Whakaata Māori cuts: Execs say impact will be ‘significant’; staff to get proposal this month

Whakaata Māori’s leadership team has warned that the impact of recent funding cuts will be significant, as the organisation works through the last details of its change proposal to present to staff later this month.

The broadcaster’s chief executive (kaihautū) Shane Taurima and chairman Jaime Tuuta appeared before Parliament’s Māori Affairs Select Committee today, where they told MPs the recent 25% funding cut – around $10 million – was its key challenge.

Whakaata Māori announced plans late last month to almost halve its senior leadership team from seven to four roles and to produce fewer, high-impact projects in response to the cuts.

The organisation will also bring forward plans to move its exclusively reo Māori channel, Te Reo, to online-only. The shift was originally part of the company’s longer-term strategy.

“We continue to achieve and do the things that we need to do with limited resources [and] that cannot be sustained,” Tuuta said.