This article was first published by RNZ.
From being the headline to creating them, Moana Maniapoto has walked a rather rocky road of swinging between both sides of the media.
Known for her award-winning current affairs show Te Ao with Moana on Whakaata Māori, and the 1990’s cover of Black Pearl, the law graduate doesn’t keep her advocacy a secret.
Her first introduction to news was at the tail end of the 80’s when she was lazed in the guest seat at Aotearoa Radio - Auckland’s first Māori radio station - but her kōrero hit a nerve.
“I said something the host considered radical,” she said.
“He quickly distanced the station from my remarks and that got the phones ringing.”
It became a race for listeners to punch numbers into the telephone, the first person to get through was New Zealand filmmaker, producer, and writer Merata Mita, who ripped into the host.
“How dare you talk down to her like that,” Maniapoto recalled. The very next day she answered the call to host that show from then on.
Aotearoa Radio was her first real job working four hours per day, spinning yarns five days a week - no training, no worries.
“Oh, they tried to get us to speak a bit flasher, but no one could be bothered. It was such a lot of fun, a great bunch of people working there. It was also nerve-wracking interviewing people like Erima Henare (NZ politician Peeni Henare’s father), but the one I still chuckle about the most was Winston Peters.”
She remembers challenging Peters over a comment he made about Māori in the media; “You’re going to have to apologise to your listeners, Moana. I never said that,” Peters pointed out. He refused to budge.
“Then I told him I had a copy of his speech. With barely a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “What I meant by that was blah blah blah.” He was watching my reaction and trying not to laugh.”
“It was he, who got the better of me, being the savvy politician that he was and is.”
They had to go on ad break while she recovered.
Hosting a radio show, well, it isn’t always glamorous.
“After two years, I was over it. It was tiring. Someone rang up live on air and threatened to kill me. It was a good excuse to resign.”
Although, it wasn’t the end of the candle wick for Maniapoto, but it took 30 years to string up an interview with Peters again.
In-between times she had short-lived telly stints including a year playing Dr Te Aniwa Ryan on Shortland Street, but it wasn’t for her. The singer-songwriter has also created documentaries with her partner Toby Mills, their daughter Manawanui Maniapoto-Mills a gunning young actress.
Maniapoto has featured on the cover of magazines, one in particular she remembers was Mana magazine in 1993.
“Sally Tagg photographed me in the shallow end of a Parnell Baths pool, wrapped in metres of blue curtain net, trying to act like it was completely normal,” she said.
Just 10 years ago she joined Mana Trust which runs the online Sunday mag E-Tangata, mentored by Gary Wilson (co-founder and co-editor) and print journalist Tapu Misa who taught her how to transfer her voice through computer keys.
“Whakaata Māori approached me in 2019, I was flattered, but music was my life and I felt wholly unequipped for journalism. Then again, I always love a challenge.”
Since jumping on board, Te Ao with Moana has completed six seasons and will ‘keep calm and carry on’ for a seventh season come 17 February, 2025 - her son Kimiora Hikurangi Jackson the producer and ‘boss.’
It will be the last current affairs show to air on Whakaata Māori before moving the TV channel to web next year.
Her road of journalism and music is winding. Her music is the vehicle to advocating social justice which often landed her in the news rather than telling it.
“To me songwriting, documentaries, and current affairs are all about finding ways to convey a story or explore an issue or share insights. I think a strength I have are the relationships I’ve built through music - countless networks both here and overseas. Perfect for when we are wanting to deep dive into issues.”
Her inspiration for music grew from her dad, Nepia Tauri Maniapoto and his brothers. Maniapoto said it was ‘their thing’ to entertain guests from the moment they walked into the dining room at Waitetoko Marae until kai was finished.
“It was Prince Tui Teka and the Platters. Great vocal harmonies. My father always had a uke, gat, and sax in the house,” she said.
Born in Invercargill and raised in Rotorua by her māmā Bernadette and pāpā Nepia, she was surrounded by her five siblings who some had a keen interest in kapa haka, although, the kapa-life ‘too tough’ for Maniapoto. Instead, nieces Puna Whakaata, Mourei, and Tiaria inheriting the ‘kapas’ gene. Maniapoto said they’re exceptional and highly-competitive performers.
Blending her Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and Tūhourangi whakapapa into song was no struggle.
The 90’s was filled with soul, R’n’B, and reggae, she said, singing in te reo was met with indifference if not hostility.
“If you mixed in lyrics that were political in nature, you were labelled a ‘radical.’ I wasn’t the only one but probably the ‘radical’ with the highest profile at the time.”
After her ‘rare’ single Kua Makona in 1987, Moana & the Moahunters formed in the early 90’s, followed by Moana and the Tribe which is still going strong. Her sister Trina has a lovely singing voice and has been in Moana & The Tribe since it formed, she said.
And just like her sixth television season, Maniapoto has just churned out her sixth album, Ono.
“I’m incredibly proud of it. So grateful to Paddy Free and Scotty Morrison for their skills. Looks pretty too on vinyl and CD, as well as digital. A cool x-mas present. Just saying.”
The microphone doesn’t seem to be losing power anytime soon. All albums adequately named one-to-six in te reo Māori, one can only punt on the next album name.
“It’s kinda weird now morphing back into the interviewee to promote my album release. I’m used to asking all the questions.”
By Emma Andrews of RNZ.
