o te Reo Māori continues to provide a national platform for encouraging greater everyday use and visibility of the language.

For supporters of public-service participation, events such as the parade can provide practical opportunities for staff to demonstrate their commitment to te reo Māori and engage with communities.

Others may argue taxpayer-funded working hours should remain focused on employees carrying out their specific public-service responsibilities, with attendance at public events considered a personal choice unless directly connected to their role.

That tension sits at the centre of the latest debate.

The issue is particularly significant because the public service has a substantial influence over how New Zealanders encounter te reo Māori.

Government departments communicate with millions of people, develop policies affecting Māori communities and interact with iwi, hapū and whānau across areas including health, education, housing, justice and social development.

Building cultural capability within those agencies can therefore have consequences well beyond the workplace.

The directive also raises the question of consistency.

If agencies have plans and responsibilities aimed at strengthening te reo Māori capability, supporters of the parade may question whether preventing participation during work hours sends a conflicting message to employees who have been encouraged to incorporate the language into their professional lives.

For Māori language advocates, normalisation has long been about moving te reo beyond designated classrooms and ceremonial occasions and making it visible and heard throughout everyday Aotearoa.

That includes workplaces.

As debate continues, the question facing the public service is not whether staff are allowed to support te reo Māori — the guidance reportedly confirms they can.

The bigger question is whether that support is considered part of the public service’s work and responsibilities, or something employees should pursue only on their own time.

With the revitalisation of te reo Māori remaining an important national kaupapa, how the Crown answers that question could carry significance well beyond a single parade.

#TeReoMaori #TeWikiOTeReoMaori #MaoriLanguageWeek #MaoriLanguage #ReoMaori #PublicService #PublicServants #PublicSector #CrownMaoriRelations #TeTiriti #TeTiritiOWaitangi #TikangaMaori #MataurangaMaori #MaoriLanguageRevitalisation #LanguageRevitalisation #Whanau #Iwi #Hapu #TangataWhenua #TinoRangatiratanga #MaoriCulture #GovernmentNZ #NZPolitics #Election2026 #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #PoliticalNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is weighing into one of the biggest infrastructure debates facing Aotearoa as the election campaign gathers pace — whether Auckland needs a second harbour crossing and, crucially, how the country would pay for it.

The proposed additional Waitematā Harbour crossing has the potential to become the most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in New Zealand, putting its cost, design and funding firmly on the political agenda.

For Tāmaki Makaurau, the argument is about much more than building another way across the harbour.

Auckland is the country’s largest population and economic centre, and congestion around the existing Harbour Bridge and wider transport network has long created pressure for additional capacity and greater resilience.

Supporters of another crossing argue New Zealand cannot continue delaying major infrastructure while Auckland grows, particularly when disruption to existing transport links can have consequences for commuters, freight and the wider economy.

But the potential price tag creates an equally difficult question.

With the Government already facing demands for investment in hospitals, schools, housing, roads, rail and other infrastructure, committing billions of dollars to a single Auckland project would require major funding decisions stretching across future governments.

That puts who pays at the centre of the debate.

Options around major infrastructure can include direct Crown funding, borrowing, road-user charges, tolls, public-private partnerships or other mechanisms that shift some of the cost towards those using or benefiting from the project.

Each option carries political consequences.

A heavily taxpayer-funded project could leave people elsewhere in Aotearoa questioning why they should shoulder such a large share of Auckland’s transport bill.

A user-pays model could instead leave Auckland motorists facing significant additional costs, while any reliance on private investment would raise questions about long-term returns and who ultimately controls key infrastructure.

For Māori, there is another dimension.

Major projects across Tāmaki Makaurau require meaningful engagement with mana whenua, particularly where development affects whenua, wai, culturally significant areas and the Waitematā itself.

The scale of a second harbour crossing means decisions made today could shape the city for generations, making environmental impacts, cultural considerations and future transport needs critical alongside the financial calculations.

Peters joins Waatea following a busy period of election campaigning and rapid-fire policy announcements, with infrastructure increasingly becoming part of the battle over which parties can demonstrate a credible long-term plan for the country.

The harbour crossing provides a powerful test of that credibility.

Politicians can agree Auckland needs resilient infrastructure, but finding tens of billions of dollars for major projects is considerably harder than announcing them.

The question confronting Peters and the other parties heading towards the election is therefore not simply whether another harbour crossing would be good for Auckland.

It is whether Aotearoa can afford to build it, whether the economic cost of continuing to delay it could ultimately be greater — and which generation of taxpayers and road users should be asked to pick up the bill.

#WinstonPeters #NZFirst #NewZealandFirst #AucklandHarbourCrossing #WaitemataHarbour #SecondHarbourCrossing #AucklandHarbourBridge #TamakiMakaurau #AucklandTransport #TransportNZ #InfrastructureNZ #Infrastructure #RoadsNZ #PublicTransport #TransportFunding #Tolls #UserPays #NZTaxpayers #NZEconomy #EconomicDevelopment #ManaWhenua #Waitemata #TeTaiao #Kaitiakitanga #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #ElectionCampaign #NZPolitics #MaoriPolitics #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #PoliticalNews #AucklandNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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Dame Noeline Taurua has added another golden chapter to her extraordinary coaching legacy, guiding the Silver Ferns back to the top of the Commonwealth Games podium with a gutsy victory over Jamaica in Glasgow.

New Zealand secured the 2026 Commonwealth Games netball gold medal with a 56–48 win over Jamaica in the final, delivering the Silver Ferns their first Commonwealth Games title since 2010.

The result marks another major achievement for Taurua, whose name has become synonymous with some of the greatest moments in modern New Zealand netball.

Her reputation has been built not only on winning, but on her ability to bring together players, create belief within teams and produce performances when the pressure is at its greatest.

That was again on display in Glasgow.

Facing a powerful Jamaican side with Commonwealth gold on the line, the Silver Ferns delivered the composure and determination needed to complete their campaign and return New Zealand to the top of the podium.

The victory ends a 16-year wait for Commonwealth Games netball gold and adds another major international trophy to Taurua’s coaching record.

Her defining achievement remains the Silver Ferns’ remarkable transformation ahead of the 2019 Netball World Cup, when she took a New Zealand side that had endured a difficult period and rebuilt it into world champions.

Seven years later, another generation of Silver Ferns has experienced what Taurua can bring to a team.

Her coaching philosophy has consistently focused on extracting the best from individual players while building the collective strength needed to perform on the international stage.

For Māori and Pacific communities, netball also carries enormous significance as one of the sports where generations of wāhine have excelled and where young players can see pathways from community courts to representing Aotearoa on the world stage.

Taurua’s success adds to that legacy and provides another moment for aspiring players and coaches to look towards.

The Glasgow triumph is also a reminder of how difficult sustained international success can be.

Elite sport moves quickly, teams rebuild, opponents improve and expectations remain high. Yet Taurua has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to adapt while maintaining the standards required of the Silver Ferns.

From world champions in 2019 to Commonwealth Games champions in 2026, her influence now stretches across different generations of New Zealand players.

The latest gold medal further strengthens Dame Noeline Taurua’s place among Aotearoa’s most accomplished sporting coaches.

And after eight years of rebuilding, pressure, international battles and changing playing groups, the Silver Ferns are once again Commonwealth champions.

For Dame Noeline, Glasgow provides another defining achievement in a remarkable career — and another gold medal chapter in the history of New Zealand netball.

#DameNoelineTaurua #NoelineTaurua #SilverFerns #SilverFernsNetball #CommonwealthGames #CommonwealthGames2026 #Glasgow2026 #GoldMedal #CommonwealthGold #Netball #NetballNZ #NewZealandNetball #NZSport #WahineToa #WahineMaori #MaoriSport #WomenInSport #WomenInLeadership #SportsLeadership #JamaicaNetball #NetballWorldCup #WorldChampions #TeamNZ #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #SportsNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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ACT Party leader David Seymour is weighing into the growing debate over Auckland’s proposed second harbour crossing, as infrastructure spending becomes a major battleground heading towards the election.

Seymour follows New Zealand First leader Winston Peters into the Waatea studio at a time when political parties are rolling out policies and major spending commitments, with the future of Tāmaki Makaurau’s transport network emerging as one of the biggest questions.

At the centre of the debate is the proposed additional Waitematā Harbour crossing, a project that could become the most expensive infrastructure undertaking in New Zealand history.

The scale of the proposal presents politicians with three fundamental questions — whether New Zealand can afford to build it, who should pay, and whether Auckland can afford to continue without it.

Auckland’s population and transport demands are continuing to grow, placing increasing pressure on existing roads, public transport and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

The existing bridge is also a critical piece of national infrastructure, meaning disruption can have consequences extending beyond commuters to businesses, freight movements and the wider economy.

Supporters of another crossing argue the debate therefore needs to consider resilience as well as congestion.

But building infrastructure on this scale comes with an enormous financial challenge.

Any future government would need to determine how much should come directly from taxpayers and how much should be recovered from Aucklanders and those using the new crossing.

Potential funding mechanisms could include tolls, congestion charges, road-user charges, borrowing, private investment or partnerships between government and commercial investors.

Those choices could become particularly important for ACT.

Seymour and his party have traditionally placed strong emphasis on disciplined government spending, value for taxpayers and greater use of user-pays principles, meaning a project potentially costing many billions of dollars presents a significant test of those priorities.

There is also a national fairness question.

Communities outside Auckland face their own infrastructure deficits, including ageing roads, hospitals, schools, water systems and regional transport connections.

Committing enormous amounts of public money to one project in Tāmaki Makaurau could therefore trigger debate about whether Auckland should contribute a greater share of the cost.

On the other hand, Auckland is the country’s largest city and a major engine of the national economy. Transport bottlenecks there can create economic costs that ultimately extend well beyond the region.

For Māori, any crossing would also need to involve more than engineering and economics.

The Waitematā is culturally significant, and a project of this magnitude would require meaningful engagement with mana whenua over impacts on wai, whenua, te taiao and sites of cultural significance.

Decisions about the crossing could shape Tāmaki Makaurau for generations, making the voices of mana whenua important in determining what infrastructure is built and how.

With the election approaching, the harbour crossing is becoming a useful test of competing political philosophies.

Most parties can recognise the need for better infrastructure. The harder argument begins when politicians have to explain how much they are prepared to spend, where the money will come from and who will ultimately pay it back.

For Seymour, that puts the second Waitematā crossing squarely at the intersection of ACT’s arguments about government spending, infrastructure, economic growth and personal responsibility.

And for voters, the choice may eventually come down to an equally difficult calculation — whether paying billions for another harbour crossing is too expensive, or whether another generation of congestion and delayed infrastructure would cost Aotearoa even more.

#DavidSeymour #ACTParty #ACTNZ #AucklandHarbourCrossing #SecondHarbourCrossing #WaitemataHarbour #AucklandHarbourBridge #TamakiMakaurau #AucklandTransport #TransportNZ #InfrastructureNZ #Infrastructure #TransportFunding #Tolls #CongestionCharging #UserPays #Taxpayers #GovernmentSpending #NZEconomy #EconomicGrowth #ManaWhenua #Kaitiakitanga #TeTaiao #Waitemata #Auckland #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #ElectionCampaign #NZPolitics #MaoriPolitics #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #PoliticalNews #AucklandNews #NZNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

The post #regional: Harbour Crossing Showdown: Seymour Faces the Question of Who Pays appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I tukuna e ReoPol tana rarangi hai mahi hai whakatutuki mā ngā pāti tōrangapū , ko te whāinga matua o te kaupapa nei ko te whakamātāmua i te reo Māori hai kaupapa tōrangapū kore.

E ai ki te Kaikōkiri o Reopol e ai ki a Takuta Vincent Olsen-Reeder ko te tūmanako ka whai kaupapa here te reo Māori i ngā pāti tōrangapū, e whai ake nei ko te whānuitanga.

The post Dr. Vincent Olsen-Reeder | Ehara te reo Māori i te take tōrangapū! appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I unuhia e te Kāwanatanga te Pire Whakatikatika i te Ture Ahumoana, ā, kāore taua pire e kōkiri whakamua.

Heoi, e ai ki te Minita mō ngā Tini a Tangaroa, e ai ki a Shane Jones, mēnā ka tū anō rātou hei Kāwanatanga, ka tirohia anō te pire, ka whakarerekēhia, ā, ka ngana anō rātou ki te whakamana i taua pire.

The post Shane Jones | Ki te tū anō hai Minita, ka kōkirihia tētahi anō pire whakarerekē i ngā ture Ahumoana. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

New Zealand’s weakening labour market is hitting Māori, rangatahi and regional communities particularly hard, with economist Matt Roskruge joining Waatea to examine what rising unemployment says about the state of the economy and what needs to happen next.

The national unemployment rate climbed to 5.6 percent in the June quarter, its highest level in more than a decade. Around 171,000 people are now unemployed, an increase of about 8,000 over the quarter.

But the headline number masks a much sharper impact on Māori.

Māori unemployment reached 10.8 percent, almost twice the national rate, while Pacific unemployment stood at 11.6 percent. Māori underutilisation, which also captures people wanting more work or available for work, reached 22.8 percent.

Rangatahi are also bearing a disproportionate share of the downturn.

The number of unemployed 15 to 24-year-olds increased by 19.5 percent over the year to June, representing another 12,200 young people without work. There were also more than 180,000 young people aged 15 to 24 classified as underutilised.

For young people attempting to enter the workforce, a slowing economy can create a particularly difficult cycle.

When businesses stop expanding and hiring slows, employers can become more selective. Experienced workers compete for positions further down the employment ladder, while school leavers, graduates and rangatahi looking for their first job can struggle to get the experience employers demand.

The Reserve Bank had already warned that reduced economic activity was lowering demand for workers, with compressed business margins and slower hiring contributing to higher unemployment.

The regional picture is equally concerning.

Te Tai Tokerau recorded the country’s highest regional unemployment rate at 8.8 percent, up sharply from 5.1 percent in the previous quarter. The increase comes amid significant employment disruption, including timber mill closures and pressure on industries important to the Northland economy.

For whānau, unemployment is much more than an economic statistic.

Losing a job or being unable to find enough hours can quickly flow through to rent or mortgage payments, grocery budgets, power bills and the ability to participate in whānau and community life.

For rangatahi, extended periods without work can also mean missing the critical first steps of a career — gaining skills, workplace relationships, qualifications and the employment history needed to move into better-paid jobs.

That puts greater focus on whether Aotearoa has enough pathways connecting young people with apprenticeships, vocational education, kaupapa Māori employment programmes and employers prepared to give first-time workers an opportunity.

Roskruge’s previous economic analysis has highlighted the particular vulnerability of Māori workers because of their representation in industries sensitive to economic cycles, including forestry, construction, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.

But the Māori economy also represents part of the potential solution.

Iwi, Māori businesses, regional enterprises and kaupapa Māori organisations have an increasingly significant role in creating employment and developing training pathways that connect rangatahi with opportunities in their own rohe.

With Election 2026 underway, unemployment is now becoming another major test for political parties.

The argument will not simply be about when economic growth returns.

For Māori communities, the bigger question is whether that recovery produces sustainable jobs in the regions, creates genuine pathways for rangatahi and ensures Māori are among the first to benefit from an improving economy rather than the last.

#MattRoskruge #Unemployment #MaoriUnemployment #YouthUnemployment #Rangatahi #RangatahiMaori #MaoriEconomy #MaoriBusiness #MaoriJobs #JobsNZ #JobsCrisis #Employment #EmploymentNZ #TeTaiTokerau #Northland #Whanau #WhanauOra #CostOfLiving #CostOfLivingNZ #EconomicRecovery #NZEconomy #RegionalDevelopment #Apprenticeships #VocationalTraining #SkillsTraining #KaupapaMaori #IwiEconomy #MaoriEconomicDevelopment #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #NZPolitics #MaoriPolitics #Aotearoa #MaoriNews #NZNews #BusinessNews #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #WaateaDigital

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