This week, we farewelled broadcaster Māni Dunlop (he uri o Ngāpuhi) after 12 years at RNZ.
Photo: RNZ / Jeff McEwan and Krista Barnaby
Māni started as a newsroom intern in 2011, then went on to specialise in housing and social issues with stints as a music reporter.
She later moved into the Māori News unit and became its director in 2019 before taking a job as Midday Report presenter in 2020.
Whatever the task, Māni has delivered with intelligence, energy, compassion and of course, THAT wonderful laugh.
Her passion for te reo Māori and generosity in sharing her knowledge has been invaluable here, and we are truly sad to say goodbye.
For the occasion, we've dug up some of her best moments - including her first-ever report.
Māni tells Max Towle she didnt listen to RNZ growing up and only realised the significance of working for the broadcaster while reporting on the Ururewa Raids trial in 2012.
"It was there I discovered why it was so important for us to be in these spaces, for Māori to be in mainstream media to tell the stories … with a different and overlooked lens on the communities we come from. That's when I decided to serve this industry in the best way that I know how."
Initially viewing herself as an 'on the ground' reporter, Māni didnt know what to expect when she became the Midday Report presenter - and the first Māori person to produce a weekday show on RNZ.
"I am a staunch public broadcaster, I believe hugely in what RNZ can do and the role that it serves and will continue to fill as the media landscape transforms.
"I've grown here and been able to cover and be part of some incredible events, historic and monumental, and that is, as a journalist, the greatest privilege."
She is proud to be a Māori representative in mainstream media.
"We can do it all. Visibility, optics, and representation are so important and show that we can function in systems and institutions that are not designed for us. We can carve out our space and make it our own."
To the "haters" who've criticised Māni's use of te reo Māori on RNZ, she says 'come on the journey, my mates'.
"Know that your hatred doesn't stop us, it fuels us, it inspires us. Aotearoa is moving in a beautiful direction and I implore you to not resist but to hop on that waka otherwise you will be left behind."
