Nā Hora Nicholas tēnei atikara.
$48 million is to go to Māori broadcasting, while almost $100 million in cuts to Te Puni Kōkiri are forecast across coming years. This announcement comes as Finance Minister Nicola Willis releases the Government’s 2026 Budget.
“This is money for te reo Māori, it's not just broadcasting money,” says Larry Parr.
Te Māngai Pāho (TMP) Chief Executive Parr says the funding announcement must be viewed realistically, stating that the funding is not solely for TMP, it is for the sector and will likely be shared with Whakaata Māori.
“... grateful that we're not going to lose $16 million, but it could be as much as $8 million”
In 2022, the Labour Party allocated Māori media $16 million a year of time-limited funding, which was due to expire in 2026. The funding amounts to almost 25% of Te Māngai Pāho’s total annual funding.
With the time-limited funding expected to end this year, Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori, the umbrella organisation representing iwi radio, threatened legal action against the Crown if TMP's budget was cut further, claiming any reduction to funding risks breaching Treaty obligations. The lawsuit was withdrawn days before Budget 2026 was released.
“The Privy Council acknowledged that broadcasting has a role to play in the revitalization of language,”
Parr acknowledges that while Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori took the legal action head-on, Crown agency Te Māngai Pāho had quiet conversations with Te Puni Kōkiri and the Minister’s office about the impact of losing $16 million. Parr estimates that the new figure will mean that Te Māngai Pāho could lose up to half of that amount annually.
“The most revealing line in the entire Budget is Tama Potaka cutting millions from his own department,” says Labour MP Willie Jackson.
In a release titled “Budget 2026 fails Māori again” Jackson criticised the Budget, saying Māori communities are being left behind.
“There is no new funding for the things that matter when Māori are the most in need. Nothing to turn around Māori unemployment. Nothing for Māori housing. Nothing for Hauora providers.”
Meanwhile, National Party Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka defended the Government’s investment in Māori language and cultural initiatives.
“The investment in Māori broadcasting focuses on supporting the people and organisations already doing the work to grow te reo Māori and connect with audiences in modern and evolving ways” said Potaka.
In the expectation that Te Māngai Pāho would be losing $16 million, Parr says the entity underspent last year to “spread the impact” of losing millions.
“What we've done is bought the sector a little bit of time,” said Parr.
Parr also confirmed that iwi radio won’t have to worry about reductions to their funding in the next financial year.
Te Māngai Pāho was established in 1993 as a Crown entity with the purpose of supporting and strengthening te reo Māori and Māori culture through media. It does this by funding content across television, radio, and digital platforms. The baseline funding for Te Māngai Pāho for 2026/27 is $50.259 million.
Other Māori development initiatives funded under Budget 2026:
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Te Māori Tū - $10 million of reprioritised funding recognising Māori culture, toi Māori and creating career pathways ,
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Māori medium teaching - $558 million to add capacity at schools via the Ministry of Education’s English medium, learning support, Māori medium, and Kaupapa Māori education roll growth programmes - the $558 million will be spread among these programmes.
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Ka tohaina te $48 miriona ki te pāpāho Māori, engari kua tapahia tata ki te $100 miriona i Te Puni Kōkiri i ngā tau e heke mai nei. Nō tēnei wiki i puta ai tēnei whakatau a te Minita Pūtea, a Nicola Willis, i te Tahua 2026 a te Kāwanatanga.
“This is money for te reo Māori, it's not just broadcasting money,” e kī ana a Larry Parr.
E ai ki te Kaihautū o Te Māngai Pāho, a Parr, me titiro whaitake te whakatau pūtea nei, ā, ehara i te mea mā TMP anake te pūtea, engari mā te rāngai whānui, pēnei i a Whakaata Māori.
“… grateful that we're not going to lose $16 million, but it could be as much as $8 million”
I te tau 2022, i tohaina e Te Rōpū Reipa he $16 miriona i ia tau ki te hunga pāpāho hei pūtea taupua, i whakaritea kia mutu i te tau 2026. E tata ana tēnei nama ki te 25% o te katoa o te pūtea ā tau o Te Māngai Pāho.
I te matapae ka mutu taua pūtea i tēnei tau, nā reira i whakatūpato Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori (te rōpū matua e māngai ana i ngā reo irirangi ā iwi) mēnā ka tapahia anō te pūtea a TMP ka whai take ture ki te Karauna. E ai ki a rātou ka takahia ngā herenga o te Tiriti o Waitangi. I unuhia taua kēhi ture i ngā rā ruarua i mua i te Tahua 2026.
“The Privy Council acknowledged that broadcasting has a role to play in the revitalization of language,”
E ai ki a Parr, ahakoa i urungi ngā reo irirangi te huarahi ture, i kōrero te tari Karauna o Te Māngai Pāho me Te Puni Kōkiri me te Minita mō ngā pānga o te ngaronga o te $16 miriona. E matapae ana a Parr, mā te nama hou ka heke te haurua o taua rahi i ia tau.
“The most revealing line in the entire Budget is Tama Potaka cutting millions from his own department,” i kī te Mema Paremata a Willie Jackson.
I roto i tētahi tukunga kōrero a Te Rōpū Reipa ko “Budget 2026 fails Māori again”, i whakahē a Jackson i te Pūtea, e kī ana kei te mahue ngā hapori Māori.
“There is no new funding for the things that matter when Māori are the most in need. Nothing to turn around Māori unemployment. Nothing for Māori housing. Nothing for Hauora providers.”
I taua wā anō, i parahau te Minita Whanaketanga Māori o te Rōpū Nāhinara, a Tama Potaka i te haumitanga a te Kāwanatanga ki ngā kaupapa reo Māori me ngā kaupapa ahurea.
“The investment in Māori broadcasting focuses on supporting the people and organisations already doing the work to grow te reo Māori and connect with audiences in modern and evolving ways” i kī a Potaka.
Nā te matapae ka ngaro pea te $16 miriona, e ai ki a Parr, i āta whakaiti te whakapaunga a te hinonga i tērā tau kia “spread the impact” o te hekenga pūtea.
“What we've done is bought the sector a little bit of time,” te kī a Parr.
I whakatūria a Te Māngai Pāho i te tau 1993 hei hinonga Karauna ki te tautoko, ki te whakapakari i te reo Māori me te ahurea Māori mā te ao pāpāho. Ka mahia tēnei mā te tuku pūtea ki ngā ihirangi pouaka whakaata, reo irirangi, me ngā papa matihiko. Ko te pūtea taketake mō te tau pūtea 2026/27 e $50.259 miriona.
Ētahi atu kaupapa whakawhanaketanga Māori i raro i te Tahua 2026:
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Te Māori Tū - $10 miriona o te pūtea kua whakahoungia hei whakamana i te ahurea Māori, toi Māori, me te waihanga huarahi mahi
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Māori medium teaching - $558 miriona hei whakapiki i te kaha o ngā kura mā ngā hōtaka a te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga (English medium, learning support, Māori medium, me ngā hōtaka Kaupapa Māori) e tipu ai te rēhitatanga ākonga. Ka tohatoha ngā kura kaupapa i te $558 miriona me ēnei hōtaka katoa.