The Waitangi Tribunal has granted urgency to an inquiry into the government’s decision to scrap school boards’ legal duty to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and reset Te Mātaiaho, the New Zealand Curriculum.

Northland iwi Ngāti Hine and hapū Te Kapotai, alongside the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), filed the claim in November last year, arguing the changes undermined Māori rangatiratanga, partnership and equity in education.

The claimants say the removal of Treaty obligations from school boards risks causing significant and irreversible harm to Māori learners and their whānau.

In the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision, it said the changes had constitutional significance and met the threshold for urgency.

“Any legislative change altering the nature and manner of the Crown’s Treaty obligations has a constitutional significance. That is especially so in a case where Māori have not been consulted.”

While the Tribunal noted the Crown had acknowledged there was no engagement with Māori on the decision to amend the law, it said removing the statutory obligation for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti had “immediate consequences for the status of the Treaty and for tamariki Māori within the education system”.

The Tribunal also rejected the Crown’s argument that other inquiries or future policy reviews could address the issue, saying those pathways would not provide “timely or targeted scrutiny”.

The requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti was introduced in 2020 as part of reforms to the Education and Training Act.

The government later removed the provision in 2025, with Education Minister Erica Stanford saying at the time of the anouncement that Treaty obligations sit with the Crown, not schools.

“School boards should have direction and we are giving very clear direction. You need to ensure equitable outcomes for Māori students, you need to be offering te reo Māori and you need to be culturally competent,” she said at the time.

Since the change, more than 1800 kura – around 70 percent of schools across Aotearoa – had publicly reaffirmed they would continue giving effect to Te Tiriti.

The Tribunal acknowledged the number of schools that had pledged to continue honouring Te Tiriti in its decision. However, it said the absence of a statutory framework could make those commitments inconsistent across the edcation system.

NZEI Te Riu Roa president and claimant Ripeka Lessels welcomed the Tribunal’s decision, saying it sent a strong signal about the seriousness of the issue.

“I’m absolutely elated that they have granted urgency. It isn’t something that is done lightly for the Waitangi Tribunal,” she told RNZ.

Lessels said the decision to grant urgency reflected growing public and sector support for Te Tiriti.

“There was a time in our history where we didn’t have it, we didn’t have to give effect to it at all. And so nobody did. Nobody taught it. Nobody made references to it. Schools certainly didn’t see the importance of it until the Education and Training Act put in section 127. So that’s why it’s really, really important that we challenge what this government has unilaterally decided around moving the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

She said removing the Treaty obligation signalled where the government’s priorities lay.

“By removing section 127 of the Education and Training Act, they are clearly deprioritising Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori from legislation.”

Lessels said the Tribunal inquiry was an opportunity to challenge the government’s decision.

“We have to challenge this removal. We don’t want future generations looking back and thinking this happened and nobody stood up against it.”

Speaking to RNZ, Ngāti Hine kaumātua and claimant Te Waihoroi Shortland said removing the obligation felt politically motivated.

“When you have it dismissed out of hand, for no other reason than people feel like they are losing something or they’re giving up something to Māori when they recognise the articles of Te Tiriti in any way, shape or form … it plays out to a largely Pākehā constituent that has no time to consider these things,” he said.

“People forget that two nations made this deal (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). One of them was Māori and one of them was the Crown of England … then one nation turns around and swallows the other one up and says, everything we decide is for your good.

“It’s been that way for 186 years. These kind of actions remind us that we haven’t moved very far in all of that time.”

Asked why Ngāti Hine felt it was important to file a claim, Shortland said his people were following the guidance of their tūpuna, Te Ruku Kawiti.

“In his ōhaki to Ngāti Hine – his last legacy statement to Ngāti Hine – he challenged all Ngāti Hine descendants to hold fast to our faith and to protect the commitments of our tūpuna … at any time that the words of the document that they signed up to are challenged, then Ngāti Hine must stand and oppose,” he told RNZ.

“We often can’t rely on the system of government to do that for us. Even with two sides of the Parliament, it doesn’t matter which one is in. It usually is a case that they both begin in their own interests first, and Māori are way, way in the distance second.”

In a statement to RNZ, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she was unable to comment.

“As the matter is currently before the Tribunal it would not be appropriate for me to comment.”

A date was yet to be set for the hearings.

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Māori advocates and health leaders say the government’s move-on orders push homelessness out of view rather than addressing the conditions driving it.

The government announced in February their plans to amend the Summary Offences Act to give police the power to direct people to leave a public space for up to 24 hours.

Breaching an order risks a fine of up to $2000 or a three-month jail term.

The powers would apply to rough sleeping, begging and behaviour deemed “disorderly,” and could be used on anyone aged 14 and over.

However, advocates and public health leaders have slammed the change as “mean-spirited” and “missing the mark”, saying it will harm those already struggling.

Hāpai Te Hauora Chief Operating Officer, Jason Alexander (Ngāpuhi), said you can’t “enforce your way out of homelessness”.

“Using move-on orders may reduce what is seen in parts of the CBD, but it does not reduce homelessness. It shifts the problem without addressing why people are there in the first place.”

He said homelessness is a public health issue, not a public nuisance.

“In public health, we use the analogy of the sign at the top of the cliff rather than the ambulance at the bottom,” he told RNZ.

“With this, it’s sort of like they’ve already fallen off the cliff – that’s them being homeless – and now the police are coming along and asking them to move over a bit because we don’t want to see it.”

He said it ignores the real question: “Why are people homeless?”

“A lot of our homeless suffer from addiction. A lot have mental health issues. They end up on the streets because of things like domestic violence, trauma, or just financial stress,” he said.

“We’re still in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Those who were in crisis before have been pushed over the edge into homelessness.

“We should be asking what is pushing people into homelessness, not how quickly we can move them away from view.”

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith previously said the government was not criminalising homelessness.

“What we’re criminalising is a refusal to follow a move-on order,” he said at the time of the announcement.

“Our main streets and town centres have been blighted by disruption and disturbance. Businesses are declining as some bad behaviour goes unchecked. It needs to stop.”

Alexander rejected the framing of the change as primarily about public safety.

“That framing almost suggests our homeless whānau aren’t part of the public. They’re part of us as much as anyone else is. It’s not really concerned with their safety by just moving them on.”

In Aotearoa, Māori are significantly over-represented in severe housing deprivation statistics. According to Stats NZ, while Māori make up about 17 percent of the population, roughly 31 percent of those experiencing severe housing deprivation are Māori. More than a third are tamariki under 15.

In some rohe (regions, the disparity is higher. Māori make up 84 percent of those severely housing-deprived in Gisborne and 61 percent in Northland.

Chief Executive of Hāpai Te Hauora, Jacqui Harema, said the figures pointed to deeper structural inequities.

“When Māori are consistently over-represented in homelessness statistics, it tells us the housing system is not delivering equitable outcomes,” she said.

“The response needs to focus on the drivers of homelessness.”

Alexander said those drivers included uneven access to stable housing, income security and rental opportunities. Research has also identified discrimination in the rental market, where applicants with Māori-identifying names receive fewer responses from landlords.

“When housing becomes scarce and expensive, those already facing these barriers are the first to feel the pressure.”

When asked about 14-year-olds being subject to move-on orders, Alexander said most children sleeping rough were not there by choice.

“A 14-year-old usually isn’t out on the street through their own choice. They’re being impacted by a raft of issues – family violence, housing instability, poverty, breakdowns at home,”

“Telling them to move on is not resolving these issues. It’s just kicking the can down the road.

“If you’re 14, you should be enjoying your childhood, not worrying about day-to-day survival on the streets.”

Alexander said the focus should shift.

“We should be asking what is pushing people into homelessness, not how quickly we can move them away from view,” he said.

“Let’s not just shift them along because it’s inconvenient. Let’s do everything we can to give them a hand up.”

Youth advocates warn of ‘criminalising’ homelessness

National youth homelessness collective Manaaki Rangatahi said the new powers would make an already deteriorating situation worse.

Pou Ārahi Bianca Johanson said at least 112,500 people in Aotearoa were severely housing-deprived and many regions lacked supported youth housing.

“Move on orders do not move youth on to safety. They move them further underground, further from help, and further from any real chance at stability,” Johanson said.

“These are not adults who have fallen on hard times. These are our young people.”

Johanson said trust was central to its outreach work and enforcement risked destroying that relationship.

“When the state responds to a young person’s visible presence in public with a fine, it sends one message: you are a problem to be moved, not a person to be supported.”

Manaaki Rangatahi is calling for a fully funded National Youth Homelessness Strategy and “duty-to-assist” legislation requiring agencies, including Oranga Tamariki, to support those experiencing homelessness into suitable housing.

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The Moriori Imi Settlement Trust allege the Crown has reneged on a promise to remain neutral on issues of tino rangatiratanga between them and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri over the Chatham Islands.

Descendants of both Moriori and Ngāti Mutunga were in the Court of Appeal in Wellington on Wednesday; the public gallery was so packed that a separate courtroom had to be set up with an Audio Visual link so everyone could watch the proceedings.

The Moriori Imi Settlement Trust is seeking a declaration of whether it would be unlawful for the Crown to enter into a settlement with Ngāti Mutunga that recognises or transfers interests in a way that conflicts with Moriori’s rights.

In November 2022, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and the Crown signed an Agreement in Principle (AIP) to settle the iwi’s historical Treaty Claims.

The AIP outlines a broad settlement framework, including recognition of Crown breaches of Te Tiriti and acknowledgement of Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri mana and tino rangatiratanga.

Chief Negotiator for Moriori Maui Solomon said they asked the Crown to remove the wording of tino rangatiratanga, but that request has so far been refused.

“During our negotiations with the Crown… we started in 2016, we signed our settlement in 2020, the Crown undertook to us that they would remain neutral, as between Moriori and Ngāti Mutunga on issues of mana whenua and tino rangatiratanga. They have not done that.”

Moriori would have preferred to settle out of court, he said.

Chair of Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust Monique Croon said it’s disappointing to be in court over an issue they believe is straightforward.

“With tino rangatiratanga and our grievances, they are with the Crown, not against Moriori. And so we’ve always supported Moriori to have a settlement. And again we like to engage and we like to be part of sharing, working through that shared redress.”

Moriori settled their historic Treaty claims with the Crown in 2020, but the settlement did not include reference to mana whenua or tino rangatiratanga.

Croon said that choice was made by Moriori during negotiations with the Crown.

“Within their legislation in their deed [Moriori]… have agreed to have shared redress with Ngāti Mutanga. At this stage, we still haven’t been able to get together, engage with Moriori on that shared redress… we all share whakapapa. We live on a little island of Wharekauri where we’re a small population, and it’s important that we continue working together,” she said.

Solomon said although the Treaty was signed and applied mainly in New Zealand to Māori, the Crown claimed sovereignty over the Chatham Islands so Moriori have the same rights under the Treaty. “Wherever they’re claiming rights, they also assume the obligations,” he said.

“We don’t oppose Ngāti Mutunga having a settlement, per se. Even though we say, well, actually the Crown already rewarded Ngāti Mutunga by giving them all our land in 1870 by applying mainland custom of take raupatu.”

Chair of the Moriori Imi Settlement Trust Tom Lanauze disputes that Ngāti Mutunga took tino rangatiratanga from Moriori when they invaded the islands in 1835.

Even when Moriori people were slaughtered and enslaved there were still Moriori people on the Chatham Islands, he said.

“We didn’t lose our tino rangatiratanga by any means, in my view. And it’s still there today.”

In June 2025 the Moriori Imi Settlement Trust applied for interim orders in the High Court that the Crown not take any further action in progressing the Ngāti Mutunga Treaty claim to the extent that it would recognise that Ngāti Mutunga holds tino rangatiratanga over the Chatham Islands.

Justice La Hood dismissed the application, finding that “interim relief is not reasonably necessary to preserve Moriori’s rights.”

In December 2025, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and the Crown initialled a Draft Deed of Settlement.

Croon said the next step for the settlement is to have it ratified by iwi members.

“Once we have the vote or the support, then we’ll be looking at signing the deed about [the] middle of this year.”

A spokesperson for Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith said he was unable to comment as the case is before the courts.

The Court of Appeal judges have reserved their decision.

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Whānau from Ruapuke Island near Bluff have, again, won customary marine title (CMT) over the waters surrounding Te Ara a Kiwa/Foveaux Strait – the first claimants to do so under stricter rules.

In a judgement released on 26 February, the High Court found the group met the revised legal tests introduced by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Act.

The Ruapuke Island Group had previously won CMT in late August 2025, following an eight year application process through the High Court.

At the time, Rick Fife of the Topi whānau, said the he was “extremely pleased” with the decision because it affirmed the connection the various Ruapuke whānau have with their takutai moana.

However, their win coincided with introduction of new rules, effectively making it harder for Māori to win customary marine title. The rule changes were also retrospective, meaning any court decisions issued after 25 July 2024 would be void and need to be reheard.

Despite that, the Court concluded that the claimants held the specified area in accordance with tikanga continuously since 1840, and had exclusively used and occupied the takutai moana without substantial interruption.

The evidence presented to the Court included generations of customary harvesting of kaimoana, seasonal mahinga kai practices and active stewardship of the environment through conservation and kaitiakitanga.

Ailsa Cain of the Kīhau whānau said the decision affirmed what Ruapuke whānau had always known.

“The Amendment Act asked the Court to apply new and more restrictive tests and consider all the evidence again. We are grateful that the Court has once more recognised our whakapapa our tikanga, and our uninterrupted relationship with these waters since before 1840.”

The Court found activities like commercial fishing did not amount to a substantial interruption of customary use and occupation, and had not prevented whānau from continuing their customary practices or exercising kaitiakitanga.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa congratulated the whānau on the outcome.

“Despite the government changing the law and forcing them back to court to face much stricter tests, their unbroken connection to these waters has now been recognised for a second time.” he said.

“This victory is significant, but we remain deeply concerned for other whānau who now have to fight much harder for their own recognition. Changing the law to raise the bar has put an unfair and unnecessary burden on whānau, hapū and iwi. It also risks shutting out whānau altogether whose whakapapa and tikanga connections are just as strong as those of Ruapuke.”

The law changes prompted sharp protest from Māori around the country, including Northland iwi Ngātiwai and Ngāti Manuhiri who are challenging the amendments in the High Court.

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One hundred and fifty shearers and woolhandlers representing 27 countries were welcomed to Masterton with a pōwhiri, which kicked off the 2026 Golden Shears.

The pressure at this year’s competition, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, will be a bit higher as it coincides with the World Premier Shearing and Wool Handling Championships, which were last hosted in Wairarapa in 2012.

Woolhandler Joel Henare (Te Aitanga a Hauiti) is going for a third World individual woolhandling title and a 12th consecutive Golden Shears Open Woolhandling title.

“This is the Olympics in the shearing world and just anyone who’s good at this and takes it to another level, they’ll be here, you know, putting on and displaying these skills,” he said.

New Zealand has one of the highest standards of sheep shearing and wool preparation standards in the world, with the quality of wool preparation as the backbone of that standard, but the rest of the world is catching up, he said.

“Eighty percent of our industry is predominantly Māori… The sheep first came to Tairāwhiti in 1769 with James Cook. So, that’s how long sheep have been around. And we’ve been preparing the wool fibre to fabric market for the world.”

The championships are centred on the Masterton War Memorial Stadium, but some early stages are being held in a marquee across the road in Queen Elizabeth Park, as organisers cope with a programme of 29 World Championships and the annual Golden Shears event – over 600 competitors in total, with more than 6000 sheep to be shorn.

Pou Tikanga of Rangitāne o Wairarapa Mike Kawana said Golden Shears has been a part of the area for a long, long time.

It’s always a great time for local whānau to come together and be a part of a kaupapa that brings people from all over the country in most years, but this year, bringing people together from all over the world, he said.

“Our Māori whānau around here are very apt and very skilled in all aspects of the shearing world and I have my own connections as well. My dad was a shearer and some of my uncles, of course, so it’s in the blood for many of us.

“So, exciting to have occasions such as this where we see people from all walks of life and all over the whenua, all over the motu, and all over te ao nei, hui mai mō te kaupapa.”

Kawana said the Māori community in Wairarapa has often had a part to play in the Golden Shears over the years in different aspects, but the local whānau are always pleased to be able to be a part of the occasion.

It’s been an exciting start to 2026 for Wairarapa with local kapa haka group Te Rangiura o Wairarapa taking out first place at the Ngāti Kahungunu regional kapa haka competition in Waipukurau in February, he said.

Te Rangiura o Wairarapa will represent the region at Te Matatini 2027.

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A group of Tūhoe kaumatua say plans to remove the supervisory jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court (MLC) over many post-settlement governance entities (PSGE) will deny Māori access to justice and accountability.

The government is proposing legislation gives PSGEs the choice to be exempt from sections 237 and 245 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 – which give the MLC jurisdiction over trusts, to the High Court.

Cabinet signed off on the proposal in 2025 following a ruling from the Supreme Court in 2024 that meant Te Uru Taumatua (TUT), the settlement entity for Tūhoe, was subject to jurisdiction of the MLC.

In 2019, Tūhoe kaumatua Paki Nikora, a staunch critic of TUT, started legal proceeding against the PGSE over its election processes on behalf of Te Kaunihera Kaumātua o Tūhoe.

Nikora died in 2023, aged 73, but the legal battle continued, culminating in the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement, counsel for the Kaunihera, Paul Harman, said the proposed Bill overruled that decision.

Harman implied the proposed bill showed how “far” the Crown and TUT were prepared to go to “override access to justice”.

“It weakens the rule of law when governments make legislation in such haste.” he said.

“We went to the Māori Land Court because Te Uru Taumatua had no meaningful dispute resolution process. This is one of several failures of its Trust Deed, with its election processes being another… all that remains is a High Court application, and I suggest that is too expensive for most Māori.”

Harman claimed the proposed Bill would effectively remove independent judicial oversight and deny Te Kaunihera Kaumātua o Tūhoe and other Māori due process and legal recourse.

In a statement to RNZ, Te Uru Taumatua chief executive Kirsti Luke said the Supreme Court’s ruling made “no real sense” for reality of iwi or PSGEs.

“It was never the Crown or iwi’s intent in reaching settlements, and enacting them in legislation, that the Māori Land Court would have any subsequent jurisdiction over iwi’s self-determination.

“The court acknowledged the situation, that its interpretation created, should be fixed by Parliament, and that is also the course of action we and other iwi support.”

A cabinet paper shows 42 of the country’s 73 PSGEs have formally requested exemption from the court’s oversight

In a statement, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka said the government recognised that PSGEs undertook important responsibilities on behalf of their Iwi.

“Many continue to do so in a diligent and professional way, with strong support from their members and uri.” he said.

“It is important to be clear, however, that a PSGE is not synonymous with the Iwi itself. An is an Iwi. A PSGE carries out defined roles and responsibilities on behalf of Iwi under its trust deed and settlement arrangements, but it does not define the identity or mana of the Iwi.”

Potaka said the proposed legislation reflected the engagement had with PSGEs across the country and the considerations of the Supreme Court had been carefully taken into account.

“This work has not arisen suddenly. Discussions have been underway for some time, including through the former Te Arawhiti structure, and have involved detailed consideration of how best to provide certainty within the PSGE framework.”

“It is also important to emphasise that matters relating to the structure, accountability and leadership of PSGEs ultimately sit with Iwi members. Where Iwi members believe change is needed, whether amendment or replacement of governance arrangements, there are established pathways within trust deeds and Iwi processes to do so. Those are decisions for Iwi to determine.”

Potaka said draft legislation was still being worked through and would be introduced “in due course”.

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Three emerging Māori researchers leading innovative projects to improve cancer outcomes for whānau Māori will receive this year’s Māori Cancer Researcher Award.

Their research range from exploring how papakāinga living can strengthen the practice of Rongoā Māori, to developing next-generation immunotherapies with fewer side effects, to enhancing genomic tools that more accurately predict treatment responses for Māori and Pasifika patients.

This is the fifth year for the awards, which are a partnership between Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa (Cancer Society New Zealand) and Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa.

This year, two PhD scholarships and a master’s scholarship have been awarded.

Rongoā Māori practitioner and researcher Robbie Richardson (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Hauiti ki Rata, Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) is completing her doctoral research through Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuārangi.

Her work focuses on her whānau’s ancestral home, Mangamāhoe, exploring how papakāinga living and Rongoā Māori practices can help protect whānau and whenua in the face of PFAS contamination from the neighbouring Ohakea Air Force Base – chemicals that persist in the environment for more than 150 years and have been linked to increased cancer risk.

For Richardson, the impact was real not just on her community but within her whānau as her father passed away from cancer a year after residents were first informed of the contamination.

“So there we are with my dad not even 200, 300 meters living from the Ohakea Air Force Base all his 83 years, only having eaten from the land, drank the water from the land, animals such as like chooks and all of that sort of stuff, and all of the vegetation and the crops, that’s all he’s known. He very rarely had takeaways.”

The revelation of PFAS contamination was a shock to community with the Base taking a long time to engage with the papakāinga, she said.

“It’s what they call a forever chemical, so it stays, it moves in water, it doesn’t dissipate in water. So the impact to the whenua is 150 years plus that it will then be able to move out of the so-called red zone.”

Richardson has been practising Rongoā Māori for more than 15 years, among the goals for her research include building evidence for Rongoā Māori within cancer prevention and survivorship frameworks and supporting whānau and hapū health sovereignty in contaminated environments such as at Mangamāhoe.

Her father lived on the papakāinga all his life and Richardson said her research will look into the ways papakāinga living facilitates the expression of rongoā.

“[Rongoā has] been missing since the 1907 Tohunga Suppression Act. So we’ve had this backwards and forwards…. all the medical kind of questions around it, when in fact all it’s simply about is bringing out ease, whatever that might be.”

Ariana Drabble’s (Te Arawa – Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Raukawa – Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Toa – Ngāti Kimihia) PhD research at the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka will look to tap into and better understand the power and potential of Natural Killer (NK) cells.

“Our immune system can be reprogrammed to destroy cancer cells, but current CAR T cell therapies for blood cancers often fail when tumours evade detection or suppress T cell activity. NK cells have powerful cancer-killing abilities and a safer profile. By combining CAR T cells with CAR-engineered NK cells, we aim to harness their complementary strengths. NK cells can guide and support T cells while reducing factors that shut down immune responses.”

In the last five years, Drabble’s mother, grandmother, an aunt and uncle have all received cancer diagnoses.

“Each diagnosis was not just a moment of grief, but confirmation that this mahi is not simply academic, but it is a commitment to my whānau, my tūpuna and generations to come,” she said.

Katya Hutton (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāti Kura) from Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland is undertaking her Master’s looking at the impact of using Māori genomic information to improve the accuracy of cancer immunotherapy predictions for Māori and Pasifika patients.

Current biomarkers guide treatment decisions and predict treatment responses but rely on global DNA reference databases that lack representation from Indigenous populations. If we don’t take into account the natural variability among underrepresented communities when using DNA reference databases to interpret genomic biomarkers, there is a risk that we lose the precision in our precision health approach.

“This could lead inappropriate care for them,” Hutton said.

“My goal is to accelerate precision care and precision heath research to ensure that every patient in Aotearoa – no matter what age, sex, ethnicity or ancestry – is getting the best care they can get.”

Cancer Society director of research and innovation, Christelle Jolly said the awards empower Māori researchers to pursue the questions that matter most to their communities.

“Each of these projects has the potential to directly improve cancer outcomes for whānau. This is why investing in a strong and supported Māori cancer research workforce matters so much.”

Hei Āhuru Mōwai Tumuaki (chief executive) Anna-Marie Ruhe said the organisation is immensely proud to stand alongside these emerging researchers whose work carries the aspirations of their whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Their projects demonstrate what becomes possible when mātauranga Māori and scientific innovation are supported to flourish, she said.

“These awards are not just an investment in individual researchers – they are an investment in a future where Māori leadership in cancer research is strong, visible and transformative. When Māori are empowered to ask the questions that matter to our communities, we move closer to a health system where whānau Māori can access care, treatments, and solutions that truly work for them.”

As part of the award, each master’s scholarship will last for one year and will comprise:

• Stipend of $35,000
• Tuition fees of $10,000

Each PhD scholarship will last for three years and will comprise:

• Stipend of $40,000 per year
• Tuition fees of $10,000 per year
• Tikanga contribution of $10,000 across the course of the award

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Māori women are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, getting worse the further they progress through the system, a new factsheet from the Ministry of Justice shows.

The factsheet found while wāhine Māori made up 15 percent of people in New Zealand they made up 44 percent of all women who were proceeded against by police, 49 percent of women entering court, 66 percent of women remanded in custody, and 71 percent of women sentenced to imprisonment.

Awatea Mita is the Director of the National Youth and Justice Coalition, she said the factsheet confirms what wāhine Māori and advocates have been saying for years, that the deeper wāhine Māori move into the justice system, the more punitive the response becomes.

“So this is not simply about what someone did, it’s about how the system reacts in bail decisions, in risk assessments, in sentencing outcomes.

When disparity grows, the further someone moves through the system, that tells us something structural is happening. The system is not neutral, it is amplifying inequality.”

Analysis in the factsheet, Reducing the disproportionality of Māori in the criminal justice system: wāhine Māori, concluded that while some of the disproportionality – that is the over representation of one group in relation to others – can be explained by factors such as seriousness and history of offending, a proportion remains unexplained, particularly at later stages in the system.

Discretionary decisions made within the justice system, and therefore within the system’s control, contribute to this unexplained proportion.

By the time wāhine are sentenced to imprisonment the unexplained disproportionality is at its highest, at 54 percent.

The factsheet notes that if all of this unexplained proportion was addressed, this could decrease the number of wāhine Māori sentenced to imprisonment up to 149 each year.

“When more than half of the imprisonment gap cannot be accounted for by offence seriousness or history, we have to ask what else is driving those outcomes.

We also need to remember that offending history reflects cumulative contact with police and courts. So that exposure is not evenly distributed… there’s not a neutral starting point.

The report shows us that the disparity is not just about what people do, it’s about how the system escalates its response over time,” Mita said.

While factsheet itself doesn’t use the word racism, Mita said the escalating pattern of disparity can’t be explained by behaviour alone.

“When disparity grows at each stage of the system, from police to court to remand to imprisonment, and when a large portion of that gap remains unexplained, we have to look at structural bias.

This isn’t about individual prejudice, it’s about how bail frameworks operate when someone doesn’t have stable housing. It’s about how risk assessments interpret prior history. It’s about how discretion is exercised. So if a system repeatedly produces unequal outcomes for one group, then we need to examine the structures producing those outcomes.”

Reducing disproportionality of Māori in the criminal justice system overall is a priority strategic goal for the Ministry of Justice, with wāhine Māori as the focus of the first stage of this work.

“This is partly because ensuring equitable outcomes for wāhine Māori have broader positive impacts on whānau and communities, including improved youth outcomes and reduced pressure on other government support systems,” Ministry of Justice’s General Manager, Sector Insights, Rebecca Parish said.

“Ongoing analysis will help us monitor the impact of this work, and how best to continue addressing the disproportionality of wāhine Māori in the criminal justice system.”

Mita said it is a positive step that the Ministry is tracking and acknowledging the disparity, but describing disparity is not the same as reducing it.

“Meaningful reform would include strengthening bail access, reducing custodial remand for low level offences, investing in Māori led alternatives and shifting resources towards prevention and whānau support. Monitoring the problem is a start, but structural reform is the real test,” she said.

Mita said she would like to see fewer wāhine Māori entering custodial remand for non-violent offences and wāhine Māori designing and leading the solutions.

If Aotearoa is serious about justice, then a shift from managing disparity to preventing it is needed and that means investing on whānau well-being rather than relying on carceral escalation, she said.

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A Marlborough iwi now has responsibility for managing a historic coastal site including the area of the first Polynesian settlement in Aotearoa.

Te Pokohiwi o Kupe – or the Boulder Bank Site Historic Reserve – includes the Wairau Bar, where Wairau River meets the sea at Cloudy Bay in Marlborough.

Rangitāne o Wairau and the Department of Conservation signed an agreement on Friday at Ūkaipō – the Rangitāne Cultural Centre – appointing the iwi as the Control and Management Authority for the reserve.

It is recognised as one of the oldest and most significant archaeological sites in New Zealand, often referred to as the birthplace of the nation and the site of the first large Polynesian settlement in Aotearoa around 1250-1300 AD.

The area remains a public reserve but Rangitāne o Wairau is now responsible for day-to-day management and governance.

Rangitāne o Wairau kaiwhakahaere matua Corey Hebberd said Te Pokohiwi had been out of the iwi’s hands for generations and the agreement was a major step forward.

“Not just symbolically but practically – because it gives us the responsibility and authority to properly look after this place for the future,” he said.

“This agreement is first and foremost about control and management. It confirms who is responsible for looking after Te Pokohiwi and it gives Rangitāne the authority to actively manage this place, not just advise on it.

“It enables decisions to be made locally, consistently and with a long-term focus while ensuring the reserve remains protected.”

The appointment means Rangitāne would lead decisions relating to cultural heritage protection, environmental restoration, management of activities and the overall direction for the reserve.

The Department of Conservation would continue to support the partnership.

Hebberd said the signing marked the end of a detailed and lengthy process.

Department of Conservation operations manager for south Marlborough Stacey Wrenn said the agreement was a practical and effective approach to managing the nationally significant site.

“Placing control and management responsibility with Rangitāne recognises the depth of their connection to Te Pokohiwi and supports stronger, more durable outcomes. DOC remains closely involved working alongside Rangitāne to ensure the reserve is protected and managed in the interests of all New Zealanders.”

The Crown had committed to developing a Conservation Management Plan for Te Pokohiwi as part of Rangitāne’s Treaty settlement. The plan had not yet been completed despite significant work.

Te Pokohiwi is a coastal environment subject to erosion, sea level rise and storm impacts.

Rangitāne has been working with scientific partners, including Earth Sciences New Zealand, to better understand the risks.

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Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana and the Crown have signed a Deed of Settlement for historical claims dating back to 1866.

Representatives from the Crown, including Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith and the various hapū of the rohe gathered at Tuai to commemorate the settlement process finishing after six years of negotiation.

In a statement, Goldsmith said the settlement included an agreed historical account and redress for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi which caused significant harm to generations of Ngāti Ruapani.

The settlement package includes:

• $24 million in financial redress;
• An undivided half share of Patunamu Forestry Ltd;
• Four commercial redress and two cultural redress properties; and
• Approximately 12,000 hectares of land added into Te Urewera.

Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana chair Kara Puketapu-Dentice said Waikeremoana, like other parts of Te Uruwera, carried a complex and deeply painful history.

“The hapū of Waikaremoana and the wider Te Urewera experienced invasion, displacement, and the systematic loss of land and livelihood.”

The settlement also included an apology for the Crown’s breaches, including those inflicted during its campaigns against the tipuna of Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana and other Tūhoe hapū in Waikaremoana.

These included attacks on kāinga at Te Kōpani in 1866, the displacement and starvation of hapū, and the coerced acquisition of around 178,000 acres of land under threat of confiscation which left the hapū virtually landless by 1895.

Puketapu-Dentice said he welcomed the opportunity to formally acknowledge his people’s history and bring closure to a process which required them to repeatedly recount those experiences.

“It allows us to recognise the truth of what occurred, while creating space for future generations to focus on rebuilding and renewal.”

Around 3500 descendants of Ngāti Ruapani, Ngāti Hinekura, Whānau Pani, and Ngāi Tarapāroa hapū maintain their connections to Waikaremoana and the wider Te Urewera, remaining centred around Waimako and Te Kuha marae.

“This settlement provides a foundation for the hapū of Waikaremoana, alongside other Tūhoe hapū, to restore their presence and strengthen their communities,” Puketapu-Dentice said.

“We have much to rebuild over the generations ahead. This settlement enables us to focus on restoring our relationship with our whenua, supporting our whānau, and ensuring that Waikaremoana continues to sustain future generations.”

In a statement, Minister Goldsmith said the long-awaited agreement acknowledges the past and looks to the future.

“It is a privilege to sign the Deed and deliver the Crown apology to Ngāti Ruapani in their rohe,” he said.

“A key feature of the settlement is the return of Crown-owned land into Te  Urewera, reflecting a central aspiration of Ngāti Ruapani to restore their connection with Te Urewera.

“While no settlement can fully remedy the injustices of the past, this agreement represents an important step forward. I hope it will support Ngāti Ruapani to achieve their cultural and economic aspirations for future generations to come,” Goldsmith said.

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Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa is questioning why the consultation period on a draft Māori curriculum is only half as long as its English counterpart.

“It’s pretty much an impossible deadline, really. I mean, you cut the deadline in half, we’ve got till April to respond,” president Ripeka Lessels said.

The Ministry of Education opened the draft Te Marautanga o Aotearoa framework and Year 0-10 wāhanga ako (Pūtaiao, Waiora, Toi Ihiihi, Hangarau, Ngā Reo, and Te Reo Pakeha) for consultation from 28 January until 24 April 2026.

However, consultation on the Year 0 to 10 draft New Zealand Curriculum opened three months earlier in October 2025. The consultation period closes at the same time as Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, alongside the New Zealand curriculum, make up the national curriculum statements, Lessels said.

The shorter consultation timeframe would impact on teachers, who would have less time to digest and respond to the changes, she said.

“It’s gonna be a challenge, unless [teachers] have subject specific association members beside them to actually take them to go through and read through that stuff, so that they can, you know, download it all and be able to respond appropriately.”

Lessels said the government and ministry had prioritised speed over experience and it would lead to less kaupapa Māori embedded in the curriculum.

“I think this is the only chance that most of the sector will get, is to respond in this time frame … but that’s true also of the New Zealand curriculum, there’s been very little consultation with the subject association around curriculum development since the beginning of this government.”

This curriculum would also apply to the majority of Māori students who were not in Māori medium education, but who Lessels said had a right to be taught in their language regardless of their choice of school.

“What’s good for Māori is good for everybody … tamariki Māori are still part of the education system in Aotearoa New Zealand and we still, and the government, still have an obligation to improve education, as they are trying to do, improve education for all tamariki Māori.”

Lessels said the previous curriculum documents had a lot of input from Māori in the education sector, but input on the new draft had been limited.

“I’ve been going through the Te Reo Rangatira document, and, you know, it reads very much like the Pākehā document, and that’s because this minister has pretty much demanded what it should look like, and that they should be the same. You can see that, it’s in the document, you can see that in the Te Reo Rangatira document, the step stages and phases in that document kind of mirror the New Zealand curriculum, the Pākehā document.”

In a statement the Ministry of Education said it was its intent to release the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa side by side.

“We decided that further work was needed on the draft framework and Years 0-10 wāhanga ako of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, to make sure we released the best possible version for New Zealanders to consider and provide feedback on. This is an important milestone in Māori-medium education, and we needed to get it right.

“We recognise that kura and schools using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa have a shorter consultation time period than those using the New Zealand Curriculum, so we are making it possible for kura, schools and whānau to provide feedback through multiple avenues. In addition to the feedback forms for the framework and each wāhanga ako, we are also:

– holding webinars that anyone can attend and provide feedback at

– arranging workshops through Kahu Pūtoi to discuss the drafts, and

– holding local workshops through the Curriculum Advisory Service.

“The final National Curriculum is expected to be released in mid-2026, and we intend the final versions of both curricula to be available together at that time.

“We believe the three-month consultation period, supported by multiple feedback opportunities, provides enough time for kura and schools to engage with the draft Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and provide feedback. The consultation closes on Friday 24 April 2026.”

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Wellington iwi Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika has expressed profound disappointment at the ongoing discharge of untreated wastewater at Moa Point.

In a statement, the iwi said as tāngata whenua it held an enduring responsibility to protect the whenua, wai, and moana of Te Upoko o te Ika (the Wellington region).

“This discharge is unacceptable and reflects a serious failure of infrastructure and governance. This situation requires accountability and a strengthened system,” the statement read.

The chair of Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika Te Whatanui Winiata told RNZ there had been an emotional reaction from iwi members, many who have expressed an “enormous amount of disappointment” at the disaster.

“We are a group of people and an iwi that holds our taiao in high regard. In fact, we believe that we are a part of the taiao. We are indigenous forms of the Māori flora and fauna and the taiao is our whanaunga. We have whakapapa, we have ingoa, we have stories that connect us to the taiao. So it’s been quite a cry of hurt, disappointment and anger.”

The iwi were looking forward to the findings of an independent review into the treatment plant failure and expected to be a part of the solution, he said.

“One message that we often share as members of the iwi there in te Upoko o te Ika, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara is that we are the constant. We don’t have the opportunity to come and go. It’s our responsibility and the expectation on us is to remain, to maintain our presence within the region to maintain the mauri of our region and to play our role as kaitiaki of the region. And I think this type of situation we’re in is a clear message that we need to be a part of the decision making. Because we will always, as responsible kaitiaki and members of the tākiwa, we will always make a decision that has the region and it’s best interest at heart.”

Winiata said the iwi had previously raised concerns about wastewater infrastructure at Moa Point and in the Lower Hutt suburb of Seaview.

“For many years, treated and untreated sewage has been discharged at Moa Point and at Seaview and in particular into one of our awa called Waiwhetū … and we have been voicing our opinion for many years from a tikanga Māori perspective which dictates that sewage stays on the land and never enters our waterways.”

The iwi said the public deserved clear and timely information and it expected transparency regarding the cause of this failure, the repair timeline, and the environmental impacts.

“Recent leadership changes at Wellington Water reflect the seriousness of this situation and reinforce the need for strengthened governance. Historic infrastructure decisions made without kaitiakitanga at their core have directly contributed to the environmental and cultural harm we are now witnessing.

“Taranaki Whānui is actively engaged in governance and the transition to the future water entity, Tiaki Wai, and will continue to exercise its responsibilities as mana whenua at all levels to protect and restore the long-term health and mouri of our moana.”

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A new study has linked food insecurity experienced by Māori to the ongoing consequence of colonisation rather than the result of individual choice or lifestyle.

The study, led by postdoctoral health researcher Dr Madeline Shelling (Ngāti Porou) from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland draws on in-depth interviews with Māori kai experts.

It documents how land loss, environmental degradation, restrictive laws and the marginalisation of mātauranga Māori have dismantled Māori food systems across generations.

Shelling said the research began with a visit to her whānau in Te Araroa, where despite the community taking pride in the food they could source from the land they were still counted as being food insecure.

“It came out quite clearly in my PhD that the way that we assess kai security or food security in Aotearoa is not representing Māori values, traditions or knowledge because it’s a questionnaire made up of eight questions that are all related to how we access food by having money and obviously in te ao Māori and many indigenous cultures around the world, having money is not the only way that you access kai, and it never has been.”

The outcomes of food insecurity in Aotearoa, as a wealthy, settler colonial nation, are expressed in obesity, diabetes and non-communicable and diet-related diseases which come with stigma, she said.

“Having great access to bad food is a problem that is faced by indigenous people in settler colonised countries all over the world it’s a very common pattern and yet individual choice is still blamed and so I’m just really passionate about moving away from that stigma that there is a choice because there often is very little choice.

“What if fish and chips is the only option in your area that you can access? What if you work two jobs and you don’t have transport and the only place you can walk to is McDonald’s?

“People who have the privilege of choice don’t understand what it’s like to not have that choice.”

Shelling said reducing food insecurity to individual choice ignores systemic issues faced by people in lower socio-economic areas and it excludes people who have experienced colonisation.

“Colonisation is such an important determinant of food insecurity and it has to be acknowledged so that we can remove some of these stigmas about individuals having choice over their food, when really their environment, their intergenerational trauma, their lack of intergenerational wealth through colonisation has all contributed to their inability to choose certain types of food and particularly healthy foods.”

The study identified four key impacts of colonisation, loss of land, erosion of rangatiratanga, marginalisation of Māori knowledge and impacts on health.

“It’s hard to get healthy kai when you don’t have healthy whenua that you can access,” Shelling said.

To solve the problems of food insecurity there is a responsibility from the top down to implement policy and there’s also from the bottom up, what whānau decide to do day to day and what they are able to do, because for a lot of whānau choosing where to buy food is not an option, she said.

“I want to make it really clear that Māori are trying to do something about it and Māori don’t want to be reliant on fast foods and takeaways.

“If we truly understood how colonisation impacted our food systems, we would not call it playing the victim it’s about understanding truly the effects of colonisation on every aspect of our life and for my research in particular on food systems and then where do we go from there and that’s a responsibility that we have for tangata tiriti and tangata whenua for doing it from the top down and the bottom up.”

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At the end of 2025 New Zealand missed its smokefree target and a tobacco control advocate says getting back on track will require a policy shift away from focussing on individuals towards whole system change.

The target was to reach smoking rates of below 5 percent for all population groups. According to the latest NZ Health Survey, 6.8 percent of the total population were daily smokers, but rates for Māori remained stubbornly higher at 15 percent.

The government released a revised Smokefree Action Plan at the end of 2024.

Associate professor at the University of Otago and co-director of Aspire Aotearoa Anaru Waa (Ngāti Hine) told RNZ that reaching a Smokefree Aotearoa might require a rethink of the goal, moving away from thinking of it as a problem of too many people using nicotine towards a problem of tobacco industry exploitation.

“I think the big thing is to achieve the goal, we’ve got to stop focusing on individuals. I mean, we need to support people to quit … it’s vital, but actually the focus should be on the industry and where they sell their products. And so the only way to get to an end game is to stop the supply.”

However, the goal of a smokefree Aotearoa was still achievable, he said.

“When you can buy cigarettes or vapes at any corner store, at service stations and so forth, that’s the problem. So I think it’s entirely achievable, in fact we could achieve it within two years if we wanted to, if we had a government that was committed to it.

“In fact, I think we need to have a fairly close time frame, because I’m worried that the longer we take to achieve the goal, the more time we give the industry to adapt.”

Waa said any revamped smokefree plan would need to have tailored measures to support Māori, although he said tailored measures would not achieve the goal alone.

“In Aotearoa, it started in the 80s, our tobacco control programme largely focused on individuals and the assumption was that individuals need resources to do what we want them to do, either quit smoking or not start smoking. We know that those resources aren’t the same throughout society, so some people have more social support, are less exposed to retailers, we know that there’s more vape retailers in poorer communities … [if we] run with the assumption that if we focus on individuals, what we do is we get slow change and we get inequitable change.

“So the only way to make the change fair and equitable is to have big, wide-ranging measures that affect everybody in the same way. Therefore, getting rid of our smoked tobacco is a really good start, addressing other nicotine products to make sure they’re only there as therapies, if at all, and that’s the best way to do it.”

Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello said New Zealand had made great progress in reducing smoking rates – especially since 2018 when vapes became widely available. The gains had been particularly noticeable for young people and for Māori, she said.

“When the NZ Health Survey began in 2011/12, more than 37 percent of Māori were daily smokers. In the latest survey that figure was down to 15 percent. Since 2018, Māori smoking rates have halved and the latest stats show 118,000 Māori have quit smoking in the last five years.

“These reductions are really significant; no other country is making this sort of progress.

“But of course we still have a way to go – we want to stop people smoking to reduce the health impacts and there’s a particular focus on supporting Māori and Pacific populations where rates are higher. The official target we’re working towards is to reduce smoking rates below 5 percent for all population groups.”

Costello said the Smokefree Action Plan 2025 covered a range of actions across four key areas: reducing smoking uptake, increasing quit attempts, improving access to quit support, and supporting people to stay smokefree.

“To reach the 5 percent goal, health promotion campaigns, community mobilisation activities and stop smoking services need to be targeted and appropriate for the communities and population groups they are trying to reach.

“For example, Health New Zealand’s Breakfree to Smokefree social media campaign is targeted at Māori and Pacific smokers and government-funded Kaupapa Māori quit smoking programmes across the country support Māori to quit in a culturally appropriate way.”

But Waa called the plan a “rehash” of what had been done in previous decades.

“[The plan] was about, you know, focusing on young people to stop picking up smoking, some measures around disposable vapes which was important, and supporting people to quit smoking. But we know these measures, like I said, have a small incremental change over time, but they’re inequitable.

“So it was a rehash of what we already know, while important, wasn’t going to achieve the goal at all. And in fact, I’d also argue that they probably had less resource to do what they had previously. So it was a bit of a window dressing.”

Costello said because most who were still smoking were older, long-term smokers, it was important to provide access to less harmful products that could help people quit smoking and to encourage people to get help as stopping smoking was not easy.

“People are around four times more likely to quit smoking by using a stop smoking service, than by trying on their own.”

In the lead up to the election in November, Waa said he would be looking closely at each party’s policies around tobacco, although he noted the repeal of the Smokefree Act was not in National’s manifesto heading into the last election in 2023.

“Let’s be clear, the repeal of the Act means that a lot of people are going to continue to smoke. And we know that a lot of those people who continue to smoke are going to die or have, you know, really large harm. So there’s a huge harm on society, which this government has caused.”

Waa said he would also like to see efforts to curb tobacco industry influence and lobbying.

Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verall has proposed a member’s bill “to protect New Zealanders’ health from the influence of big tobacco and shed light on their links to decision-makers”.

“We definitely need stronger measures because as we close the door on tobacco, it’s not as if the industry isn’t thinking about what they’ll do next. What they’ll do next is get more people addicted to vapes,” Waa said.

Waa said whatever the approach to reaching a Smokefree Aotearoa, it could not be a piecemeal one – it is a system and needed to be addressed as a whole system.

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