Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

E ai ki te heamana o te Kāporeihana a iwi o Ngāti Kahungunu, e ai ki a Bayden Barber, he kaupapa pai te kaupapa here o Te Waonui a Tāne nā te Rōpū Kākāriki.

Hei tāna, ko te inihua tētahi o ngā nama nui mō ngā marae, ā, i te pikinga o ngā utu inihua nō te taunga mai o huripare kapareira ka wāhi hiki tēnei kaupapa here i ngā nama nui e pīkau nei ngā marae huri taiāwhio i te motu.

The post Bayden Barber | Ko te inihua te nama nui e pēhi kino nei i ngā marae o te motu. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Ko Rangituhi i Porirua kei te kōrerohia whānuitia e te marea nā te hiahia a ētahi kamupēne nō tāwāhi ki te whakatū i tētahi pāka whakangahau ki runga i te maunga arā tētahi adventure Park. I whakaae te Kaunihera o Porirua kia whakaroahia te riihi mō taua kaupapa.

I tuku tono a Ngāti Toarangatira kia whakahokia a Rangituhi ki a rātou, ā, kāore anō tērā take kia tau. Hei tā te heamana o te rūnanga, hai tā Callum Katene, e tautoko ana te iwi i ngā pakihi e whakatū kaupapa ana ki runga i ō rātou whenua, engari me whakamana te iwi nōnā te wāhi, me whakaute hoki te taiao whānui.

The post Callum Katene | Ngā whanaketanga o te wā i Rangituhi, Porirua. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

A leading health policy expert is highlighting the growing importance of how Aotearoa funds, organises and measures the performance of its health system, as pressure continues across primary and hospital care.

Professor Tim Tenbensel, Professor of Health Policy at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, specialises in the structure and performance of New Zealand’s health system, with a particular focus on primary healthcare.

His research examines how health policy moves from decisions made at government level into services experienced by patients and communities.

A key part of that work has focused on Primary Health Organisations, including how primary care is funded and organised and how policy settings affect the delivery of frontline services.

Tenbensel has also investigated the use of health targets and performance measures, looking at whether government initiatives translate into meaningful improvements across the health sector.

His work comes as New Zealand continues to confront major challenges around health funding, workforce capacity, access to primary care and the balance between public and private healthcare.

These pressures are particularly significant for Māori, with longstanding inequities in access, outcomes and the wider determinants of health remaining central issues for the health system.

Tenbensel’s research also explores the gap that can emerge between the intentions of health policy and what happens when those policies are implemented on the ground.

With demand for healthcare continuing to grow, the organisation and funding of primary care is expected to remain a major part of the debate over the future direction of New Zealand’s health system.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #Waatea #MāoriNews #MāoriHealth #Hauora #HauoraMāori #HealthNZ #NZHealth #NewZealandHealth #PrimaryHealthcare #PrimaryCare #HealthPolicy #HealthFunding #HealthWorkforce #HealthEquity #TimTenbensel #UniversityOfAuckland #WaipapaTaumataRau #Aotearoa #NewZealand

The post #hauora: Health System Under Pressure as Funding and Primary Care Face Scrutiny appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

New Zealand’s leading children’s charities are calling on political parties to commit to practical changes that would provide greater support for seriously ill tamariki, rangatahi and the whānau caring for them.

The Children and Young People’s Health Collective has launched a new manifesto setting out priorities it wants political leaders to address, putting the experiences of children with serious health conditions and their families firmly on the political agenda.

The Collective brings together organisations working directly with children, young people and families navigating serious illness and the health system.

Nick Laing, Chair of the Children and Young People’s Health Collective and Chief Executive of Canteen Aotearoa, says the manifesto is focused on practical improvements that could make a meaningful difference for families already carrying the emotional, financial and logistical pressures of caring for a sick child.

The campaign is pushing political parties to recognise that serious childhood illness affects the whole whānau, with families often having to manage time away from work, travel for treatment, accommodation costs and lengthy periods away from their usual support networks.

The Collective wants stronger coordination and support across health and social services so families can concentrate more of their energy on their child rather than navigating complicated systems.

For Māori whānau, improving access to culturally responsive and equitable healthcare also remains critical, particularly when specialist treatment can require families to travel significant distances from their kāinga and wider whānau support.

The manifesto puts the challenge directly before political parties as they develop their health and social policies, asking them to ensure seriously ill children, young people and their caregivers are not overlooked when decisions are made about the future of healthcare in Aotearoa.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #Waatea #MāoriNews #Tamariki #Rangatahi #Whānau #Hauora #HauoraMāori #ChildHealth #ChildrensHealth #SeriouslyIllChildren #CanteenAotearoa #CanteenNZ #CYPHealthCollective #NickLaing #HealthEquity #WhānauSupport #NZHealth #HealthcareNZ #Aotearoa #NewZealand #NZPolitics #ElectionNZ

The post #hauora: Children’s Charities Challenge Political Parties to Back Sick Kids and Whānau appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

A Rotorua cafe built around the revitalisation of te reo Māori is breaking new economic ground, becoming the first pakihi Māori to seek funding through a new kaupapa Māori peer-to-peer lending platform.

Rumaki Cafe is seeking $15,000 through Te Whare Manaaki, an initiative developed by IndigiShare to connect Māori businesses with whānau, hapū, iwi, trusts and organisations wanting to put their pūtea behind Māori enterprise.

IndigiShare chief executive Maria Ngawati says the milestone represents an opportunity to rethink how Māori businesses access capital and how Māori communities can directly support the growth of pakihi they believe in.

Unlike conventional crowdfunding, Te Whare Manaaki operates through a zero-interest repayable lending model.

Kaituku Pūtea pledge money towards a participating Māori business and, once its funding target is reached, the pūtea is provided as a loan.

When the business repays the money, those who provided it can withdraw their funds or choose to support another Māori enterprise.

The model means the same pool of capital could potentially move from one pakihi to another, creating a cycle of community-backed Māori investment.

Rumaki Cafe is the first business to test the approach.

The cafe has already secured $118,000 in investment and another $28,000 from donors as it develops its distinctive kaupapa in Rotorua.

Rumaki is designed as a fully immersive te reo Māori environment where customers can use and strengthen their reo while doing something as everyday as ordering coffee or kai.

The business demonstrates the potential for Māori enterprise to deliver cultural as well as economic outcomes, using commerce as another environment for language revitalisation.

Te Whare Manaaki is being piloted through the Financial Markets Authority Regulatory Sandbox, providing an opportunity for IndigiShare to test and refine the lending model within a controlled regulatory setting.

Access to finance remains a significant challenge for many Māori entrepreneurs, particularly smaller or emerging businesses that may struggle to secure conventional lending despite having strong ideas and community support.

Te Whare Manaaki is attempting to provide another pathway by combining kaupapa Māori, collective investment and recyclable capital.

For Ngawati and IndigiShare, Rumaki represents more than the first business seeking funding through a new platform.

It is a test of whether Māori communities can create new ways of putting Māori pūtea behind Māori aspirations — allowing one investment to potentially support generations of pakihi Māori.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #RumakiCafe #Rumaki #TeWhareManaaki #IndigiShare #MariaNgawati #PakihiMāori #MāoriBusiness #MāoriEnterprise #MāoriEntrepreneurs #MāoriEconomy #MāoriInvestment #KaupapaMāori #KaitukuPūtea #PūteaMāori #PeerToPeerLending #CommunityInvestment #BusinessFunding #Rotorua #Waiariki #TeArawa #TeReoMāori #ReoMāori #LanguageRevitalisation #Whānau #Hapū #Iwi #Aotearoa #NZBusiness #NZNews

The post #economy: Māori Pūtea Backs Māori Dreams as Rumaki Breaks New Lending Ground appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

New Zealand is being warned it is not moving fast enough to prepare communities for the growing impacts of climate change.

New research from He Pou a Rangi, the Climate Change Commission, has raised concerns that the country’s climate adaptation efforts are failing to keep pace with increasing risks from extreme weather, flooding, coastal erosion and other climate-related hazards.

Jo Hendry from the Climate Change Commission says adaptation cannot be treated as a problem for future governments, with communities already confronting the consequences of a changing climate.

The warning shifts attention beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions to how Aotearoa prepares for climate impacts that are already occurring or can no longer be avoided.

That includes decisions around infrastructure, housing, transport, water systems and where future development should take place, as well as how communities exposed to flooding and coastal hazards will be supported.

The issue carries particular significance for Māori communities, where climate impacts can threaten not only homes and infrastructure but whenua, marae, wāhi tapu, mahinga kai and connections between whānau and their rohe.

The Commission’s concerns come amid wider debate over the Government’s climate direction, including its decision to reject recommendations from the Commission on strengthening New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets.

While emissions reduction remains critical, the latest warning highlights another challenge facing policymakers: preparing Aotearoa for the climate change impacts that are already building.

The Commission says delaying adaptation risks leaving future governments, councils, iwi, businesses and households facing greater disruption and potentially much higher costs.

The message is increasingly urgent — planning for a changing climate needs to happen before the next disaster, rather than after it.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAdaptation #ClimateAction #HePouARangi #ClimateChangeCommission #JoHendry #Aotearoa #Māori #Iwi #Whānau #Whenua #Marae #Hapū #Hauora #ClimateResilience #ExtremeWeather #Flooding #CoastalErosion #Emissions #EmissionsReduction #NZClimate #NZPolitics #NewZealand #EnvironmentNZ #ClimatePolicy

The post #climatechange: Climate Clock Ticking as Aotearoa Falls Behind on Adaptation appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

A new approach to methamphetamine recovery in Tairāwhiti is putting whānau and community at the centre of the journey, with a residential safe space now three months into its work supporting people before and after rehabilitation.

Te Whare Whakawatea was developed to fill a critical gap in addiction services by providing a safe, non-clinical environment for people committed to overcoming methamphetamine addiction.

Implementation manager Meka Whaitiri says the kaupapa is designed to bridge some of the most vulnerable stages of recovery — particularly the period between acute care and entering rehabilitation, and the transition back into the community afterwards.

The model was developed after concerns that people seeking rehabilitation from Tairāwhiti often had to travel outside the region to centres in places such as Auckland or Rotorua.

Before the whare was established, people leaving acute care could also face a gap while waiting for a rehabilitation placement, while those returning home after treatment risked being placed straight back into the same environments associated with their addiction.

Te Whare Whakawatea aims to break that cycle by providing residential support, kai and individual whānau plans while people prepare for rehabilitation.

Support continues after treatment, with the whare helping people reintegrate into their whānau and community while maintaining their recovery.

The approach recognises that overcoming addiction does not end when somebody walks out the doors of a rehabilitation centre.

Whānau are also part of the process, reflecting a wider kaupapa Māori approach to recovery that looks beyond the individual and towards the environment and relationships surrounding them.

The initiative comes as methamphetamine continues to cause significant harm across Tairāwhiti. Wastewater figures for the final quarter of 2025 placed Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne second nationally for methamphetamine consumption, behind Northland.

The pilot was established with government addiction-services funding and was designed to test whether a whānau and community-led residential model could improve recovery outcomes.

Three months into the kaupapa, attention is now turning to what the experience can teach health providers and policymakers about closing the gaps that can leave people vulnerable to relapse.

The work also comes as the Government’s new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy identifies substance-related harm as an increasing challenge and calls for more connected, community-based and recovery-focused services.

For Tairāwhiti, Te Whare Whakawatea represents an attempt to ensure people seeking freedom from methamphetamine have somewhere safe to stand while taking the next step in their recovery.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #Tairāwhiti #TeWhareWhakawatea #MekaWhaitiri #Methamphetamine #MethRecovery #PAddiction #AddictionRecovery #DrugRecovery #HauoraMāori #MāoriHealth #MentalHealth #WhānauOra #Whānau #KaupapaMāori #CommunityCare #Rehabilitation #AddictionSupport #Gisborne #Turanga #TeTairāwhiti #Māori #Hauora #Aotearoa #NZNews

The post #regional: Safe Whare Offers New Path Out of P Addiction in Tairāwhiti appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Labour’s Willie Jackson is sharpening the party’s pitch to Māori voters ahead of the 2026 election, as economic policy, support for Māori businesses and turmoil within the National Party move into the political spotlight.

One of Labour’s most senior Māori MPs, Jackson says the party needs to clearly distinguish itself not only from the National-led Government, but also from other parties Labour may need to work with after the election.

A key issue for Jackson is ensuring Māori businesses have a greater opportunity to benefit from the billions of dollars spent by government agencies every year.

Under the Progressive Procurement policy developed under the previous Labour Government, agencies were given targets for awarding relevant contracts to Māori businesses.

The target was initially set at five percent before being lifted to eight percent, with the policy designed to increase Māori participation in government supply chains and use public spending to deliver wider economic and social benefits.

Jackson sees procurement as an important economic lever for Māori small businesses, particularly when government purchasing decisions can help businesses grow, employ more people and keep money circulating within whānau and communities.

The issue is likely to form part of a wider election debate about the Māori economy and whether government procurement should be judged primarily on price or also used to achieve broader outcomes.

Jackson has also weighed into the political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as speculation over National’s leadership triggers an urgent caucus meeting.

Despite sitting on the opposite side of Parliament, Jackson has indicated he would prefer Luxon to remain National leader.

The unfolding leadership situation creates another challenge for Labour as it prepares for the election, with any change at the top of National potentially reshaping the contest and forcing opposition parties to adjust their campaign strategies.

For Jackson and Labour, the road to 2026 will require convincing Māori voters that the party can deliver tangible economic gains, while also showing how its policies differ from both the Government and potential partners on the left.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #WillieJackson #Labour #NZLabour #ChristopherLuxon #NationalParty #NZNational #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #NZPolitics #MāoriPolitics #MāoriBusiness #MāoriEconomy #ProgressiveProcurement #GovernmentProcurement #MāoriSME #SmallBusinessNZ #TePuniKokiri #TPK #MBIE #Whānau #PakihiMāori #EconomicDevelopment #CoalitionPolitics #Aotearoa #NewZealandPolitics #NZNews

The post #election2026: Jackson Draws Labour’s Battle Lines as National Leadership Wobbles appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

New Zealand’s unemployment rate has climbed to 5.6 percent, its highest level in nearly 11 years, intensifying concern about the number of people struggling to find work.

The latest labour market figures put the number of unemployed New Zealanders at around 171,000, as a difficult jobs market continues to put pressure on households and communities across Aotearoa.

Young people are among those facing the toughest conditions, with youth unemployment rising alongside the number of rangatahi who are not in employment, education or training.

Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says the figures point to an economy that is failing to provide enough opportunities for New Zealanders looking for work.

The impact is particularly significant for Māori, with unemployment among Māori reported at 10.8 percent, almost twice the overall national rate.

Labour has placed responsibility for the deteriorating employment picture on the Government’s economic decisions, including public sector job losses and reduced or cancelled investment in infrastructure and other projects.

The Government maintains its economic programme is designed to strengthen business confidence and employment over the longer term, pointing to investment in infrastructure, tourism and international education as part of its approach to economic growth.

But with unemployment now at an 11-year high, the state of the labour market is shaping up as a major political and economic issue heading towards the election.

For rangatahi entering the workforce, the challenge could be particularly important. Missing out on early opportunities for employment, education or training can have consequences that extend well beyond the latest set of unemployment figures.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #Unemployment #NZUnemployment #Jobs #NZJobs #Rangatahi #RangatahiMāori #YouthUnemployment #NEET #MāoriEmployment #MāoriEconomy #Whānau #BarbaraEdmonds #LabourNZ #NZLabour #ChristopherLuxon #NZPolitics #Election2026 #NZElection #Economy #NZEconomy #CostOfLiving #Employment #Workforce #Aotearoa #NewZealandNews

The post #economy: Jobs Alarm: Unemployment Hits 11-Year High as Rangatahi Feel the Squeeze appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

The future of te reo Māori is being pushed firmly onto the 2026 election agenda, with language policy organisation ReoPol launching a manifesto aimed at breaking down systemic barriers facing the language.

ReoPol’s 2026 Election Manifesto, Te Reo Māori: Neutral, Cherished, Freed, sets out a four-pillar approach designed to strengthen the long-term position of te reo Māori and encourage political parties to adopt evidence-based language policies.

Led by managing director and language policy expert Dr Vincent Olsen-Reeder, ReoPol is an independent pakihi Māori and advocacy organisation rather than a political party contesting the election.

Its focus is on influencing those seeking political power by providing research, policy guidance and practical recommendations around the protection and normalisation of te reo Māori.

The manifesto comes amid heightened political debate over the place of te reo in government and public life, including changes to public sector branding and questions about how new legislation concerning the English language could interact with existing protections for te reo Māori.

ReoPol is advocating for language policy to be developed through evidence rather than political ideology, with te reo Māori treated as a living taonga requiring long-term planning and protection.

Another focus is removing bureaucratic barriers that can make it more difficult for government agencies and other organisations to confidently use and support te reo Māori.

ReoPol has also been developing guidance for public sector agencies seeking to maintain bilingual practices while navigating changes in government policy.

The organisation wants political leaders and voters to consider language revitalisation as a long-term national responsibility rather than an issue that changes direction with each government.

With Election 2026 approaching, the manifesto puts political parties on notice that their policies towards te reo Māori will be closely scrutinised.

For ReoPol, the challenge is ensuring te reo Māori is not simply celebrated symbolically, but is able to function, grow and thrive across government, workplaces, communities and everyday life for generations to come.

#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #MāoriNews #TeReoMāori #TeReo #ReoMāori #ReoPol #VincentOlsenReeder #Election2026 #NZElection2026 #NZPolitics #MāoriPolitics #MāoriLanguage #LanguageRevitalisation #LanguagePolicy #OfficialLanguages #PakihiMāori #MātaurangaMāori #TeAoMāori #TiritiOWaitangi #Māori #Iwi #Hapū #Whānau #Aotearoa #NZNews

The post #tereo: ReoPol Puts Te Reo Māori on the Election Agenda appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.