RNZ presenter Māni Dunlop tells listeners ‘when you don’t get the top job, it’s time to go elsewhere’

Māni Dunlop has been with RNZ for over a decade. Photo / RNZ

Outgoing Midday Report presenter Māni Dunlop has indicated her departure from the broadcaster came after she was passed over for the “top job”.

Dunlop had earlier been tipped as a potential Morning Report co-host. However, the job was given to Ingrid Hipkiss.

“It is with a huge amount of sadness that I say goodbye for now, but when you don’t get the top job, its time to go elsewhere.

“As Māori in mainstream spaces, don’t pigeonhole us, we can do it all, visibility, optics, representation is so important and it shows that we can function in roles and systems and institutions that are not designed for us. But we can do it and carve out our space and make it our own.”

Finally, Dunlop said she truly had “no idea” what she would do next but she would be taking her time to figure it out.

In the emotional farewell, Dunlop said it was during one of her first jobs as an intern at RNZ more than a decade ago, she discovered why it was so important for Māori to be in mainstream media.

“To tell the stories by us, for everyone with a different and often overlooked lens of the communities in which we come from.”

At RNZ, Dunlop said she had grown and been part of “incredible” historic events.

When she stepped into the presenter chair, she was the first Māori person to present a weekday show at RNZ.

This, Dunlop shared, was paved by many before her.

She went on to acknowledge several leading Māori media figures, including Mihingarangi Forbes and Julian Wilcox.

“To the haters, and there’s plenty of them, come on the journey. My mates know that your hatred doesn’t stop us, it fuels us, it inspires us and Aotearoa is moving in a beautiful direction and I implore you to not resist but to hop on that waka, or you will be left behind.”

Dunlop went on to thank her colleagues, whanau and her fiancé, Minister Kiri Allan.

“Thank you for always catching me, it is not easy to navigate in our respective professions but we do it well and we do it with integrity. To our babies, we do this for you.

“I am a staunch public broadcaster, I believe hugely in what RNZ can do, and the role that it serves and it will continue to fufill as the media landscape transforms, I hope it does what it needs to to fufill its obligations to Te Tiriti.”

Her departure comes as two other high profile hosts, Karyn Hay, who hosts Nights with Karyn Hay, last appeared on her show on February 14, and fellow host Jim Mora, the voice of Sunday Morning, has been off air since February 26.