Matthew was born in Upper Hutt. His father was of Ngāi Te Rangi from Matakana Island, Tauranga.

After living most of his adult life in Australia, Matthew moved home to New Zealand and was appointed to the role of Executive Chairman of the National Māori Authority, Ngā Ngaru Rautahi O Aotearoa in 2017. In 2018 he also became the chair of the Auckland District Māori Council and was elected to the National Executive of the New Zealand Māori Council. He has a clear agenda to move the Māori council towards leading the national social policy debate. The agenda includes issues such as suicide prevention, homelessness and the affordability of life-extending and life-saving drugs for Māori.