Maiki Sherman’s resignation sparks questions over Māori representation at TVNZ

Monday, 11 May 2026

TVNZ says it will continue to ensure a “wide range of voices, including Māori voices” are represented by its reporters, following the resignation of political editor Maiki Sherman.

It comes as a 1News journalist reportedly told a crowd at the Featherston Books Festival over the weekend that she was the last Māori journalist on the 6pm news.

Sherman had been under pressure over alleged offensive comments made to a fellow journalist, Stuff’s Lloyd Burr, at a private event in the office of Finance Minister Nicola Willis almost a year ago. She also faced an investigation - and was subsequently punished - by Parliament Speaker Gerry Brownlee for an incident outside the office of National MP Stuart Smith last month.

She announced her resignation on social media on Friday, describing an “unprecedented” level of scrutiny which had made her role “untenable”.

Speaking as part of a panel discussion on Saturday, alongside veteran Māori journalist and presenter Mike McRoberts, 1News reporter Te Aniwa Hurihanganui said TVNZ had lost a “great Māori political journalist” in Sherman.

Asked by McRoberts how many Māori journalists were now left on 1News’ 6pm bulletin, Hurihanganui said, “I think I’m the only one”.

A TVNZ spokesperson told The Post that Hurihanganui was “not the only Māori journalist in our newsroom, but ensuring a wide range of voices, including Māori voices is important to us”.

There has been support for Sherman shared online from those in Māori media and politics since her resignation was announced, including former Sunday host Miriama Kamo, who wrote on social media that TVNZ’s Māori workforce had been left “depleted”.

“I’m keen to know how Maiki in her high-profile, exceedingly important position was supported, beyond her appointment to political editor, by her employer,” wrote Kamo.

“Did it understand the extra grind that Māori operators endure to do the same job as their peers? Did it understand the taonga it had in Maiki, and how to protect her and her mahi? And how will it address the vacuum her departure has left?”

Labour’s Willie Jackson, a former radio host and broadcasting minister, said Sherman had been “hounded” into resignation.

“The attacks on a political editor in this country were unprecedented.”

Waatea News general manager Matthew Tukaki has also said “there are obvious gaps emerging in what has been publicly presented and discussed”.

Stuff has defended Burr, saying last month that it “stands by, and has complete faith in [his] account of the events and his conduct” that night.

In response to Sherman’s resignation, a spokesperson on Friday said the company “stands by its previous comments on the matter”.

A further request for comment from Stuff about Burr’s comments has not been responded to.

Te Pāti Māori MP and former Newshub presenter Oriini Kaipara said in a post on Facebook that the treatment of Sherman had been “deeply upsetting to witness”.

“To see the first wahine Māori ever rise to the role of Political Editor at 1News - only to now resign under such intense public and political pressure - is heartbreaking,” Kaipara wrote.

“Maiki is one of the sharpest political journalists in the country. Intelligent, fearless, composed, and uncompromising in holding power to account. There are only a handful of Maiki’s calibre, political sharpness, and ability to move between te ao Māori, media, and the political establishment so effortlessly and powerfully.”

Jackson, in his post, noted that while Sherman had faced accusations of being politically aligned with certain parties, “she was no Te Pāti Māori activist” and had previously been barred from speaking with the party during the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election - an election that Kaipara won.

“She was also no big Labour supporter and we had a number of run-ins with her over the years,” wrote Jackson.

Sherman’s departure leaves 1News without a political editor just three weeks out from Budget day and six months from the election.

TVNZ told The Post it would announce its plans for the press gallery in due course “but that won’t be today”.

Correction: An earlier version of this story attributed a quote by Te Aniwa Hurihanganui as saying “just me now”, in response to the number of Māori journalists at 1News. The exact quote was “I think I’m the only one”, referring specifically to 6pm news bulletin.