Chapman Tripp proud to adopt formal te reo Māori policy

Chapman Tripp is proud to announce it has adopted a formal te reo Māori policy.

Ko te reo Māori te kākahu o te whakaaro Māori, te huarahi ki te ao tūroa, te mauri o te mana Māori. Te reo Māori is the cloak of Māori thought, the path to the enduring world, the very essence of Māori.
Papakina ana te tāhuna e ngā ngaru pukepuke o te reo Māori hei whakaoreore i te iwi kia tahuri mai. Kua eke te wā me whakamana te reo pūtake o tēnei whenua. Nō reira, hoake rā tātou! Te reo Māori bellows in the distance calling for our attention. The time has come to acknowledge the indigenous language of this country. So, let’s do this!

The policy’s purpose is to encourage, support and facilitate the use of te reo Māori by Chapman Tripp’s people, and reflects Chapman Tripp’s acknowledgement of te reo Māori as the indigenous language of New Zealand and recognition of its status as an official language under Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016, the Māori Language Act 2016. The policy, drafted in both English and te reo Māori, reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to te reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Nick Wells, Hoa Rangapū Whakarae (Chief Executive Partner) said, “Te reo Māori is at the heart of our nation’s foundation, and at Chapman Tripp, we are proactively encouraging and promoting te reo Māori as being both advantageous and valued in the workplace.

“As we have just commemorated Waitangi Day, we are reminded that the Māori language is a taonga that needs to flourish and that we all have a part to play in this. Nā reira, kia kaha tātou!” Wells said.

Chapman Tripp’s policy, developed in consultation with staff, encourages using te reo Māori at levels appropriate to people’s skill levels and sets out actions to ensure the firm builds on its commitment to foster te reo Māori, including continuing to offer te reo Māori classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced proficiency levels across all of Chapman Tripp’s offices. Te reo Māori ambassadors are also available to help people seeking guidance on te reo Māori and tikanga.

The firm has long been a supporter of te reo Māori, led by its Māori legal services group Te Waka Ture, who work closely with the firm’s people to promote te reo Māori and tikanga. Te Waka Ture specialises in providing commercial legal advice to iwi, hapū, Māori landowners and Māori businesses.

© Scoop Media