Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air announce $3m in co-funding support of Māori Regional News Hubs.

Irirangi Te Motu|NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho have confirmed four recipients of funding as part of a co-fund to provide continued support to Māori Regional News Hubs, an initiative providing collaborative news services across 11 Iwi radio stations.

NZ On Air’s Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF), which finished allocating funds at the end of June this year, had previously earmarked $ 3 million to support this initiative – to be administered by TMP in the 2023/24 financial year.  

The two-phase initiative will see the existing news hubs supported in the initial round while phase two will see new hubs invited to apply to TMP for funding later this year.  The PIJF funding will contribute towards supporting phase one with a view to TMP fully funding and expanding the newshubs in the 2024/25 financial year.    

Larry Parr, Kaihautū o Te Māngai Pāho, says “this project acknowledges the need for Māori communities to have sources of Māori news with Māori perspectives. This joint funding will enable us to both extend the funding to the existing four regional hubs and consider proposals for at least two further regional collectives.” 

In 2020, Te Māngai Pāho was allocated new funding for regional stories and based on the success of the regional collaborations created with that initial seed funding, in Budget 2022 Te Māngai Pāho was allocated a further $10 million over two years to continue and expanded its regional Māori news initiative. 

The PIJF contribution builds on approximately $19.5m it has already allocated to support Māori public interest journalism outcomes. 

“We believe supporting such a well proven initiative meets the PIJF’s commitment to support Māori journalism and we are delighted that our contribution will enable TMP to expand the initiative further and for longer,” says NZ On Air Chief Executive Cameron Harland.  

The PIJF funding will be apportioned to the four recipients, with a view to TMP funding enabling the growth of further hubs in the future. 

Larry Parr says, “We are grateful and offer our sincere thanks to our colleagues at NZ On Air and the PIJF. This collaborative approach to building regional Māori news capacity will not only help us ensure local audiences get local news but that there is a regional voice in our national Māori news services.” 

The following details the PIJF proportion of funding approved for allocation| Ngā kōiriiri tukunga pūtea   

• Te Whakakitenga o Waikato Incorporated (trading as Tainui Live) for AUKAHA Te Tai Pūkōrero, up to $999,416. 
•  Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (trading as Tahu FM) for Tahu News, up to $981,819.  
• Te Reo Irirangi o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa for Kapu Tairāwhiti, up to $341,128.  
• Te Reo Irirangi o Taranaki Charitable Trust for Te Reo o Te Uru Regional News, up to $677,637.