Whakanuia te toru ngahurutanga o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo

Whakanuia te toru ngahurutanga o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori

Ā te 1 o Hereturikōkā ka eke ki te 30 tau mai i te whakatūnga o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i runga i Te Ture Reo Māori 1987.

Ko te kaupapa o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori he whakamana i te reo Māori hei reo mana ā-ture, he whakatairanga he rangahau hoki i te reo Māori, he ārahi hoki i te whakatinanatanga o te rautaki reo Māori hou a te Kāwanatanga.

Nā te hurihanga o te ture i tērā tau kua huri hoki te aro o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori ki ngā mahi a te Karauna hei tautoko i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori. He rōpū hou kē ināianei ko Te Mātāwai e aronui ai ki te iwi, te hapū, me te whakarauoratanga ā-hapori.

“E toru tekau tau ki muri kāore anō he reo irirangi Māori he whakaata Māori rānei, ko te Kōhanga Reo tonu he pito mata; kāore anō he akoranga ā-reo Māori, kāore anō he wānanga, ka mutu he iti noa iho kē te ako reo Māori i roto i ngā kura,” e ai ki a Ngāhiwi Apanui te Tumuaki o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

“He pūrongo hou i tēnei marama e whakaatu ana kei te tuku iho anō te reo Māori ki ngā whakatupuranga mō te wā tuatahi rawa mai i te ngahuru tau 1970.

“Katoa tēnei i hua mai i ngā mahi a ngā Minita, a ngā tari kāwanatanga, tae rawa ki te iwi Māori, ki ngā whānau, ngā hapū, ngā iwi anō hoki.

“Ko te mahi a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i roto i te 30 tau kua huri, he ū tonu ki te tautoko i te reo Māori hei reo ora anō mō Aotearoa katoa. Kāore e wareware ngā koha mai a te hunga kaiārahi kua riro ki te pō tae noa ki te hunga e poipoi tonu nei i te reo.”

“Tērā anō hoki ngā whakaaetanga maha a ngā Minita me ngā tari kāwanatanga ki ngā whakataunga a te Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi otirā ngā hiahia o te iwi Māori. Hei tuatahitanga hoki te ture hou nei mō te ao katoa, e whakaae ake ana te Karauna i hē, i hara hoki i mua, me tana whakaae iho anō ki te mahi tahi kē ki te iwi Māori ā muri iho nei ki te tautoko kē i te reo Māori.

“Ka nui tonu ngā rā o te reo Māori. Ko tā mātou mahi mō te Karauna he mahi tahi ki te Māori kia eke ai te reo Māori ki ngā taumata tika e taea ai e ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa, mō ake tonu. Hei tīmatanga noa iho ēnei tau tuatahi e toru tekau nei.”

Media statement
For immediate release
27 July 2017

30 year anniversary celebrations for Māori Language Commission

It will have been 30 years on August 1 since the Māori Language Commission was created as a result of the Māori Language Act 1987.

The Commission’s role is to give effect to the status of the Māori language as an official language, to promote and research the Māori language and to lead the coordination of the implementation of the government’s new Māori language strategy.

In a reform of the law last year the Commission’s focus shifted to the Crown’s efforts to support Māori language revitalisation. A new organisation, Te Mātāwai, is focussed on iwi, hapū and community revitalisation.

“Thirty years ago there was virtually no Māori radio or TV, Kōhanga Reo were a very new thing and uncertain of success; there was no Māori-medium education, no wānanga, and very limited teaching of Māori in schools,” said Commission Chief Executive Ngahiwi Apanui.

“This month a new report showed that transfer of the Māori language between generations is happening again for the first time since the 1970s.”

“All this is the result of the work of Ministers, government agencies and especially of the Māori people and their whanau, hapū and iwi.

“The Commission’s role over the past 30 years has been one of persistent and consistent advocacy for the Māori language and its future as a living and lively part of New Zealand life. We recall the contributions of those leaders who have passed away and those who continue to nurture the language.

“We also recall the many positive responses of ministers and government agencies to findings of the Waitangi Tribunal and the wishes of the Māori people. The new law, in which the Crown acknowledged the harm done in the past and expressed its commitment to supporting the Māori language in the future in partnership with the Māori people is world-leading.

“There is every reason to be optimistic about the future of the Māori language. Our task for the Crown is to work in partnership with Māori to ensure that the Māori language is available and valued by everyone in New Zealand, forever. Our first 30 years are just a start.”

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