Newsletter

“Fragmented Power, Suppressed Whakapapa, Profiteering from Māori Revival” - 9 November 2025

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Ltn

09 Nov 2025 — 11 min read

Kia ora koutou,

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 (the Māori Language Awards) superficially celebrates trailblazers. But every public parade of “success” in te reo Māori masks historic harm and ongoing gatekeeping—where colonial, neoliberal and institutional interests shape who is seen, who is funded, and whose mātauranga is kept at the margins. Who really benefits? [RNZ, 2025][Te Taura Whiri, 2024]

Cui bono: Funding and recognition flow through fragmented, Crown-controlled networks (see charts below), designed less for genuine Māori self-determination and more as a mechanism for controlling access, dividing communities, and commodifying our taonga. The whakapapa of suppression runs deep—from the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 to state-enforced bans and chronic underfunding of wānanga, kōhanga reo, and kaupapa Māori media [RNZ, 2022][Te Ara, 2017][RNZ, 2022][Te Ara, 2013][Te Ara, 2004][Reo Ora, 2025][AUT, 2021]. International influence and market logics weaponise Te Reo Māori as a showcase when it suits “national identity,” but the structural pattern is mauri depletion, not enhancement.

Background: Whakapapa of Suppression, Money, and Recognition

Whakapapa of Dispossession

The roots of today’s awards are in a whakapapa of deliberate fragmentation—

Tohunga Suppression Act 1907: Drove Māori knowledge underground, erasing intergenerational transmission and undermining Māori spiritual authority [RNZ, 2022][Te Ara, 2017].
State Bans and Assimilation (1840s–1970s): Systematic prohibition of te reo Māori in schools, corporal punishment for speaking Māori, and ideologically-driven “integration” to assimilate Māori into colonial society [RNZ, 2022][Te Ara, 2013][Reo Ora, 2025][AUT, 2021].
Whare Wānanga Closures: Systemic underfunding, forced “rationalisations” and closures with devastating impact on transmission of specialised knowledge, particularly for iwi like Te Arawa and Ngāti Pikiao [NZ Herald, 2020][NZ Herald, 2020].

The International Neoliberal Turn

The Crown’s shift to “revitalisation” in the 1980s-2000s—heralded by the Māori Language Act (1987) and establishment of Te Taura Whiri, Te Māngai Pāho, and later Te Mātāwai—reframes te reo Māori as a resource for “social cohesion.” This is not about restoring tapu, mana or whakapapa integrity; it is about embedding te reo within a neoliberal, market-driven architecture that keeps ultimate control vested in the state and its agents [Kaupapa Māori, 2023][AUT, 2016][Te Taura Whiri, 2015]. International aid and collaborations amplify this logic, while selected iwi, whānau and hapū are co-opted as potential “partners”—but only within Crown-defined boundaries [RNZ, 2022][Treasury, 2023][TPK, 2025][The Spinoff, 2025].

Networks of Fragmentation and False Universalism

Award Recipients, Whakapapa, and Knowledge Control

The 2025 awards heavily favour recipients embedded in Crown-sanctioned entities or with proven ability to “scale” te reo Māori in a way that serves state/corporate interests. Supreme winner Lorraine “Nanny Lolo” Pirihira Hale (Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Teko) has devoted more than 40 years to her community—the same mahi systematically underfunded and marginalised for decades [RNZ, 2025][Te Taura Whiri, 2025][Facebook, 2025].

Other recipients:

Piripi Walker (Lifetime Achievement): Founder of Te Upoko o te Ika, Wellington’s first Māori radio station, and secretary for Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te reo Māori during the landmark Wai 11 claim [RNZ, 2021][Te Ara, 2021][RNZ, 2020][E-Tangata, 2018][Waatea, 2021].
Auckland Transport, Arataua Media, Aukaha News: Each demonstrates effective navigation of Crown/market networks and receives co-funding from Te Māngai Pāho, NZ On Air, or local government budgets [RNZ, 2018][TMP, 2024][1News, 2024].
Te Reo Māori ki Parī 2024 (Olympic glossary): New kinds of glossaries are funded as visible milestones, benefiting external agencies and “influencers,” but layered over a legacy where deep mātauranga Māori transmission is still systematically under-supported [Te Taura Whiri, 2025][NZ Herald, 2024][Reo Māori, 2024].
Structure:
Recognition follows the money. Funding flows from the Crown to intermediary entities (Te Taura Whiri, Te Māngai Pāho, Te Mātāwai)—but is distributed competitively, exacerbating fragmentation and requiring Māori to constantly re-prove legitimacy within Western metrics [Te Mātāwai, 2024][TPK, 2025][Te Taura Whiri, 2015].

Omissions, Dog-Whistles, Weaponisation

False universalism: “Excellence” and “merit” cloak ongoing preference for Pākehā-led models and outcomes that privilege English-medium settings, “scalable” solutions, and projects with palatable, Pākehā-facing narratives [Kaupapa Māori, 2023][The Spinoff, 2025][NZ Herald, 2021][OJIN, 2023].

Gatekeeping: Knowledge networks remain protected by Western epistemology—non-credentialed tohunga are almost never platformed or funded [RNZ, 2022][AUT, 2021][E-Tangata, 2025].

Dog-whistles: Political and media figures demonise “Māorification” as an existential threat, dismissing rangatiratanga as divisive, while appropriating Māori symbols for New Zealand’s global brand [RNZ, 2023][The Spinoff, 2025][E-Tangata, 2025].

Analysis: Real Evidence, Rhetoric vs Reality, Tikanga Violations

Evidence from Funding and Harms (see charts)

LANGUAGE SPEAKERS

Number of Te Reo Māori Speakers, 2013–2023 (Census)

Chart: Number of Te Reo Māori Speakers, 2013–2023

Growth is slow and precarious: 213,849 speakers in 2023 (about 4.3% of NZ population) [RNZ, 2023][Te Ao News, 2022]. This is mauri-enhancing when led by community, but mauri-depleting when Crown priorities (cost-cutting, statistical optics) shape access.

DAILY TE REO USE AMONG MĀORI

Percentage of Māori Speaking Te Reo Māori (2016 vs 2018)

Chart: Percentage of Māori Speaking Te Reo Māori (2016 vs 2018)

Shows 56.7% (2016) to 66.1% (2018), but recent data indicates concern over plateauing or declining daily use [RNZ, 2024].

LAND FRAGMENTATION

Māori Land Fragmentation and Development (2008)

Chart: Māori Land Fragmentation and Development (2008)

Dispossession directly linked to language decline. 40% of Māori land under-developed, average block size 59 ha, ownership fragmentation undermines ability to embed kaupapa Māori practices at scale [Te Ara, 2012][OAG, 2004].

FUNDING FLOWS

Network Diagram: Māori Language Revitalisation Funding Flows (2025)

Chart/Network Diagram: Māori Language Revitalisation Funding Flows (2025)

Heavily fragmented: money flows from the Crown → TPK → agencies (Te Taura Whiri, Te Māngai Pāho, Te Mātāwai) to iwi, hapū, media, education. Each layer is a potential veto point for tino rangatiratanga. Funding is not commensurate with the harm inflicted, nor is it proportional to the work and mana of real custodians.

Five Key Revelations: Hidden Gatekeeping

Money, not Mana, Drives the Awards: Funding decisions are highly centralised, with less than 6% of NZ On Air’s contestable funds going to Māori content and most Māori-specific projects reliant on annual, fragile appropriations [RNZ, 2022][NZ On Air, 2020][TMP, 2025][NZ On Air, 2024].

Underfunding of Kōhanga Reo: Despite their foundational role, Kōhanga Reo remain chronically underfunded/framed as “volunteer” services. Current rates for children 2 and over are $9.62/hr (quality) vs mainstream ECE rates of $12+ [RNZ, 2018][RNZ, 2020][The Spinoff, 2024][OECE, 2025][1News, 2025]. Waitlists nationwide exceed 2,000 tamariki, reflecting massive unmet demand [1News, 2025].
Western Epistemology Controls Access: Non-credentialed tohunga, kaumātua and community experts are systemically sidelined in favour of Pākehā-accredited “experts,” reinforcing colonial hierarchies of knowledge [RNZ, 2022][AUT, 2021][E-Tangata, 2025].
Fragmented Funding Increases Whānau Insecurity: Competitive, project-based allocations create pressure to conform to Crown priorities and inflame inter-iwi rivalries, weakening collective capacity and whanaungatanga [Te Mātāwai, 2024][RNZ, 2022][The Spinoff, 2024]. Te Mātāwai received 1,000 funding applications in 2024/25 (vs 350 the year prior) but could only fund 25% of requests [Te Mātāwai, 2024].
Market-Driven “Partnership” Masks Assimilation: Neoliberalism’s promise of “choice” is used to deny race-based remedies, trivialise Treaty breaches, and push “standardisation” that privileges English, Pākehā frameworks—seen most starkly in English-only policy pushes and curriculum re-centralisation [NZ Herald, 2024][Kaupapa Māori, 2023][The Spinoff, 2025][RNZ, 2024]. Funding cuts in October 2025 slashed Te Karere from $2.7m to $1m, while The Hui received zero funding [RNZ, 2025][Te Ao News, 2025][Greens, 2025].

Implications: Quantified Harm, Mana Erosion, Collective Action Needed

Quantified Harm: Each child denied full immersion or forced into under-funded spaces is another strand cut in our whakapapa. Estimated annual underfunding of Kōhanga Reo exceeds $10 million [RNZ, 2018][RNZ, 2020]. Language loss and land fragmentation remain tightly linked; more than 49% of Māori land is under multiple limited-title blocks, with a 40% under-development rate [Te Ara, 2004][OAG, 2004]. Whakaata Māori faces a $9.5m funding cut over three years (25% reduction), forcing job losses and reduced content [RNZ, 2024][RNZ, 2024][Waatea, 2024].
Threatened Mana: The Crown’s continued use of Western meritocratic and audit-based filters diminishes rangatiratanga over language, knowledge transmission, and wellbeing.
Precedents: The “success” of revived te reo Māori is leveraged internationally even as local funding is cut, responsibilities devolved without true sovereignty, and mātauranga Māori is only valued when translated or repackaged for non-Māori audiences [RNZ, 2025][RNZ, 2016][RNZ, 2025][RNZ, 2024][RNZ, 2025].

Realisation of Rangatiratanga—Restoring Whakapapa, Rejecting Commodification

The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

Recognition rituals such as the Māori Language Awards must be honestly understood as double-edged: they honour undeniable leadership, but simultaneously obscure and perpetuate a whakapapa of suppression, monetary gatekeeping, and colonial epistemology.

The Action:

Restore power and pūtea directly to Māori collectives, guided by whakapapa, not Western markers or market fundamentalism.
Institute transparent, long-term funding that respects tapu, mana, and intergenerational reo transmission, especially for kōhanga, kura, and community wānanga.
Insist on international and internal accountability for historic and continuing harm—quantified, redressed, and never traded for mere optics.
Centre tikanga and collective rights, not individualised, competitive models.

Let us reclaim Te Kauwae Runga (spiritual, unseen) and Te Kauwae Raro (tangible, collective), our whakapapa, tapu, mana, and mauri. Challenge every agenda that fractures us and serve the whānau—not Pākehā respectability or neoliberal “success.” Name the funders, name the gatekeepers, honour the real kaitiaki.

Māori e! E tū ki runga i ō tātau maunga, whakahokia te mana, te reo, te whenua, te tapu ki ngā ringa o te iwi.

Koha if capacity: HTDM: 03-1546-0415173-000.

Kia ū, whānau. Mauri tū, mauri ora.

https://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

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