Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes

Former Black Fern Cheryl Waaka represented Aotearoa New Zealand with pride. Now she's fighting stage 4 bowel cancer, which she believes could have been caught earlier. As the government walks back a targeted Māori screening programme, she's speaking out about the cost of delay, the price of treatment, and the lives still at risk.

Labour spokesperson for Children and Education, Willow-Jean Prime explains why she believes the education system and Oranga Tamariki are failing Māori, her opposition to Act’s bootcamps, and why Shane Jones’ Ngāpuhi settlement plan is a non-starter.

Mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni lays out her vision for Tāmaki Makaurau, the challenges facing the Super City, and makes her case to voters in a race that could reshape Auckland's future.

In the wake of an unprecedented punishment for the haka that drew global attention to the Treaty Principles Bill, Te Pāti Māori legal representative Tania Waikato reflects on the fallout, the opposition to the Regulatory Standards Bill, and what this moment reveals about Māori political power.

Chris Hipkins discusses the impact of the budget on Māori and how Labour plans to win back voters.

With ACT’s record 2023 election result and David Seymour’s rise to Deputy Prime Minister, the party is reshaping Aotearoa’s political landscape. But behind its growing power is a network of ideas—some homegrown, some imported—that raise questions about its stance on Te Tiriti and indigenous rights. Mata explores the forces shaping David Seymour’s ideologies, through the eyes of a former party insider.

E tū Union National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh discusses the government’s controversial Equal Pay Amendment Act that makes it harder for women-dominated workforces to achieve pay equity.

Shane Jones is back on the frontlines, taking the war on woke to the Waitākere Ranges and backing a bill that would define womanhood and manhood by biology. The NZ First senior minister on co-governance, culture wars, and the politics of identity.

Minister of Education Erica Standford speaks to Mihingarangi about lifting Māori achievement in education and the delivery of the school lunch programme.

Green MP Hūhana Lyndon on taking on the Public Works Act.

From Whānau Ora and foreign policy to frozen (or scalding) school lunches, political veterans Nanaia Mahuta and Tau Henare unpack the political stories of the week.

In an extended interview, Willie Jackson discusses the state of the Māori nation, including the controversial resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal.

Following a “tense” pōwhiri at Waitangi, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith discuss the health of Māori-Crown relations.

MP for Te Tai Tokerau Mariameno Kapa-Kingi discusses Te Pāti Māori’s proposal for a treaty commissioner and the challenges facing her electorate as Ngāpuhi hosts the commemorations for the 185th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson announces her return to mahi after breast-cancer treatment. In an exclusive interview with Mata, Davidson discusses her experience of the health system, her prognosis for parliamentary politics, and her priorities for the year ahead.