Te Māngai Pāho is first and foremost a Māori language agency. Our long-term goal has always been for te reo Māori to be valued, seen and heard everywhere.

Te Māngai Pāho was established in 1993, and has been operating since 1994. The agency came about after a significant period of action towards recognising and valuing te reo Māori in Aotearoa. There was the Māori Language Petition in 1972, the land march in 1975, the Māori Language Act in 1987, and eventually the establishment of Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi, as we are known in statute — though we operate as Te Māngai Pāho. Originally our mandate was simply to promote te reo Māori via traditional broadcast media. However as the broadcast landscape has evolved, our role has expanded to include funding for digital platforms, online content, and other activities that promote te reo Māori and Māori culture. 

Attitudes towards te reo Māori have improved remarkably since the mid-1990s. In our 2023 survey, three in five New Zealanders think that te reo Māori is a valuable part of New Zealand's identity. There is a clear appetite for te reo Māori content, and we’re very proud that we play a pivotal role in delivering this content to Aotearoa.

There are several key milestones in our 30 year history. While the  iwi radio network predates Te Māngai Pāho, we provide direct funding to all 21 iwi radio stations, who continue to be a mouthpiece for the iwi and rohe they represent. The iwi radio stations play a fundamental role in their communities; we saw clear evidence of this during both the COVID-19 outbreaks and the extreme weather events of 2023.

From the beginning, news and current affairs has been a key focus for Māori broadcasting. It is important that news and current affairs are not only delivered in te reo Māori, but are told from a Māori worldview. Long-running programmes such as Te Karere, Marae, and The Hui have consistently and successfully delivered Māori news and current affairs. More recently, Regional News Hubs such as Aukaha and the rangatahi-led Ohinga have also made a valuable contribution, delivering news and current affairs that are relatable and relevant to their audiences. 

Te Māngai Pāho has always championed waiata reo Māori. Music provides easy access to te reo Māori. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Māori artists such as Moana and the Moahunters, Herbs, Southside of Bombay, Aaria, and Upper Hutt Posse led the way for waiata reo Māori in Aotearoa. In 2019, Dame Hinewehi Mohi inspired the Waiata Anthems kaupapa, which has some of our most popular artists translating songs into te reo Māori. The album debuted at number one, and the kaupapa continues to be a big success.

Throughout the 30 years of our existence, Te Māngai Pāho has funded innovative te reo Māori content. Programmes such as Pūkana, Marae DIY, Kai Time on the Road, and Hunting Aotearoa have become staples of our television viewing. More recent audience favourites include Piri’s Tiki Tour, Haka Life and The Casketeers.

Providing te reo Māori content for tamariki is an important component of our content strategy. It is vital that quality te reo Māori content is accessible to our tamariki and mokopuna raised in kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa. With fluent content such as Pipi Mā, Tākaro Tribe, Te Pāmu Kūmara and the te reo versions of classic Disney features such as The Lion King, Moana, Frozen and Coco, we help to surround these tamariki and their whānau with te reo Māori.

Since our establishment, the broadcast and media landscape has changed exponentially, as has the way that we consume content. Te Māngai Pāho began funding digital content very early on; now a significant percentage of our funding is allocated to digital first content. Initiatives such as Hahana, Taringa and Living by the Stars provide relatable and interesting content delivered on the platforms audiences use most.

Te Māngai Pāho also funds initiatives that promote kaupapa Māori. We have long supported and funded kapa haka, ensuring that whānau across the motu do not miss out. Te Matatini festival in 2023 was a huge success, with significant viewership across all four days of the festival. 

Te Māngai Pāho is particularly proud of the role we played in partnering with other key agencies to support the inaugural celebration of the first Matariki public holiday. The national broadcast of the hautapu ceremony from Te Papa in 2022, was the first time every major broadcaster in Aotearoa New Zealand took the same free-to-air broadcast for the entire five hours. The 2022 hautapu ceremony was followed by the hautapu broadcast from Ngongotahā, and in 2024 we celebrated our third Matariki public holiday at Kā Papa Toitoi, above Wānaka. 

The engagement of our nation with these kaupapa Māori highlights the progress that has been made for te reo Māori. It’s also immensely gratifying that it is not just Māori who are embracing this kaupapa, but Aotearoa whānui. We are proud that we have been a contributor to these kaupapa, and will continue to seek out and fund initiatives that celebrate te ao Māori for all. 

In terms of language revitalisation, the work undertaken by Te Māngai Pāho contributes to the status and critical awareness of te reo Māori. This is what people think of te reo Māori, and their willingness to take action to save it. We know that consuming content alone does not enable someone to learn a language; however we are committed to contributing our part towards language revitalisation. Whether it be drama, comedy, music, radio, kapa haka or documentaries, our commitment is to ensure that te reo Māori content is free and widely available for all. We live by the enduring long-term vision: ‘Kia māhorahora te reo! Māori language — everywhere, everyone, every day, every way!’

- Larry Parr, ONZM, has been Kaihautū (Chief Executive) at Te Māngai Pāho since 2016. He has produced television (E Tipu e Rea) and film (Came a Hot Friday), directed (Fracture) and been a TV executive (Whakaata Māori and TVNZ).

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Tuatahi rā, he umanga reo Māori a Te Māngai Pāho. Ahakoa te aha, ko tā mātau pae tawhiti kia kaingākautia te reo Māori, kia rangona hoki ki ngā wāhi katoa.

I whakatūria a Te Māngai Pāho i te tau 1993, ā, mai anō i te tau 1994 e whakahaerehia ana. I puta mai te umanga i muri i ngā mahi nui ki te mōhio me te matapopore i te reo Māori ki Aotearoa. Arā te Petihana Reo Māori i te tau 1972, te hīkoi mō te whenua i te tau 1975, te Ture Reo Māori i te tau 1987, ā, nā wai rā ko te whakatūnga mai o Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi, e mōhiotia ana mātau i roto i te ture – ahakoa ka mahi mātau i raro i a Te Māngai Pāho. I te tuatahi, ko tā mātau whakahau he whakatairanga noa i te reo Māori mā ngā pāpāho tuku iho. Heoi, i te tipu mai o ngā mahi pāpāho, kua piki ake ā mātau mahi ki te whakauru i ngā pūtea ki ngā pae matihiko, ngā kaupapa ā-ipurangi, me ētahi atu mahi e whakatairanga ana i te reo Māori me te ahurea Māori.

Kua tino whakawhanake ake ngā waiaro ki te reo Māori mai i ngā tau waenga o ngā 1900. I roto i tā mātau rangahau i te tau 2023, tokotoru o te tokorima o Aotearoa e whakapae ana he wāhanga nui tō te reo Māori ki te tuakiritanga o Aotearoa. E mārama ana te hiakai ki ngā kaupapa Māori. Ka mutu, e tino whakahīhī ana mātau he nui tā mātau whai wāhi atu ki te tuku i tēnei kaupapa ki Aotearoa.

He maha ngā tohu nui i roto i tō mātau hītori toru tekau tau nei. Ahakoa i tū kē ngā whatunga reo irirangi Māori i mua i a Te Māngai Pāho, ka whakaratongia horipūngia te tahua ki ngā reo irirangi Māori rua tekau mā tahi katoa, ka noho tonu hei māngai mō ngā iwi me ngā rohe e whakakanohi nei rātau. He nui tā ngā reo irirangi Māori mahi ki roto i ngā hapori; i mārakerake tā mātau kite i te taunakitanga o tēnei i te pakūtanga mai o te mate kowheori-19 me ngā take huarere kino o te tau 2023.

Mai i te tīmatanga, ko ngā kawepūrongo me ngā take o te wā te aronga nui mō ngā pāpāhotanga Māori. He mea nui kia kaua noa iho e whakapāho i ngā kawepūrongo me ngā take o te wā ki te reo Māori. Engari, me tuku hoki mā te tirohanga Māori. Ko ngā hōtaka kua aua atu e whakapāhotia ana, pēnei i a Te Karere, i a Marae, me The Hui he rite tonu, he momoho anō hoki tā rātau whakapāho i ngā kawepūrongo me ngā take o te wā. Nō nā tata nei, he nui hoki te whai wāhi atu o ngā Tari Kawepūrongo ā Rohe pēnei i a Aukaha, i a Ohinga e ārahina nei e te rangatahi, e tuku ana i ngā kawepūrongo me ngā take o te wā e hono ana, e whai paanga ana ki ā rātau kaimātakitaki.

Kua aua atu a Te Māngai Pāho e hapahapai ana i ngā waiata reo Māori. He ngāwari te uru atu o te waiata ki te reo Māori. I ngā tau 1900 me te tīmatanga o ngā tau 2000, ko ngā kaiwaiata Māori pēnei i a Moana and the Moahunters, i a Herbs, i a Southside of Bombay, i a Aaria me Upper Hutt Posse i ārahi i te ara mō ngā waiata reo Māori i Aotearoa. I te tau 2019, i whakaawetia e Kahurangi Hinewehi Mohi te kaupapa Waiata Anthems, e whakamāori ana ētahi o ā mātau kaiwaiata rongonui i ngā waiata ki te reo Māori. I puta tuatahi mai te kōpae ki te tūranga tuatahi, ā, kei te angitu tonu te kaupapa. 

I roto i tō mātau tauoranga toru tekau tau, kua tautokona ā pūtea e Te Māngai Pāho ngā kaupapa auaha reo Māori. Ko ngā hōtaka pēnei i a Pūkana, i a Marae DIY, i a Kai Time on the Road me Hunting Aotearoa kua noho hei tino hōtaka hei mātakitaki mā mātau. Nō nā tata nei ko ngā tino o te hunga mātakitaki ko Piri’s Tiki Tour, ko Haka Life me The Casketeers.

He waehanga nui te whakarato i ngā kaupapa Māori mā ngā tamariki o tā mātau rautaki kaupapa pāho. He mea nui te āheinga o ngā kaupapa pāho reo Māori kounga ki ā mātau tamariki me ā mātau mokopuna i tipu ai ki ngā kōhanga reo me ngā kura kaupapa. Ko ngā kaupapa pāho matatau pēnei i a Pipi Mā, i a Tākaro Tribe, i a Te Pāmu Kūmara me ngā putanga reo Māori o ngā kiriata rongonui a Disney pēnei i a The Lion King, Moana, Frozen me Coco, ka āwhina mātau kia karapotia ēnei tamariki me ō rātau whānau ki te reo Māori.

Mai anō i tā mātau whakatūnga mai, kua tino rerekē te āhuatanga o ngā mahi pāpāhotanga, pērā me te huarahi e uru ai tātau ki ngā ihirangi. I tīmata wawe a Te Māngai Pāho ki te tuku pūtea ki ngā kaupapa matahiko; i nāianei, he nui te ōrau o ā mātau pūtea kua tohatohahia ki ngā ihirangi matihiko tuatahi. Ko ngā kaupapa pēnei i a Hahana, i a Taringa me Living by the Stars e whakarato ana i ngā ihirangi e hono ana, e whakahihiri ana ka tukuna i runga i ngā pae pāpāho e whakamahia nuitia ana e te hunga mātakitaki.

Ka tuku tahua hoki a Te Māngai Pāho ki ngā kaupapa ka whakatairanga i ngā kaupapa Māori. Kua roa mātau e tautoko ana e tuku pūtea ana ki te kapa haka, e whakatūturu ana ka kore ngā whānau huri noa i te motu e mahue. I tino eke te whetiwara Matatini i te tau 2023, me te nui o ngā kaimātakitaki i ngā rā e whā o te whetiwara.

E tino whakahīhī ana a Te Māngai Pāho i tā mātau tūranga ki te mahi tahi me ētahi atu umanga ki te tautoko i te whakanuitanga tuatahitanga o Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. Ko te whakapāhotanga ā motu o te hautapu i Te Papa i te tau 2022, ko te wā tuatahi i whai wāhi atu ngā kaiwhakapāho nui katoa i Aotearoa ki te whakapāhotanga ōrite utu kore mō te roanga atu o ngā hāora e rima. Ko te hautapu i te tau 2022, i whāia ko te whakapāhotanga hautapu i Ngongotahā, ā, i te tau 2024 i whakanuia e mātau te rā whakatā ā-ture o Matariki tuatoru i Kā Papa Toitoi, i runga ake o Wānaka.

Ko te whakaurunga o tō tātau motu ki ēnei kaupapa Māori e whakaatu ana i te ahunga whakamua mō te reo Māori. Ka nui hoki te koa, ehara i te mea ko ngā Māori anake e kauawhi ana i ēnei kaupapa. Engari, ko Aotearoa whānui. E whakahīhī ana mātau kua whai wāhi mātau ki ēnei kaupapa, ā, ka rapu tonu kia whai pūtea ēnei kaupapa e whakanui ai i te ao Māori mō te katoa.

I roto i ngā whakarauora reo, ko ngā mahi e mahia ana e Te Māngai Pāho ka whai wāhi atu ki te mana me te mōhiotanga arohaehae o te reo Māori. Koinei ngā whakaaro o te iwi ki te reo Māori, me tō rātau hiahia ki te mahi ki te whakaora. E mōhio ana mātau, ehara i te mea mā te tāuteute ihirangi anake te tangata e ako i tētahi reo. Heoi anō, ka whakapau kaha mātau ki tā mātau tāpaetanga ki te whakarauoratanga reo. Ahakoa whakaari mai, pukuhohe mai, puoro mai, reo irirangi mai, kapa haka mai, pakipūmeka mai rānei. Ko tā mātau herenga he whakarite kia noho utu kore ngā ihirangi reo Māori e wātea whānui ana hoki ki te katoa. Ka pūmau mātau ki te whakakitenga manawa piharau: ‘Kia māhorahora te reo! Te reo Māori – ki ngā wāhi katoa, ki ngā tāngata katoa, ia rā, iā ara.

- Kua noho a Larry Parr, ONZM, hei kaihautū ki Te Mānghai Pāho mai anō i te tau 2016. Kua mahi ia i ngā mahi pouaka whakaata (E Tipu e Rea) me ngā mahi kiriata (Came a Hot Friday), kua noho hei kaitohu (Fracture), ā, kua noho hei kaiwhakahaere pouaka whakaata (Whakaata Māori me Te Reo Tātaki o Aotearoa).

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