NPM E-PĀNUI

As a national Centre of Research Excellence, we value the connections that we have to our 21 partners Te Tira Takimano who share our vision of research that empowers flourishing Māori futures. This month we were grateful to be hosted on the whenua of Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development for our two-day Kāhui Ārahi research impact wānanga. The wānanga was a timely opportunity for our senior leadership team to take a deep dive into research impact from a Te Ao Māori lens and to learn more about the research aspirations and priorities of our iwi partner. We look forward to taking our strategies and actions forward into 2026 and beyond.

As we head into another busy year, we are grateful for our whānau at NPM and Kanapu who approach everything they do with purpose and commitment to our shared vision of flourishing Māori futures. In this e-pānui, we farewell those who have made an enduring contribution to NPM – including our longest serving AlterNative Co-Editor Professor Tracey McIntosh – and welcome in new team members. We also reflect on the re-release of Ngā Mōteatea, the extraordinary four-volume collection of Māori songs and chants, and get up close and personal with a giant glowing earthworm and 2026 Bug of the Year contender, Noke Waiū (Anisochaeta gigantea).

E ngā kaipupuri mātauranga – tēnā rawa atu koutou. I have been reflecting on my first year as Pou Matarua and the enormous privilege it has been to work alongside Tahu, the NPM secretariat, our Kāhui Ārahi and the many affiliated researchers, kaimahi and hapori members who exemplify our overarching kaupapa of Flourishing Māori Futures. NPM’s important mahi wouldn’t come to fruition if everyone wasn’t actually on the waka and paddling in the same direction! As such, I am taking the liberty of using some space in this last e-pānui of 2025 to say “e mihi nunui ana ki a koutou katoa”. I acknowledge and appreciate all of the contributions you make - ahakoa he iti, he pounamu.

Education Minister Erica Stanford’s decision to remove kupu Māori (except character names) from the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series generated much public debate and commentary this month. The decision affected 12 books and was based on concerns that the inclusion of kupu Māori might confuse children learning English phonics.

Whanaungatanga is one of the core values we pride ourselves on at Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. With that in mind, we were delighted to have the opportunity this month to visit with the Hon Dr Shane Reti, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, and to update him on the good mahi being undertaken at NPM and Kanapu.