Ngā Kaupapa Hirahira o te Tau: A look back at the year that was in Te Ao Māori

Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf

After the rollercoaster year that was 2024 te ao Māori may have expected that to continue into 2025 and in many ways it did with so many stories making for another unprecedented year.

The national Kapa Haka competition Te Matatini returned in February, rising to new heights of popularity with Te Tauihu group Te Kuru Marutea capturing hearts well beyond Māori circles with their powerful solos and of course there was that Waiata ā Ringa from eventual winners Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue.

The festival has also grown to record size, this year saw 55 haka groups competing the most ever and concerns over infrastructure in smaller regions eventually led organisers to move the next festival in 2027 to Waikato, rather than to the Nelson region which had been expected to host.

2025 was also a status qou breaking year in Māori politics, which saw the deaths of influential political leaders, an unprecedented suspension from Parliament, a by-election in Tāmaki Makaurau and a bitter feud within Te Pāti Māori.

But it began with a long and drawn out Select Committee process for the Treaty Principles Bill, a record-breaking 300,000+ submissions were made on the controversial bill which was ultimately defeated near-unanimously at its second reading in April - although its architect David Seymour has promised to reignite the debate in 2026.

The first Koroneihana of Te Arikinui K