New Zealanders should be asking some very hard questions about where their money is going. The government has committed over $49 million in funding for Te Matatini, the national kapa haka festival, through to the 2027/28 financial year. That includes a $48.7 million three-year allocation announced in Budget 2024. To put this into perspective, recent annual funding has been around $17 million. This is a huge jump for what is essentially a performance festival, and it really does raise some serious questions about priorities.
A typical kapa haka act includes half-naked foot stomping, chest slapping, and waving homemade poi. I wouldn’t be surprised if the venues are on Māori land or donated for the event. Costs such as staging, security, their website, marketing, ticketing, toilets, staff and stalls are real, but when you break it down, the overheads are minimal compared to the scale of funding being handed over. Tens of millions of dollars for something that is largely about showing off a performance? It doesn’t add up.
This is not about preserving culture. This is about political optics, virtue signalling, and inflating a festival to justify a massive government cheque. At a time when housing costs are skyrocketing, hospitals are under pressure, and everyday New Zealanders are struggling to pay bills, committing nearly $50 million to a festival seems utterly tone-deaf. Ordinary citizens are being asked to tighten their belts while millions are poured into a show that is stripped of its original meaning and blown up for appearances.
The scale of funding suggests a disconnect from reality. New Zealanders deserve accountability, yet the government continues to hand out enormous sums with little scrutiny. Te Matatini may be a celebration of Māori culture, but it has been transformed into a political tool, prioritising spectacle over substance. And while a select few benefit from this lavish funding, most New Zealanders are left questioning why their taxes are being spent in this way.
At the end of the day, $49 million is being poured into what is ultimately a staged performance. Yes, it may preserve some traditions, but it also feeds into a cycle of political theatre where appearances matter more than impact. Meanwhile, the rest of the country struggles to make ends meet. This is not just wasteful; it is an insult to taxpayers, to common sense, and to the very culture it claims to celebrate.
Have you noticed what used to be paid for in full by the govt needs to be topped up by yourself or the community now? Things like schooling, parents are constantly asked to fund raise for their schools and in some cases it is just to keep the school going and keep things like the pool compliance up to date, field trips or a better playground. then there is health care, how often do we get called or emailed about supporting starship or other health care facilities or organizations, while they are very good causes, we already pay tax that should cover these sorts of things and then we are asked to pay again and again.
Luxon simply works for us and we simply need to fire him by voting him out.
Spending that sort of money on Kapa Haka is sickening for those struggling or even dying because the Govt won't fund their medication.
There will be plenty of other examples of what the Govt falls short on so if you get a chance please expose them.
Well spoken Matua. Well worth an email to those representing the very left leaning Centre Right. My ears resound with the ringing of the head fellow traveller and his (less than convincing) finance spokesperson bleating out the same order song, 'we need to get the 'country back on track', and another tax paid representative who spouts on about ' we are one people, one country'. And yet another centre left, i mean centre right (not) who say they want to curb unwarranted government spending.What next Pacifica, Buddist or more likely Diwali after the shameful dancing fool exhibition. Unfortunately the word right should be struck from the political vocabulary. All parties in NZ are left wing, it is just a matter of degrees from the centre.