Rautaki Māori 2025-26

I tērā tau, i whakawhanake mātou i te tūāpapa i whakatakorotoria i te Rautaki Māori tuatahi, i Te Pae Tata 2024. I kōkiri mātou i ngā whāinga e waru o Te Pae Tata, waihoki, i arotakengia e mātou te rautaki, e hanatū ai te anga whakamua i ngā tau 2026 me te 2027. Mātua rā, i kitea e ngā minenga te huhua o ngā ataata Māori e kounga ana.

Last year, we built on the strong foundation established through our first comprehensive Rautaki Māori, Te Pae Tata 2024.  We made clear progress against Te Pae Tata’s eight objectives and have reviewed the rautaki to ensure this momentum continues into 2026-27. Most importantly, audiences got to see a wide variety of high-quality Māori content.

Ko tētahi o ngā tutukinga, ko te whakarewa i tētahi angaanga whakarōpūtanga, e pai ai tā mātou whakarite taumata mō te nui o ngā ataata Māori ka tautokona ā-pūtea e Irirangi Te Motu i ia tau, ka mutu, te nui hoki o te tautoko i ngā kamupene whakaaturanga Māori. E whakapae ana mātou, kua 13% o te tahua pūtea katoa i tāpae atu ki ngā minenga Māori (hei tā ngā kaitono), ka mutu, ko ngā hōtaka noa, he āhuatanga Māori o roto, i eke ki tōna 17.7%. I ngā tau 2025 me te 2026, i riro ki ngā kamupene whakaaturanga Māori te 20% o te tahua pūtea whakaaturanga a Irirangi Te Motu, ka oti ki te $15.4 miriona tāra.

Ka whakamahi a Irirangi Te Motu I te whakamāramatanga a Tatauranga Aotearoa: Ko te pakihi Māori tētahi pakihi nō te tangata Māori te katoa, he wāhanga rānei o te pakihi nō te tangata Māori, nō ngā tāngata e whai whakapapa Māori ana rānei, ā, ka tohua e tētahi māngai o te pakihi he pakihi Māori tērā.

A key achievement was the introduction of a new categorisation framework, which helps us benchmark the amount of Māori screen content funded by NZ On Air each year and the support provided to Māori production companies. We estimate that 13% of total funding was targeted to Māori audiences (as reported by applicants), while general programmes containing Māori content accounted for around 17.7%. In 2025/26, Māori production companies received 20% of NZ On Air production funding, totalling $15.4m.

Note: NZ On Air uses the stats NZ definition: A Māori business is a business that is fully or partly owned by a person or people who have Māori whakapapa, and a representative of that business identifies the business as Māori.

I ū tonu tā mātou ko Te Māngai Pāho mahi ngātahi, ka tuku ko te $8 miriona tāra mā te tahua pūtea takirua ki ngā kaupapa 30%, neke atu rānei i te reo Māori. Nā tēnei pūtea tautoko, i hua ko ngā terenga tuarua o ngā hōtaka pēnei i te End Of The Valley 2 – The Price Of Tomorrow, nā Miro Productions, i a Whakaata Māori ($2,721,236), i The Casketeers: Life And Death Around The Globe 2, nā Great Southern Television mā TVNZ 1 ($1,440,518), me Dead Ahead (Terenga Tuarua), nā Hi Mama Productions mā TVNZ+ ($2,898,992). I tautokona hoki e te Tahua Pūtea Takirua te whanaketanga ā-pūtea mō ngā kaupapa e whitu anō, e āwhina ana ki te whakarite huarahi e puta tonu ai ngā whakaaturanga.

Our close collaboration with Te Māngai Pāho continued with the annual co-fund providing $8m for projects that had at least 30% te reo Māori. This support enabled a second series for shows such as End Of The Valley 2 – The Price Of Tomorrow by Miro Productions, for Whakaata Māori ($2,721,236), The Casketeers: Life And Death Around The Globe 2 by Great Southern Television for TVNZ 1 ($1,440,518) and Dead Ahead (Season 2) by Hi Mama Productions for TVNZ+ ($2,898,992). The Co-Fund also supported development funding for seven other projects helping to build an ongoing pipeline of production.

Ko te tau 2025 me te 2026 te tau i tahuri atu ai ngā kiriata reo rua ki ngā ratonga pāhotanga, ko te kiriata Tangata Pai (Three) me Dead Ahead (TVNZ+) i āpitihia e Netflix hei pāhotanga ki te pae pāhotanga o Ahitereiria.

2025-26 was the year strong bilingual shows made the jump to streaming with the prime time drama Tangata Pai (Three) and Dead Ahead (TVNZ+) being picked up by Netflix for streaming on its Australian platform.

I te tau 2026 whakaputaina ai te kiriata Earth Oven, me Temuera Morrison, he hōtaka rorotu tūturu, nā Hi Mama Productions mā Sky Open, mā SkyGo me Neon. I tautokona ngā wawata ā-ao o te whakaari i te rirohanga o te whakahokinga pūtea a New Zealand Screen Production, i tuaritia te hōtaka ki a SBS me NITV – e whakawhenumi ana i te torohanga o te ao whānui me te tirohanga motuhake a te Māori.

2026 also saw the premiere of Earth Oven with Temuera Morrison, a prime-time factual series by Hi Mama Productions for Sky Open, SkyGo and Neon. The production’s international ambitions were supported by accessing the New Zealand Screen Production rebate and the show was distributed through SBS and NITV – combining an international scope with a distinctly Māori perspective.

E pūmau tonu ana a Irirangi Te Motu ki ngā rangahau minenga Māori. I te rīpoata, We Are the Audiences Children’s Media Report 2025, i ruku ki ngā hiahia o te Māori e mea ana, 38% o ngā tamariki ka rite tonu te hono atu ki ngā ataata reo Māori, ā, 57% o ngā whānau e whakapono ana, ko te hononga ki te ao Māori te whakakipakipatanga mā tā rātou tamaiti ki te mātakitaki i ngā ataata reo Māori.

I te kaupapa rangahau Lights, Camera, Impact Report 2025, he mea utu e Irirangi Te Motu, e Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga, me Te Māngai Pāho, i kitea te hiranga o ngā ataata Māori ki te kāinga, ki te atamira o te ao hoki. E ai ki tōna 87% o ngā minenga o te ao, ko ngā pakiwaitara e arahina ana e te Māori, he pūkenga mō te ao whānui, waihoki, ko Aotearoa ka tū hei kaikōkiri i ngā kaupapa tuku pakiwaitara taketake.

NZ On Air continues to be committed to Māori audience research. The Where Are the Audiences Children’s Media Report 2025 delved into Māori preferences showing 38% of children engage with te reo Māori content regularly and 57% of whānau believe connection to te ao Māori is what motivates their child to watch te reo Māori content.

The research project Lights, Camera, Impact Report 2025, funded by NZ On Air, New Zealand Film Commission and Te Māngai Pāho, demonstrated the importance of Māori content both at home and on the global stage. Up to 87% of international viewers saw Māori-led narratives as a global strength, positioning New Zealand as a leader in indigenous storytelling. 

I tautoko tonu mātou i ngā kaupapa e whakanui, e whakawhanake ana i te āheitanga o te rāngai waihanga ataata Māori. Ko Aho Shorts, me Māoriland hoki kei tēnei rāngai.

Ka āwhinatia mātou e te kaupapa kātahi anō ka rewa, e Te Pae Matarau – The Everyone Project Aotearoa, ki te whai māramatanga mō ngā rautaki hāpai ā-mahi i te rāngai pāpāho Māori. Mā te rauemi tatauranga taupori, he mea utu ngātahi e Irirangi Te Motu, e Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga, me Te Māngai Pāho, e kohikohi raraunga muna mō ngā kaiwhakaari me ngā kaimahi hei tohutohu i ngā āhuatanga tuku pūtea, i te whakangungutanga me ngā kaupapa here mō te anamata.

We continued to support initiatives aimed at celebrating and increasing the capability of the Māori content creation sector. This includes Aho Shorts and Māoriland.

The newly launched Te Pae Matarau – The Everyone Project Aotearoa will help us better understand the workforce needs of the Māori media sector. The demographic survey tool, funded jointly by NZ On Air, the New Zealand Film Commission, and Te Māngai Pāho, will collect anonymous data on cast and crew to guide future industry funding, training and policy.

Ko ētahi o ngā kaupapa i tautokona ā-pūtea i te tau 2025 me te 2026, kua hāpai ake i ngā kawenga mō te ture pāpāho a Irirangi Te Motu e whakatairangatia ai te reo me te ahurea Māori.

E mārama ana ki a Irirangi Te Motu, he pitomata tō ngā ataata katoa ka tautokona ā-pūtea ki te taunaki me te whakaatu i te reo, i te ahurea me tuakiri Māori mā ngā ara huhua, e whāiti ana te rārangi nei ki ngā kiriata e kite ana i te hiranga o ēnei āhuatanga, he wāhanga motuhake ōna ki te kaupapa. Kāore tēnei rārangi e whakaatu i te whānuitanga o ngā ataata katoa kua tautokona ā-pūtea me ngā tāpaetanga ki ēnei putanga.

Some projects funded in 2025-26 have been strongly contributing to NZ On Air’s Broadcasting Act obligations to promote Māori language and culture.

While NZ On Air recognises that all funded content has the potential to support and reflect Māori language, culture, and identity in different ways, this list is limited to those titles where that contribution was considered a significant and defining element of the project. This list does not represent all funded content that contributes to these outcomes.

I te taha puoro, i angitu ngā kaipuoro Māori me te reo Māori i ngā rārangi waiata, i tō i te marea i ngā kātū puoro whānui. E kaha ake ai tā Irirangi Te Motu tautoko i ngā kaipuoro Māori, i toro atu ki a Ka Korokī Ka Maranga, i waihanga i te tini o ngā rautaki, ko te kopoutanga o te tūranga Kaitohutohu Puoro Māori. Kua whakawhanake a Jeff Newton (Tainui Awhiro, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungunu) i tana tūranga kia noho ko ia te kaitūhono matua mō ngā kaipuoro tangata whenua e hāngai ana ki ngā pātai pūtea me ngā kupu āwhina.

In music, Māori artists and te reo Māori continued to dominate charts capturing audiences across genres. To better support Māori artists, NZ On Air engaged with the Māori Music Industry Collective developing a range of measures including the establishment of a Māori Music Advisor role.  Jeff Newton (Tainui Awhiro, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungunu) has expanded his role to be the main point of contact for our tangata whenua artists for funding questions and advice.

Te Wehi

Ko Te Wehi (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua) tētahi o ngā kaipuoro i tautokona ā-pūtea, ā, ko ia tētahi i angitu i tēnei tau. Ka whakaputa a Te Wehi i ngā waiata e whakanui ana i tana tipuranga ake i Edgecumbe, me te hono i te wairua, i te rekereke, i te puoro tuawhenua, i te hopurua, i te puoro rakatū, me ngā whakaawenga rerekē. I whakawhiwhia ia ki te tohu o Te Iti Rearea o te Tau, me te tohu o Te Manu Taki Taketake o te Tau ki Ngā Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa 2026, i konā hoki rāua ko Hori Shaw whakatuwhera ai i te pō ki te waiata Ready to Ride.

I noho a Te Wehi ki te taumata tiketike mō te 47 wiki i te Tukutahi Tiketike o Aotearoa, hei kaipuoro takitahi, hei takirua ki a Hori Shaw rānei. I puta tuarua ia hei kaipuoro angitu rawa i te rārangi Ngā Whetū Taki, i eke ngā waiata 11 ki te tihi.

I eke tana kōpae waiata hou tuatahi, I’m Home, ki te tihi o te rārangi Kōpae Tiketike o Aotearoa, e whitu ngā waiata i eke ki te tihi o Ngā Whetū Takirima.

I hāpai te pūtea tautoko mō te tāwhio whenua a ngā waiata hou a Te Wehi i ngā haerenga e rua, e iwa ngā whakaaturanga ki ia haerenga i te tau 2026, ā, i pau katoa ngā tīkiti puta noa i Aotearoa. Ka tautoko mātou i runga i te whakahīhī ki tōna haerenga.

Te Wehi

Te Wehi (Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Whātua) is one of the funded artists who had a breakout year. Raised in Edgecumbe, Te Wehi creates music that honours his heritage while blending soul, reggae, country, dub, rock and alternative influences. He was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Best Roots Artist at the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards, where he also opened the night with Ready To Ride alongside Hori Shaw.

Te Wehi spent 47 weeks at Number One on the Aotearoa Singles Chart, either as a solo artist or with Hori Shaw, and became the second-most successful artist on the Aotearoa Hot Chart, with 11 Number One tracks.

His New Music Project-funded debut album I’m Home, reached Number One on the Aotearoa NZ Albums Chart, with seven songs reaching the Aotearoa Hot Chart top five.

Te Wehi’s New Music Project Touring Fund-supported nine-show tour in 2026 sold out across Aotearoa. Ka tautoko mātou i runga i te whakahīhī ki tōna haerenga.

Ataata i tautokohia ā-pūtea: Waiata Takitahi 2025 – 2026

I tautoko ā-pūtea tahi mātou ko Te Māngai Pāho i ngā waiata 15, i whakapaua te $120,000 o te tahua pūtea a Irirangi Te Motu.

Funded Music Content Waiata Takitahi 2025-26

We co-funded 15 songs with Te Māngai Pāho, spending $120,000 of NZ On Air funding.

Hei whakamōhiotanga kāore tēnei rārangi e āpiti i ngā kaipuoro e kīia ana he Māori, ā, kua whiwhi pūtea tautoko i ngā tahua pūtea whānui.

Note this list does not include artists identifying as Māori who have received funding within the general funding streams.