Māori Party candidate for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi announced the Māori Party’s Toi Māori Policy today in Opōtiki at the launch of Vote Kapa Vote, a Kapahaka concert with a special polling booth aimed at using the power of Kapahaka to encourage Māori to vote.

The Party is promising to heavily invest in Te Matatini by increasing its funding from $1.9million to $19million and invest a further $10million into community, Hapū and Iwi development of Kapahaka.

“Kapahaka is an incredibly powerful Kaupapa. It is not just a performing art. It is a platform for the repository of our mātauranga Māori, our reo, our whakapapa, our history. Not only that, it supports physical health and mental health, it fosters connection, it teaches teamwork, it teaches problem solving skills, it teaches our people how to build and manage relationships, it fosters resilience and encourages confidence. It is a one-stop shop for oranga and needs to be treated as such” said Waititi.

The Party’s Policy is in direct response to funding inequities in the arts sector. The logic behind the significant increase into Te Matatini is based on the audience participation rate afforded to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

“It is an absolute insult that the Royal New Zealand Ballet receives $5 million and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra $16m. Kapahaka is the international hallmark of Aotearoa’s identity, we are the best at Kapahaka in the world and we receive a measly $1.9 million from the crown. Its time for change.”

“As a practitioner of Kapahaka at its highest standard our goal is to maintain that standard as a world class taonga but also to ensure that it is recognised for how significantly it contributes to our wellbeing as a people.”

The Māori also promises to;

• Establish an independent Toi Māori entity worth $57m dedicated to the protection and projection of all Toi Māori. This entity will be funded directly by the government and will be based on a commissioning model.
• Make the new Toi Māori entity a Statutory Body on the Lottery Grants Board by 2023 that receives equal funding to Creative NZ.
• Establish a research fund worth $10m for the purpose of producing an evidence base for how Toi Māori contributes to oranga Māori, with the intention of Toi Māori being funded across all sectors equitably by 2023.

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