Miriama Kamo (Ngāi Tahu/Ngāti Mutunga) is a celebrated broadcaster, acclaimed author, environmental advocate, and cultural leader.
A familiar face in Aotearoa’s media landscape, Miriama is the long-standing host of Māori current affairs programme Marae and a former host of TVNZ’s Sunday, as well as a trusted presence across many of the network’s news programmes. Her journalism is marked by integrity, depth, and a strong commitment to elevating underrepresented voices.
As Patron/Te Koruru of the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, Miriama plays a key role in shaping the kaupapa of the awards. After serving as an executive judge from 2017, she became Patron in 2020 and has since introduced an alumni network, developed a partnership model that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and established a pastoral care framework for award recipients.
Miriama is a patron of EnviroHub Bay of Plenty and supports numerous charitable causes as an ambassador, including Pillars (supporting children of prison inmates), Charity Foundations NZ, Breast Cancer NZ, and Endometriosis NZ. She is a passionate environmentalist and one of the country’s leading voices promoting the Zerowaste movement.
A dedicated advocate for te reo Māori, Miriama co-founded Kotahi Rau Pukapuka (KRP), a charitable trust committed to publishing 100 books in te reo for fluent and advanced learners. Since its 2019 launch by the Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern, KRP has become a cornerstone in the revitalisation of Māori language publishing.
Miriama is also a published author whose works explore Māori storytelling through the lens of Matariki. Her debut, The Stolen Stars of Matariki (2018), was set to music by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She has since released Matariki: A Cluster of Stars, A Cluster of Stories (2022, with Prof. Rangi Matamua), The Twin Stars of Matariki: Waitī and Waitā (2023), and The Kai Stars of Matariki (2024). Several more titles are set to follow, including a new series beginning in 2025 titled Humble Bumble, te Pī Mahakī.
Miriama is a former board member of Endometriosis NZ, Save the Kiwi, and The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi, and has long championed Māori excellence in journalism. She founded and ran the Whaitiri Mentoring programme, supporting young Māori journalists entering the field.
With her husband Mike Dreaver, Miriama co-leads Kia Hono – a powerful workshop helping government and corporate sectors to build authentic relationships with te ao Māori.
She is a mother of two and continues to influence national conversations around culture, storytelling, environmental responsibility, and indigenous identity.
Talking Points
The 4 M's
Menstruation, motherhood, miscarriage and menopause are key to the journey through womanhood and crucial to humanity's survival so... why can't we talk about them openly? Miriama talks about how to normalise the normal in your home and workplace, and the economic reasons why women's health is key to everyone's health.
The 4 M's
Super professional, engaging, polite and generally amazing. ... keep reading Campbell and Co
Miriama is a true professional. Her ability to understand content not familiar to her and to perfectly summarise was truly inspirational. She appropriately switched between English and Maori medium as the situation required. We chose well when selecting Miriama to MC our conference.
Miriama acting as MC and guest speaker set a beautiful tone for our awards evening. She took time to tailor her words to our audience and we have received many lovely comments about how well she lead the event.
We've had Miriama MC a few of our conferences now & she is always engaging, professional & able to engage with the content.
Miriama was MC at our recent conference. She was engaging and thought provoking for our audience. Would recommend.
The overall comment made by ISC staff were that we would all like to be Miriama when we grow up. She is an absolute delight, - professional, graceful, intelligent and genuinely lovely.
Miriama was authentic and a natural fit to launch our diversity initiative across the financial services sector. Related well to all panelists and shone.
Miriama is lovely to work with - professional and personable all at the same time. We thoroughly enjoyed working with her.
