Well, this year has been long and also short at the same time. Although this year has been all over the place, there were huge amounts of kaupapa.
Te Ao Māori News has compiled a list of some of the biggest moments in te ao Māori for 2025.
The list doesn’t include any deaths or major political drama, as we already have dedicated stories for those.
Let’s begin in late February, early March, in Taranaki.
Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga
After two years of anticipation and build-up, Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga popped off in Taranaki.
It had 55 rōpū participating, with Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue ultimately winning the Ngāpō Pimia Wehi Duncan Mcintyre trophy and the championship title of Te Matatini 2025.
They dedicated their bracket to the late Sir Robert Gillies, the last surviving member of the Māori Battalion, who passed away in November 2024, delivering an emotional performance.
This year also marked the first time the public was able to vote, with Te Kuru Marutea winning the People’s Choice Award, after their waiata, Kei Wareware I A Tātou, became viral online.
A Te Matatini Impact report would say the Kapa Haka competition brought a $24 million boost to the region’s economy and attracted the most diverse audience in its history.
We will have to wait until 22–27 February 2027 to see the competition again, with Waikato-Tainui co-hosting alongside Te Matatini and Te Whare Haka o Tainui Waka. The main venue will be at Hopuhopu.
Treaty Principles Bill
After a nationwide hīkoi, a haka felt around the world, over 300,000 written submissions (mostly opposing), and hundreds of oral submissions. The Treaty Principles Bill was put to rest in early April during its second reading.
It was well documented that the Act’s controversial bill was not to pass, with the party’s coalition partners only supporting it until the second reading.
On the day of the final reading, National called the bill “a crude way to handle a very sensitive topic”, with NZ First calling it “plain wrong“.
This did not stop the coalition’s partners from supporting another of David Seymour’s bills, the Regulatory Standards Bill, which was progressing at the same time and passed in November.
Tamaki Makaurau By-election
After the sad passing of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp in June, the Tāmaki Makaurau seat was left empty.
A by-election was called, pulling forward five candidates: Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara, Labour’s Peeni Henare, Vision New Zealand’s Hannah Tamaki, New Zealand Loyal’s Kelvyn Alps, and independent candidate Sherry Lee Matene.
After months of campaigning and debate, Oriini Kaipara officially became the Tāmaki Makaurau MP, winning the seat back for Te Pāti Māori in a landslide, with a margin of nearly 3,000 votes over Henare in September.
Kaipara would officially join Parliament a month later in October. Parliament was suspended after a haka tautoko for the new MP began following her maiden speech.
Koroneihana 2025
A year after the passing of the late Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, his daughter and successor Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po had her first official koroneihana.
Te Arikinui delivered her first public speech after a year of mourning.
She spoke about her vision for the future, which rejected reliance on government support and instead builds an independent Māori economic path.
She called for Ōhanga Ki Te Ao, an Indigenous economic summit in November, which she would announce a $100 million Kotahitanga Fund.
Local Election 2025: Māori Wards
In 2024, the coalition government’s Māori wards bill passed, making councils that established a Māori Ward without a referendum to decide if they will have to hold a binding poll alongside the 2025 local body elections or disestablish it completely. Only Kaipara and Upper Hutt decided to chop their Māori Wards without a binding poll.
In the 2025 Local Elections, 42 councils had to ask voters if they would like to keep their Māori seat or have it disestablished in the 2028 elections.
In October, the majority of councils saw their voters reject Māori Wards with only 18 councils deciding to continue with it past 2028.
Tongariro wildfire
With the year starting to simmer down, a huge fire burned thousands of hectares of land at the Tongaririo National Park.
It saw residents evacuated from their homes, with them being able to return a few days later.
The fire saw Mana whenua Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro take immediate action at Otukou Marae, located 22 kilometres southwest of Turangi, which became a hub of manaakitanga for those working to control the bushfire on Tongariro, with them providing food for emergency responders and support workers.
Two rāhui were put in place, one for a week and another for a decade, which is more focused on restoration.
This rāhui was extended a month later, when a smaller but still big fire burnt an additional 322ha in the National Park.
Those were some of the biggest moments in te ao Māori in 2025.
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