Waatea News: Māori Radio Station

Te reo Māori is travelling from Te Whanganui-a-Tara to millions of screens around the world, with Wellington game studio Dinosaur Polo Club bringing the language into its international hit Mini Motorways.

Released during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, the free update gives players the option to experience the game’s interface and gameplay in te reo Māori. Mini Motorways has also been gifted the ingoa Māori Rori Riki by translation company Kūwaha Ltd.

The scale is significant. Dinosaur Polo Club says Mini Motorways has reached around nine million players worldwide, across platforms including Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch and Steam on PC and Mac.

The studio worked with Kūwaha and Head of Art Shalee Fitzsimmons, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, who leads Māori and tikanga initiatives within Dinosaur Polo Club. The team says the project was designed as more than simply replacing English words with Māori, with cultural context and tikanga forming part of the localisation process.

It also puts te reo Māori into one of the spaces where many tamariki and rangatahi increasingly spend their time — digital entertainment.

Gaming allows players to encounter and repeatedly use kupu Māori while navigating menus, making decisions and playing, creating another pathway for normalising the language beyond traditional learning environments.

The kaupapa fits strongly with this year’s Ake, Ake, Ake – A Forever Language theme, which has focused on taking te reo into the everyday places where people live, work and connect.

For Aotearoa’s growing technology and gaming industries, Rori Riki is also an example of how te reo Māori and tikanga can be built into products reaching global audiences.

From Wellington to nine million players around the world, Rori Riki shows that the future of te reo Māori can be digital, interactive and international.

#RoriRiki #MiniMotorways #DinosaurPoloClub #ShaleeFitzsimmons #TeReoMāori #TeWikiOTeReoMāori #MāoriLanguageWeek #KiaKahaTeReoMāori #LanguageRevitalisation #Rangatahi #Gaming #NZGaming #DigitalInnovation #MāoriTechnology #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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A new pan-tribal body bringing together Taranaki’s eight iwi is looking beyond the stewardship of Taranaki Maunga, with aspirations to strengthen collective Māori leadership across the region.

Te Tōpuni Ngārahu was established through the Taranaki Maunga settlement arrangements as the collective governance entity for Ngā Iwi o Taranaki. Its statutory responsibilities include appointing members to Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, involvement in the management of Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, and representation in conservation decision-making.

Pou Whakahaere Wharehoka Wano says the kaupapa has deliberately been designed to go further, providing a platform for the eight iwi to work collectively on issues affecting their people while respecting the individual responsibilities of each iwi and its post-settlement governance entity.

The new organisation follows a long history of collective leadership in Taranaki. Its roots stretch back to the Taranaki Māori Trust Board, established in 1930, while more recent collaboration through Te Aranga and Ngā Iwi o Taranaki supported iwi responses during Covid-19 and helped deliver Te Matatini in New Plymouth in 2025. The Trust Board was wound up this year as Te Tōpuni Ngārahu assumed the collective role.

One of its first wider initiatives is encouraging Māori participation in the November 7 general election, with a particular focus on rangatahi enrolling and voting. The campaign is aimed at participation rather than supporting a particular political party.

For Taranaki, the establishment of Te Tōpuni Ngārahu represents another stage in the post-settlement journey — protecting the relationship with the Maunga while creating a collective table where iwi can work together on the social, cultural and environmental aspirations of generations to come.

#TeTōpuniNgārahu #TaranakiMaunga #WharehokaWano #Taranaki #NgāIwiOTaranaki #ManaWhenua #Iwi #Hapū #MāoriLeadership #Kaitiakitanga #TeAoMāori #TreatySettlement #Rangatahi #MāoriVote #Election2026 #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Northland rugby clubs are helping drive home a simple message to Māori men across Te Tai Tokerau — wearing a seatbelt could save your life.

Mike Te Wake, Chair of Te Rarawa and a Northland Rugby board member, joined Radio Waatea to discuss a new road-safety campaign using the reach of provincial rugby to encourage young men to buckle up on every journey.

The campaign comes amid sobering figures for the region. NZ Transport Agency data shows 67 percent of drivers or passengers who died in vehicle crashes in Northland during 2025 were not wearing a seatbelt. So far in 2026, to August, the figure was 43 percent.

Nationally, NZTA says 33 percent of drivers and passengers killed in crashes since 2020 were not wearing seatbelts, representing around 500 deaths. Men aged between 15 and 39 are among the groups particularly at risk, especially in regional communities.

The campaign has brought rugby into the road-safety conversation, with the Northland Taniwha, Waikato, Manawatū Turbos and Taranaki Bulls wearing specially designed jerseys featuring a seatbelt motif during selected September matches.

Te Wake says the impact of road deaths is deeply felt across Te Tai Tokerau communities. He has also pointed to wider challenges facing the region, including ageing roads and limited police presence, while stressing the preventable nature of deaths linked to people not buckling up.

The message behind the campaign is deliberately simple: whether the journey is five minutes down the road or several hours across the motu, buckle up for yourself and the whānau waiting for you to come home.

#MikeTeWake #TeRarawa #NorthlandRugby #NorthlandTaniwha #TeTaiTokerau #SeatbeltSafety #BuckleUp #RoadSafety #MāoriMen #Whānau #NZTA #WakaKotahi #MāoriHealth #HauoraMāori #Northland #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Radio Waatea’s Matthew Tukaki has taken aim at the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union during a wide-ranging political kōrero with Labour MP Willie Jackson, as fresh scrutiny falls on the organisation following the release of investigative journalist Nicky Hager’s new book, Dirty Work.

Hager’s latest investigation examines the Taxpayers’ Union, its campaigning methods, donors and links with the international Atlas Network. RNZ reports the book is based on thousands of internal documents obtained from the organisation, while the Taxpayers’ Union disputes Hager’s characterisation of its work and says the book presents a distorted picture of the group.

Tukaki challenged the role organisations such as the Taxpayers’ Union play in shaping political debate, arguing with Jackson that greater transparency is needed around who funds political advocacy, how campaigns are constructed and the influence lobby groups can have on public opinion.

The discussion then turned to Election 2026, with Jackson outlining Labour’s campaign activity as parties intensify their efforts ahead of the November 7 election. Waatea’s recent coverage has shown the campaign increasingly focusing on bread-and-butter issues including jobs, housing, health and the cost of living, alongside major debates over Te Tiriti and Māori policy.

Jackson also discussed campaign activation planned for this weekend and his upcoming trip to Australia, where he intends to encourage eligible New Zealanders — including Māori whānau living across the Tasman — to participate in the election.

With the campaign entering its final weeks, Tukaki and Jackson’s kōrero brought together two increasingly important election questions: who is influencing the political conversation, and whether parties can turn political interest into people actually casting their vote.

#MatthewTukaki #WillieJackson #NickyHager #DirtyWork #TaxpayersUnion #Election2026 #NZPolitics #MāoriPolitics #MāoriVote #Whānau #Australia #PoliticalLobbying #Transparency #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaBreakfast #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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Waikato rangatahi are being given a greater say in the health issues affecting their lives, with a Māori-led programme building the next generation of hauora leaders.

Radio Waatea’s Matthew Tukaki spoke with Brandi Hudson, Tumu Whakarae of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, about the Kia Tū Rangatahi Māori Hauora Leadership Programme and the importance of giving rangatahi the confidence and opportunity to shape their own wellbeing.

Te Tiratū represents about 121,300 Māori across the Tainui waka rohe, advocating for whānau voices to influence health planning, investment and the delivery of services.

Kia Tū is now expanding across seven Waikato secondary schools, putting rangatahi at the centre of conversations about mental health and suicide prevention, vaccination, dental care, vaping and smoking, while strengthening connections to culture, identity and whānau.

Early survey results also provide a snapshot of what young people are experiencing. Among 117 respondents, rangatahi identified school pressure, stress and lack of sleep as challenges to wellbeing, while privacy concerns, fear of judgement and uncertainty about where to seek help were among the barriers stopping some from reaching out.

Hudson says the kaupapa goes beyond simply teaching young people about health. Rangatahi are being encouraged to develop leadership skills, speak about the issues affecting their communities and help design solutions themselves.

For Tukaki, the kōrero also raises a wider question for the health system: rather than waiting until rangatahi become patients, what can be achieved by giving them the knowledge, confidence and influence to help shape healthier whānau and communities now?

The programme is operating at schools including Te Kauwhata College, Putāruru College, Ōtorohanga College, Tai Wānanga Ki Ruakura, Te Kōpuku High School, Tokoroa High School and Te Kūiti High School.

#RangatahiMāori #HauoraMāori #KiaTū #BrandiHudson #MatthewTukaki #TeTiratū #Waikato #MāoriHealth #Rangatahi #MentalHealth #WhānauOra #MāoriLeadership #YouthLeadership #TeAoMāori #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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The debate over new police move-on powers is exposing a much bigger question for Aotearoa — what happens when homelessness and housing insecurity follow wāhine Māori all the way into retirement?

Radio Waatea’s Matthew Tukaki has spoken with Dr Kathie Irwin about the passage of the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill and concerns that homelessness is increasingly being treated as a public-order problem rather than a housing and social justice crisis.

The legislation passed its third reading last week. It gives Police new powers to order people engaging in specified behaviour to leave an area, with the legislation covering begging, rough sleeping and behaviour indicating an intention to inhabit a public place. The Government says the powers are intended to address disorder and improve safety in public spaces.

But Tukaki and Irwin also took the conversation further — looking at what housing insecurity means for older wāhine Māori approaching or already living in retirement.

Research from the Retirement Commission shows Māori are less likely to own their own home in retirement and tend to reach retirement with lower KiwiSaver balances. Its 2025 review also found housing costs are becoming an increasing burden for older New Zealanders, particularly those who continue renting.

The gender picture adds another warning. Retirement Commission research identifies older women as one of the groups most at risk of homelessness, alongside wāhine Māori and Pacific women. Demand for social housing among people aged 65 and over more than doubled between 2019 and 2024.

There is also a striking gap in conventional retirement housing. Census data shows Māori represented just 2.1 percent of people living in registered retirement villages in 2023, with entry into many villages linked to home ownership and the ability to sell a property to finance the move.

The kōrero raises a challenge extending well beyond the new move-on laws: where do we expect older wāhine Māori to go when secure and affordable housing simply is not there?

For Tukaki and Irwin, that means the homelessness debate cannot stop at who occupies a public space today. It must also confront housing security, retirement income and whether Aotearoa is preparing properly for an ageing Māori population.

#WāhineMāori #Kaumātua #Homelessness #HousingCrisis #MoveOnOrders #KathieIrwin #MatthewTukaki #MāoriHousing #Retirement #HousingSecurity #Whānau #HauoraMāori #SocialHousing #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea

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

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

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Ko Raniera McGrath te Poutaki hou kua kopoua ki te ārahi i Te Pae Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau i Te Mātāwai, arā, te rōpū e mahi ana ki te whakapakari i te reo Māori puta noa i Te Tai Tokerau.

Inā te nui o ngā kaupapa i kōkirihia e ia i ngā tau ki mohoa mai i ngā wānanga tāmoko, whakairo, karanga, whaikōrero me te reo Māori. Ko tētahi o āna kaupapa hou ko te wānanga karanga me te whaikōrero i tū i Te Rarawa i ngā wiki tata nei.

Hei tāna ko te mahinga matua ko te poipoi i te tuakiri o te tangata kia tū maia ia i tēnei ao hurihuri.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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