Pressure is mounting over proposed Māori media funding cuts, with iwi radio leaders warning of significant impacts and threatening legal action if the changes proceed, as the Government defends its position and Labour calls for increased support.
Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori o Aotearoa has issued an ultimatum to the Government, calling for direct engagement or it will pursue legal action, arguing any reduction to funding risks breaching Treaty obligations.
It comes as Radio Waatea’s Māori radio news service will cease its te reo Māori bulletins at midnight on 31st March because of funding cuts. Te Māngai Pāho is instead funding Te Iho, a Māori media hub, which will be set up in the coming months.
The Māori Broadcast Funding Agency is also considering further potential reductions of up to 25 to 30 per cent across Te Māngai Pāho. This reduction would flow through to iwi radio, which relies on that funding, and could threaten the station’s survivability. The cuts remain proposed, with final decisions expected in Budget 2026.
Chair Peter-Lucas Jones says Māori radio is not a discretionary service but part of a Treaty-based commitment to actively protect te reo Māori, and warned the Crown cannot “dismantle a treaty remedy without Māori consent.”
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka is defending the Government’s position, saying overall funding levels have been maintained. “The baseline funding has been maintained,” he says. “The Crown’s role is to set the overall level of funding. Te Māngai Pāho is an autonomous Crown entity and makes its own decisions about how that funding is allocated.”
Potaka also pointed to previous funding settings under Labour, saying additional support introduced at the time was not made permanent. “Let’s be clear, the additional funding introduced under the previous government was time-limited. If they believed in it, they would have put it into the baseline.”
He also acknowledged the role of iwi radio, including Radio Waatea, in supporting te reo Māori and local communities.
“Kua tupu ake te reo whakahirahira i roto i a Waatea me tōna momo.”
Labour MP and former Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson rejects that position, saying the Government has failed to advocate for increased investment in Māori media. “The reality is when you’re a minister for Māori Development, you’ve got to go and get funding,” he says.
“He hasn’t got one extra cent for Māori development in his time as minister… he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Waatea and the immediate impact
Urban Māori organisations, Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA) and Te Whānau o Waipareira, have stepped in to help sustain Radio Waatea’s reo Māori news bulletins in the short term, following funding changes affecting the sector. Radio Waatea General Manager Matthew Tukaki says while the support provides short-term relief, uncertainty remains.
“Now, when you’re operating the largest urban Māori radio station in the country, in the largest populated Māori city in the world, I would have thought that a region would have been included… but no consideration was given.”
He says the station is moving to adapt, with plans to launch a new digital platform while continuing its news service. “We’re going to continue broadcasting the iwi Māori radio news service… nothing will change other than there will be no recognition of Te Māngai Pāho.”
Tukaki says his biggest concern is for smaller regional stations if funding reductions go ahead. “I’m more worried about the smaller iwi Māori radio stations in the regions… we’re already seeing a withdrawal of government services from these areas.”
Willie Jackson, who secured the contract for Waatea more than two decades ago, says the level of proposed reductions being discussed would have serious consequences for iwi radio across the board.
“Waatea… I was very proud to win the contract. We had some of the best Māori broadcasters working for us,” Jackson says. “It’s not about Waatea… It’s about whether te ao Māori should be able to have an hourly Māori language news service.”
Tama Potaka says Waatea has played an important role in growing and strengthening te reo Māori and reflects a long-standing contribution to Māori broadcasting.
“Pai rawa ngā mahi a Dale me tōna kāhui… i tipu ake au i roto i ngā reo irirangi pēnei i a Waatea... Nā reira, kua tupu ake te reo whakahirahira i roto i a Waatea me tōna momo,” he said.
The proposed changes come as Te Māngai Pāho consults the sector on how to manage the possible loss of $16 million in time-limited funding from July, alongside wider structural proposals including regional news hubs and changes to contestable funding. Jackson says the level of proposed reductions being discussed would be devastating.
“They’re talking about a 25 to 30 percent cut… that would be shocking. Some of those iwi stations would close down.” He says Iwi Radio remains a critical infrastructure for Māori communities, particularly during emergencies.
“They’re not just a reo provider, they’re a conduit for communities.”
Iwi radio leaders say any reduction would add to existing pressures across the sector, including workforce shortages, fragmented funding, and limited commercial revenue. They are calling for direct Crown engagement and a co-designed approach to the future of Māori media.
Budget 2026 is expected to confirm whether the proposed changes will proceed.
Te Māngai Paho respond
In a statement, Te Māngai Pāho said the decision not to continue funding Radio Waatea’s national Māori news bulletin was tied to the expiry of a time-limited contract, which ends on March 31, 2026.
The contract had already been extended from its original December 2025 end date to allow time for transition, and its conclusion forms part of a wider sector review aimed at improving quality and reducing duplication across Māori news services.
The agency said it is facing the loss of $16 million in time-limited funding by mid-2026, equivalent to nearly a quarter of its total annual budget, which will significantly impact future funding allocations.
It also confirmed that an independent review of Māori news bulletins was commissioned, alongside two years of sector consultation on wider news and current affairs reform, which informed decisions in the latest funding round.
Te Māngai Pāho said Radio Waatea received $1.134 million in the 2024/25 financial year for the national news service, in addition to $630,000 in operational funding as part of the iwi radio network.
However, it said no dedicated funding pool for a national radio news service was included in the 2025/26 funding round, with future provision to be considered following Budget 2026 and further consultation.
Radio Waatea was unsuccessful in its bid to be part of the new national news hub, Te Iho, which Te Māngai Pāho said is intended to strengthen collaboration across Māori media, including iwi radio, Whakaata Māori and other providers.
