Veteran Māori broadcaster and long-serving Te Karere reporter and leader, Moari Stafford, has died.
Whānau announced on Wednesday afternoon in a post to social media.
“Kua hinga he tōtara nui i te wao nui Tāne! He uri nō Waikato, nō Hauraki, nō Maniapoto, o Ngāti Apakura, o Ngāti Te Wehi hoki.“
“He mokopuna ia nō te whānau Tūwhāngai. Kua wehe atu a Uncle Moari Stafford i te ao tūroa nei.”
Moari spent two decades helping shape Te Karere, working as a reporter before moving into production and senior editorial roles.
He played a key role in strengthening te reo Māori on mainstream television at a time when the language faced significant barriers.
He is being remembered by those who worked close to him as a pioneer of Māori journalism.
“Kua pōuri te ngākau.”
Former colleague and 1 News political editor Maiki Sherman shared kōrero about Moari, describing him as “the heart of the team” during their time at Te Karere.
“Moari had that old school unassuming humility, a kind man, funny, and he had a clear understanding of what Māori news was and how you delivered a bulletin day after day. It’s no easy task!”
“His passion for telling our people’s stories set the foundation for my own love of Māori journalism,” she said.
“Your contributions to Te Karere and to Māori media will never be forgotten.”
Broadcaster Mātai Smith also took to social media to mihi to Moari, describing him as someone always generous with his mātauranga.
“In my early days starting out in television, he worked in the newsroom, while I was up on the fourth floor at Marae as a young, green researcher and reporter. My reo was very limited back then, and whenever I had questions, Moari was always generous in sharing his knowledge, especially around grammar and the different ways of expressing things,” he said.
Moari’s tūpāpaku will be taken to Mōkai Kāinga Marae, Kāwhia, on Friday, before he is buried with his tūpuna on Saturday.
Kei te toki o te ao pāpāho Māori, e Moari. Moe mai rā.
