New Zealand Journalist Becomes the First Person With Face Tattoo to Host Primetime News

In a historic first that paves the way forward for more diversity and representation on primetime television, New Zealand newsreader Oriini Kaipara has become the first person with a traditional face tattoo to anchor a primetime news broadcast. Oriini Kaipara, 37, who has an ethnic lower chin tattoo worn by Māori women called a moko kauae, read the Newshub Live 6 pm news bulletin in New Zealand on Monday. Oriini, who is filling in for the regular hosts on the Newshub Live evening show, created waves online by becoming the first Māori woman with a moko kauae to present primetime news on television. Watch a clip of the presenter below.

Oriini shared on Instagram that she got the distinctive tattoo in 2017 after a DNA test revealed she was 100 per cent Māori. Traditionally, the moko kauae (face tattoo) represents a rite of passage, marking the passage between girl and adulthood, symbolising a personal process of transformation. 

“It’s really exciting. I’m really enjoying it,” Kaipara said in an interview after her Christmas and Boxing Day appearances. “I’m not speechless, but it’s a buzz. I am proud of how far I’ve come in being able to anchor 6 pm right now,” she added hoping to find a permanent spot at the prime-time show.

We are rooting for you Oriini, you go girl!