Māori Television’s iwi-tainment series MĀ TĀTOU is back on air showcasing hui, events, festivals and celebrations every Sunday at 6.30 PM.

The half-hour weekly show – presented by Te Hamua Nikora (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kanohi, Te Whakatōhea) and Veeshayne Patuwai (Ngapuhi, Ngāti Hine) – is back on the road for a third series to catch up with iwi in the community. 

Māori Television executive producer of inhouse productions Hineani Melbourne says the show meets the organisers, supporters and participators in events and enables them to ‘show off’ their piece of Aotearoa – the landscape, the event, and the heart of their community. 

There’s also lively studio kōrero about what iwi are talking about on the street, around the kitchen table, in the city and on the marae. Since July 2005, MĀ TĀTOU – ‘for everyone’ – has produced more than 70 episodes, visited 73 events throughout the country – as well as promoting more – and interviewed some 500 people out in the field and in the studio. 

Te Hamua and Veeshayne are excited about the show’s new-look set and the new manuhiri they’ll be talking to this year on subjects as diverse as protecting traditional kai methods to high-tech kapa haka.  The show also has two new reporters, ‘L & P’ – Lanita Ririnui-Ryan and Paora Crump – who will be out and about in the motu meeting the iwi each week. 

This Sunday May 13 at 6.30 PM, MĀ TĀTOU drops into the Kawhia Kai Festival and gets a taste of ngau while studio guests Sam Kereopa (Patuwai), a commercial free diver, and Carl Baker (Ngāti Kahungunu) from the Ministry of Fisheries will discuss ways we can reap the rewards of kaimoana and protect them too. 

Iwi groups who wish to gain coverage of their events – no hui is too big or too small – can email matatou@Māoritelevision.com. From the Cuba Street Carnival and the Māori Market Day to the Bluff Oyster Festival – from the city to the country – there’s something for everyone on MĀ TĀTOU every Sunday at 6.30 PM.  

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