September 18th 2026

Mātauranga Iwi Leaders Forum (Mātauranga ILG) acknowledges the publication of Hūtia te

Rito o te Harakeke, kei Hea te Kōmako e Kō? The Stage Two, Part I Report of the Education and

Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry (the report).

“The report affirms what we advised the government in November 2025: achieving

equitable outcomes for ākonga Māori in primary and secondary education requires

meaningful engagement with Māori,” says Rahui Papa, Chair of Mātauranga ILG.

“The relationship between Māori and the Crown has always been precarious; breaches

breed mistrust. Decades of advocacy, however, reflected a mutual resolve never to revisit

the legacy of assimilation,” says Mr Papa.

“It is apparent the Crown has now changed their view.”

Despite repeated offers of support, Mātauranga ILG is critical of the Government’s

approach to engagement, in particular the rewrite of the school curriculum and the

Curriculum Ministerial Advisory Group, which the report states ‘included members either

unenthusiastic about or outwardly hostile to mātauranga Māori’.

“We share the Government’s aspiration for an education system that supports achievement

and excellence. We do not share the view that there is a singular way to get there.”

Critically, the report notes a multitude of breaches of the principle of partnership, including

insufficient consideration of the aspirations and priorities that whānau, hapū, and iwi have

for their people in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings.

“We reject the view that it is for the Government to tell its people what excellence is. There

is no one measure of excellence in Aotearoa,” says Mr Papa.

The report also found that the decisions to reframe the curriculum around a ‘science of

learning’ and a more ‘knowledge rich curriculum’ are disingenuous to Māori education,

given the lack of ‘evidence that a knowledge-rich approach will reduce inequities’.

“Reducing inequity in education is one of the most important ways to improve outcomes for

Māori in New Zealand. When the Crown is ready to renew its commitment to partnership,

we will be here. Our tamariki deserve better,” Mr Papa says.

Mātauranga ILG will take further advice on the contents of the report.

ENDS

Media contact

Holly Bennett

021 843 454

Note for editors

The Mātauranga Iwi Leaders Group (Mātauranga ILG) aims to improve the education

system to support lifelong learning for whānau, and ensure the development of

intergenerational capability across hapū and iwi.

Mātauranga ILG is focused on ensuring Māori learners are supported with effective

changes to the education system that achieve real, long lasting outcomes.

Mātauranga ILG is one of eight Iwi Leaders Groups (ILGs) leading the educational responses

within Pou Tangata. Pou Tangata is one of the five Pou of the National Iwi Chairs Forum. Iwi

Chairs exist to advocate and influence priorities of national significance on behalf of

collective iwi interests. More information on Pou Tangata can be found here: