Where Is the Iwi? Asking for a Struggling Māori It's 2025, another year, another multi-million-dollar payout to our beloved Iwi leaders—because nothing says "uplifting the tangata" quite like a freshly imported Ford Raptor cruising through Moerewa while Auntie Hinemoa is boiling Maggi 2-Minute noodles on a butane stove outside her car. Ngāpuhi, I’m looking at you. The country’s largest Iwi, still sitting on a settlement payout that never seems to settle anything. Have you taken a stroll through Kaikohe lately? The vape shops are booming, the liquor stores have queues before sunrise, and the local meth dealer is running a more successful business model than half the Māori trusts combined. And yet, we have whānau living in tents down the road, behind the park, wondering if the Iwi is actually just a myth. "Sorry Cuzzie, No Money for You, We’re Too Busy Being Wealthy!" I recently read about a Māori woman who just needed a little over $1,000 to feed mourners at her ex-husband’s tangi. WINZ, in all their bureaucratic wisdom, paid for the casket but told her she should personally fund the kai. Now, call me old-fashioned, but in a culture where manaakitanga is sacred, surely someone—anyone—from the Iwi could have stepped in? With the number of farms and assets our tribal corporations own, would it really have been that hard to chuck a pig or a beast on the back of one of those shiny Land Cruisers and drop it off? Apparently, yes. Because while the Iwi can easily mobilize lawyers and consultants when it’s time to demand more cash from the Crown, when it comes to actually supporting their struggling people, suddenly the signal drops, and all you get is voicemail. Māori Parliament? Bro, We Can’t Even Run a Budget We keep hearing about the need for Māori self-governance. About setting up our own parliament. About breaking free from the colonial shackles of the New Zealand government. And sure, tino rangatiratanga sounds fantastic—until you realize our current "leaders" can’t even manage their own backyards. Northland is overflowing with homelessness, addiction, and violence, and while personal responsibility is definitely a factor, where are the Iwi-funded rehab centers? Where are the job programs? Where is the actual investment in the people? I'll tell you where the money is, bro—sitting in the driveways of the Iwi executives, parked up in the form of brand-new SUVs and flash as houses. Time to Stop Funding the Māori Elite Let’s be real: The Iwi is always the first to criticize the government for failing Māori, but when there’s money on the table, they’re the first in line, hands outstretched. And then what? Fancy conferences? More reports? Another feasibility study? A hui with a catering bill in the thousands. Apart from funding the lifestyles of the elite Māori at the top of the Te Ao Māori pyramid, where are these millions actually going? If the Iwi want to talk about sovereignty, mana, and looking after their own, they need to start by cleaning up their backyard. Because right now, it’s not tino rangatiratanga. It’s just tino rich Māori looking after themselves. And the rest of us Māori folk? We’re just waiting in line at the liquor shop, wondering if anyone at the top actually gives a damn.

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