Prominent Māori current affairs programme, The Hui is coming to an end and is set to leave the screen after 11 years.
Produced by Great Southern Television, the programme has built a reputation for holding politicians and institutions to account while giving Māori issues a national platform.
Great Southern Television chief executive Phil Smith says the programme’s says he is gutted by the decision.
The decision follows the loss of core funding from Te Māngai Pāho, which has been reshaping its approach to Māori news and current affairs amid significant funding pressures.
The agency provided $1 million for The Hui in 2024/25, alongside $788,000 from NZ On Air. Its most recent funding allocation fell to $364,000 for the 2025/26 season before the programme missed out on the latest funding round.
Te Māngai Pāho chief executive Larry Parr addressed the funding decision and the wider changes facing Māori media.
“We lost six million dollars this current financial year and we had to cut somethings.”
However, moving into the future he is looking for more reo Māori content.
“Our responsibility is to focus on more engaging better quality reo Māori content for audiences that are on the journey.”
Māori current affairs
The programme’s history stretches back to 2016 and includes some of the most recognisable names in Māori journalism.
Annabelle Lee-Mather was part of the original Hui team and went on to serve as executive producer for seven seasons. She is now Head of Indigenous Development at Great Southern Television.
She says despite The Hui being carried predomenantly in English, it has a significant role in the revival of te reo Māori.
“I think that a reo Pākehā Māori current-affairs programmes have a really important role to play in our reo Māori eco system, by addressing those issues of inequity.”
Mihingarangi Forbes, another original member of the programme, also went on to host The Hui before moving to lead Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes through Aotearoa Media Collective.
Forbes mentions the importance of carrying the a show for those who aren’t fluent in te reo Māori.
“But you cannot tell me that we can’t tell the stories of ngā mōrehū, Eugene Ryder, Quinten Tūwhāngai Hōhepa, Rīwhi Toiwhenua, korekau he reo. Rez Delamare, you know who was dying, none of them could speak te reo. They were barely existing. So, it means that we missed telling those stories.”
The Hui boss and Great Southern Television founder Phil Smith warns of the impact on whānau whose stories “may go unheard”, while challenging future governments to seriously consider the need for greater support.
“I’m gutted for the talented, passionate team who have made The Hui such an important voice over 11 years, and for the communities whose stories may now go unheard. It has given Māori a platform, challenged those in power and delivered journalism that has helped bring about change.”
He further adds the change in the broadcasting landscape makes it harder for Māori-led current affairs programmes.
“For Māori media in particular, it means fewer opportunities for communities to be heard and for issues affecting Māori to be investigated in depth. These programmes give journalists time to dig, and New Zealanders a chance to see themselves and their stories on screen.”
The final episode is scheduled for 7th December
