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Steven Mark Gaskell writes > Let’s Rebuild New Zealand with Flax and Wairua What Could Go Wrong?

Just when you thought navigating New Zealand’s building code couldn’t get any more complicated, here comes a call to “weave tikanga and wairua” into your next resource consent application. Because, obviously, what our housing sector really needs isn’t fewer regulations it’s spiritual guidelines and indigenous architecture footnotes from 1823.

According to one PhD candidate’s epiphany, the biggest barrier to Māori housing isn’t economics, land ownership complexity, or decades of red tape no, it’s the outrageous injustice of being asked to follow the same building rules as everyone else. Apparently, this is a “one size fits all” oppression model, ignoring the sacred right to construct a whare with techniques not seen since muskets were high tech.

 
Sure, forget about load bearing walls, insulation standards, or fire safety let’s see how totara bark holds up in cyclone season. And while we’re at it, let’s slap a “cultural exemption” on seismic engineering too, because who are we to impose colonial concepts like structural integrity?

It’s a bold new vision: not so much progress, as heritage cosplay in the housing sector. And if you raise concerns, well you’re clearly not in touch with your inner wairua. Let’s not waste time improving housing access or cutting through regulatory thickets for everyone instead, let’s rewrite the national building code to accommodate symbolism over structure.

Because nothing says 21st-century housing crisis solution like nostalgic romanticism, handcrafted loopholes, and policy by PhD dream journal.

Source: Facebook

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Funding Innovation. But Only If Your DNA Says So - Steven Mark Gaskell

In a thrilling new twist on how public money gets dished out, the Government has unveiled He Ara Whakahihiko a $10 million science and innovation fund that, in the spirit of progress, first requires applicants to take a detour through their whakapapa.

Yes, you read that correctly. In 2025, we no longer just fund the best ideas we fund the best ideas with ancestral credentials. Welcome to the world of ethno entrepreneurship, where your lab results may matter slightly less than your lineage.

According to Ministers Shane Reti and Tama Potaka, this new fund is about “unlocking the economic potential of Māori led innovation.” Admirable in theory because who doesn’t want more innovation? But the fine print might as well read: "Eligibility: Smart ideas preferred. Bloodline required."

The premise is simple: if you’re Māori and have a solid business or science idea, the door’s open. If you’re not, well… maybe try the regular innovation queue. It's a bit longer, a bit slower, and doesn’t come with its own ministerial press release.

Critics are wondering aloud: what defines a “Māori led” project? A CEO with 1/32 Ngāti Credentials? A token kaumātua on the board? Or will it be something more innovative perhaps a genetic test at the funding gate?

And of course, there’s that tiny matter of accountability. How will we know this $10 million doesn’t disappear into the great filing cabinet of Government Promises Past? Don’t worry there’ll be “case studies” and “storytelling” in next year’s glossy annual report. Possibly a waiata.

In the meantime, non Māori innovators are left to wonder: should they pivot their pitch, take a DNA test, or just try slapping a fern on their PowerPoint and hope for the best?

Because in modern New Zealand it’s not just what you know it’s who your tūpuna were.

Source:  Facebook

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Talk Fancy, Cash Plenty: The Ever Growing Bill for the Māori Language Bureaucracy - Steven Mark Gaskell

Ah, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori the Commission dedicated to revitalising te reo Māori, one strategic hui and glossy annual report at a time. What started as a noble effort to preserve a treasure of New Zealand has now ballooned into a government funded institution that would make even the Ministry of Culture blush.

In the 2024/25 financial year alone, the Commission soaked up a tidy $10.9 million of taxpayer money. Just last year, it was over $11.6 million. Add the previous budget bumps like the extra $2.46 million annually since 2019 and you're looking at a linguistics machine that’s anything but modest. For perspective, that’s enough to hire around 200 full time teachers or fix a few potholes but hey, priorities.

Staffing? Of course, there’s a team, complete with a Chief Executive, public relations handlers, strategists, language planners, and the ever important certified translators. Speaking of translation industry averages suggest certified translators can earn up to $140 per hour or more. But don’t worry, it’s all in the name of linguistic authenticity and cultural "wairuatanga."

So why the funding creep? Apparently, we need multi million dollar campaigns, rebranded logos, and data infused storybooks just to encourage more people to speak the language even as schools already teach te reo, councils rename everything in sight, and public signage starts to look like immersion class posters.

And of course, the Commission recently won a Bronze Award for its annual report. Because nothing says progress like international praise for paperwork, while housing, health, and crime wave hello from the back seat.

It's not that te reo Māori isn’t worth preserving it is. But do we need a small ministry's worth of spending, branded t-shirts, and digital fanfare to prove we care? Or is it just another case of cultural bureaucracy expanding to fill the waka?

Source: Facebook