Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

Poet, GP and Hikoi 4 Health co-founder Dr Glenn Colquhoun has been travelling across Aotearoa, listening directly to communities and health workers about what they believe needs to change in the country’s public health system.

The nationwide hīkoi has put the experiences of patients, whānau and frontline health professionals at the centre of a wider conversation about whether New Zealand’s health system is delivering fair and effective care.

For Māori, the discussion has a particular focus on the barriers whānau experience when accessing healthcare and what changes could improve outcomes and make services more responsive to the communities they serve.

Colquhoun’s journey is also exploring what health workers themselves are seeing on the frontline, where the greatest pressures are being felt and what practical reforms could make the biggest difference.

As health becomes an increasingly prominent issue ahead of the November election, the hīkoi is providing communities with an opportunity to contribute their experiences and ideas about what the future of public healthcare should look like.

Dr Glenn Colquhoun joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss what he has heard around the motu, the challenges confronting Māori healthcare and whether his journey has left him hopeful meaningful change is possible.

#GlennColquhoun #Hikoi4Health #Hauora #HauoraMāori #MāoriHealth #HealthNZ #PublicHealth #HealthSystem #Whānau #HealthWorkforce #Election2026 #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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The Public Service Association says the cancelled pay equity claim covering around 65,000 care and support workers remains ready to settle, arguing the evidence of longstanding undervaluation did not disappear when the claim was stopped.

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says work completed before the 2025 changes to the Equal Pay Act found care and support workers were undervalued by between 24 and 38 percent compared with male-dominated occupations requiring comparable skills, responsibilities and effort.

The claim was one of 33 discontinued when the Government changed the pay equity system in May 2025. The Government argued the changes were necessary to create a more workable and financially sustainable system, while unions have strongly opposed the reforms and are campaigning for them to be reversed.

The PSA says the evidence underpinning the care and support claim had already been gathered using comparator occupations across Corrections, Customs, Fisheries and health. It argues that means a future government could move quickly towards a settlement rather than requiring workers to repeat years of work.

With pay equity becoming a significant election issue, the PSA is calling for the next Government to fund and settle the care and support workers’ claim within its first 100 days and restore the previous pay equity framework.

Fitzsimons joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss what cancellation of the claim has meant for workers, the evidence of undervaluation and what the PSA wants political parties to commit to ahead of the November election.

#PayEquity #FleurFitzsimons #PSA #CareWorkers #SupportWorkers #EqualPay #AgedCare #DisabilitySupport #Wāhine #WorkersRights #Election2026 #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Independent Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is taking her newly registered Te Tai Tokerau Party into the 2026 election, positioning the movement around tino rangatiratanga, stronger local decision-making and the wellbeing of tamariki and mokopuna.

Kapa-Kingi launched the party following her departure from Te Pāti Māori earlier this year. Parliament currently records her as the Independent MP for Te Tai Tokerau, while the new party is campaigning separately in the November election.

The party says its kaupapa places whānau and future generations at the centre of decision-making, with policies spanning Māori health, housing on whenua Māori, climate resilience, local economic development and strengthening iwi and hapū authority over environmental decisions.

Tino rangatiratanga is also central to the platform, with the party campaigning for stronger protection of He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti, alongside greater decision-making power for whānau, hapū, iwi and local communities.

The new movement adds another dimension to the contest for Te Tai Tokerau, where Kapa-Kingi won the electorate by 517 votes in 2023. Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Te Tai Tokerau Party all have candidates contesting the seat this election.

Kapa-Kingi joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss why she established the party, how it intends to campaign and what its kaupapa could mean for whānau in Te Tai Tokerau and across Aotearoa.

#MariamenoKapaKingi #TeTaiTokerauParty #TeTaiTokerau #TinoRangatiratanga #TeTiriti #MāoriPolitics #MāoriElection #ManaMokopuna #Whānau #Election2026 #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono is putting affordability, public services and environmental protection at the centre of the Greens’ pitch to voters as the party rolls out its 2026 election platform.

The Greens have built their campaign around three broad priorities — affordable living, healthy nature and democracy — arguing additional revenue from wealthy individuals and large corporations could be used to strengthen essential public services and reduce financial pressure on households.

Its tax policy includes a 2.5 percent tax on net assets above $10 million, excluding family homes, alongside changes to corporate taxation and a new $10,000 income tax-free threshold. The party says the package would deliver an income tax reduction to 96 percent of New Zealanders.

Energy is another major plank. The Greens propose establishing a publicly owned Kiwipower, investing $200 million in community renewable energy, expanding solar across public housing and allocating $80 million for renewable energy in Māori housing.

The party is also campaigning for stronger freshwater protections, including tighter environmental limits and wastewater rules, alongside changes intended to protect rivers, drinking water and coastal environments.

Tuiono, a Green List MP with Māori and Cook Islands heritage, joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss what the party’s policies could mean for Māori whānau, how its proposals would be funded and how the Greens intend to balance environmental protection with jobs and regional economic development. G

#TeanauTuiono #GreenParty #Election2026 #MāoriPolitics #CostOfLiving #PowerBills #Kiwipower #TaxPolicy #MāoriEconomy #Whānau #TeTaiao #Freshwater #PublicServices #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi is seeking to turn criticism from Hobson’s Pledge into political momentum, arguing opposition to his party is evidence its kaupapa is gaining greater attention heading towards Election 2026.

In a recent social media post, Waititi characterised campaigning against Te Pāti Māori by Hobson’s Pledge as free advertising and linked it to his party’s claim that Māori could have significant influence over the shape of the next Parliament.

Hobson’s Pledge is campaigning on constitutional and Treaty-related issues, including changes to the Waitangi Tribunal. The organisation says it supports equal citizenship and opposes policy distinctions based on ancestry, while Te Pāti Māori is campaigning to strengthen Te Tiriti mechanisms, including making Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding.

Waititi has also been promoting a wider Te Pāti Māori policy platform spanning taxation, household costs, energy ownership, Te Tiriti and Māori political representation. Its Energy Sovereignty policy, for example, proposes a $1 billion fund to support Māori and community-owned energy assets.

There is some evidence of strong support for the party among Māori-roll voters, although that does not establish broader electoral momentum. A September Whakaata Māori–Curia poll recorded Te Pāti Māori on 29 percent among Māori-roll respondents, compared with Labour on 27 percent and the Greens on 16 percent.

Waititi joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss the party’s election strategy, its policy priorities and why he believes attacks from political opponents and advocacy groups are strengthening rather than weakening its campaign.

#RawiriWaititi #TePātiMāori #HobsonsPledge #Election2026 #MāoriPolitics #TeTiriti #TinoRangatiratanga #MāoriSeats #MāoriVote #Waiariki #Whānau #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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02102026 Dan Te Whenua Walker

Māori technology leader Dan Te Whenua Walker says Māori and Indigenous communities need to help shape artificial intelligence rather than simply become consumers of technology designed elsewhere.

Walker, of Ngāti Ruanui, is founder and chief executive of Te Whare o Toitū AI, a kaupapa Māori organisation focused on tikanga-led and values-based approaches to artificial intelligence, including the protection of Indigenous knowledge and Māori data sovereignty.

He is among the speakers at Aotearoa’s inaugural Indigenous Tech Summit, being held at Tākina in Wellington on November 26 and 27. The summit will bring together Māori, Pacific and international Indigenous technology leaders to examine artificial intelligence, data sovereignty, innovation, enterprise and the future workforce.

For Māori, one of the major questions is who controls the information being used to develop and train AI systems. Walker has previously warned that rapidly developing technology creates both opportunities and risks for mātauranga Māori, particularly where Indigenous knowledge and data could be collected or used without appropriate governance or consent.

Walker argues Aotearoa has an opportunity to develop AI differently by embedding tikanga, whakapapa and Māori data sovereignty into technology from the beginning, rather than attempting to retrofit cultural safeguards after systems have already been developed.

He joins Ata Tū on Radio Waatea to discuss AI ethics, data sovereignty and what whānau, iwi and Māori organisations can do now to ensure Indigenous communities have a meaningful role in deciding how artificial intelligence develops.

#DanTeWhenuaWalker #ToitūAI #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #IndigenousTechSummit #MāoriTech #MāoriDataSovereignty #DataSovereignty #MātaurangaMāori #TikangaMāori #ManaMotuhake #IndigenousAI #DigitalFuture #Technology #AtaTū #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

The post Who Owns the Future? Māori Leadership Takes Centre Stage in the AI Revolution appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

I ngā kamepeina kōwhiringa ā-motu e haere ana, he nui ngā ia hou e kitea ana i ngā hapori o te motu.

E ai ki a Huhana Lyndon, kaitono tōrangapū ā-rohe mō Te Taitokerau, kua tino rerekē te wairua o ngā kōrero a ngā whānau e tae atu ana ki ngā hui kamepeina me ngā hui tautohe a ngā kaitono.

Hei tāna, kua nui ake ngā whānau e hiahia ana ki te whakaū i te āio me te mahi tahi i waenga i ngā rōpū tōrangapū, ahakoa te oke a ngā pāti i te kāwanatanga ki te whakawehewehe ki te whakaoreore i ngā kare ā-roto o te tangata.

The post Huhana Lyndon | Whakamutua atu ngā mahi whakawehewehe, ngā mahi whakaoreore i ngā kare ā-roto. appeared first on Waatea News: Māori Radio Station.

Long-time advocate for Māori social and political advancement Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says election campaigns provide an important opportunity to look beyond political slogans and examine what competing policies will actually mean for Māori.

Raukawa-Tait has spent decades contributing to public debate and challenging governments across the political spectrum on issues including Māori development, whānau wellbeing, social services and political accountability.

Her perspective comes as Election 2026 increasingly focuses on issues with significant implications for Māori, including the future of the Waitangi Tribunal, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori representation, health, housing and the cost of living. Recent polling of Māori voters found the cost of living was the most commonly identified major issue, followed by Māori-Crown relations.

The campaign has also exposed markedly different positions on the future of the Waitangi Tribunal and the constitutional relationship between Māori and the Crown, giving voters competing proposals to consider ahead of polling day.

Raukawa-Tait joins Radio Waatea to discuss how Māori issues are being framed during the campaign, whether the political debate is addressing the priorities of whānau, and what Māori voters should be listening for as parties compete for their support.

#MerepekaRaukawaTait #Election2026 #MāoriPolitics #MāoriVote #TeAoMāori #TeTiritiOWaitangi #WaitangiTribunal #MāoriCrownRelations #Whānau #MāoriDevelopment #CostOfLiving #PoliticsNZ #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Climate advocate and Ngāpuhi leader Mike Smith remains at the centre of efforts to hold governments and major emitters accountable for their response to climate change.

Smith, an elder of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu, took a landmark case against seven major New Zealand companies, arguing their greenhouse gas emissions were contributing to climate harm affecting his whenua, moana and places of cultural significance. In 2024, the Supreme Court reinstated the proceeding, allowing the claims to move beyond the strike-out stage.

The climate battle has now moved onto the international stage, with Dutch environmental justice organisation Both ENDS lodging a complaint with the European Commission over New Zealand’s climate and environmental commitments under its free trade agreement with the European Union. Smith is among those providing supporting statements, although Both ENDS is the formal complainant.

The complaint asks the European Commission to examine whether recent government decisions are consistent with commitments made under the NZ-EU agreement. No breach has been established, and the Commission is now assessing the complaint.

For Smith, the debate is also about kaitiakitanga, whakapapa and protecting the whenua and moana for generations to come, as climate policy increasingly intersects with the courts, international agreements and the rights and interests of Māori.

Mike Smith joins Radio Waatea to discuss where his climate campaign goes next and what international scrutiny could mean for Aotearoa.

#MikeSmith #Ngāpuhi #NgātiKahu #ClimateChange #ClimateAction #ClimateJustice #Kaitiakitanga #SmithVFonterra #EuropeanCommission #NZEUFTA #ParisAgreement #TeAoMāori #Whenua #Moana #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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A new report is raising concerns about the use of seclusion and compulsory treatment in Aotearoa’s mental health system, with Māori continuing to experience disproportionate impacts.

Sonya Russell, Director of Mental Health and Addiction Sector Leadership at Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, says the findings reinforce the need for a stronger human rights approach across mental health and addiction services.

The report identifies troubling increases in restrictive practices, including seclusion and compulsory treatment, with the Commission particularly concerned about what the figures reveal for Māori.

Te Hiringa Mahara says reducing coercive practices requires services that protect people’s dignity, autonomy and rights while providing culturally appropriate care that responds to the needs of tāngata whaiora and whānau.

Russell joins Radio Waatea to discuss what is driving the trends, why Māori continue to experience inequitable outcomes and what needs to change across the mental health system.

#SonyaRussell #TeHiringaMahara #MentalHealth #HauoraHinengaro #HauoraMāori #MāoriHealth #MentalHealthNZ #TāngataWhaiora #Whānau #HumanRights #HealthEquity #CompulsoryTreatment #Seclusion #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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