Next Set Of Bilingual Signs Released For Public Consultation

A package of proposed bilingual traffic signs has been released for consultation
Te Mātāwai Board Co-Chair Reikura Kahi and Waka Kotahi Director of Land Transport Kane Patena announced.

The consultation is part of the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme led by Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi to enable the use of te reo Māori on traffic signs across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Mātāwai is the independent entity that is legislated to act on behalf of Iwi and Māori for the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Driving this programme is a vision to see te reo Māori restored as the first language of Aotearoa New Zealand, by ensuring that te reo Māori is seen in everyday environments and heard and spoken more often.

“Using te reo Māori on traffic signs will contribute to an Aotearoa New Zealand where te reo Māori is visible at a community level where our whānau live and play, and the mana of te reo is affirmed and recognised. Affirming the status of te reo and enabling community engagement are critical drivers of language revitalisation so we celebrate this moment” said Reikura Kahi.

“Bilingual signage is an important step towards affirming the indigenous status of te reo Māori in Aotearoa. Increasing awareness and access to te reo Māori in our communities and cities is also a launchpad from which new iwi language initiatives targeting new generations can grow together.”

The proposals cover 94 signs and are grouped by type:

Destination signs

Public and active transport signs

Walking and cycling wayfinding signs

General advisory and permanent warning signs

Motorway and expressway advisory signs

Temporary warning signs

We are also proposing several changes to the Traffic Control Devices Rule which are considered minor.

A panel of te reo Māori experts, Te Pae Whakamāori, was established to consider and propose translations for the package of signs.

Professor Tom Roa from Te Pae Whakamāori says seeing and hearing te reo Māori has become a norm in Aotearoa New Zealand and these translations address that visibility in the signs on our roads.

“Te Pae Whakamāori have upheld the mana of the language with an attention to a consistency of terminology across the country, but more, the safety of the community in reading, understanding, and following the signage was a priority.”

The translations also went through a moderation process, supported by Te Mātāwai.

“We have sought and incorporated the views of specialists in te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, te ao Māori, Local Government, safety and roading,” says Kane Patena.

“We also looked at bilingual signage in other countries and found that good design mitigates safety risks.”

Nicholas Manukau, Tumuaki National Manager Māori Waka Kotahi acknowledges the language as a living taonga for all New Zealanders regardless of one's background, “it is a part of who we are, and what it is to be a kiwi.”

The partnership with Te Mātāwai led to the creation of a He Tohu Huarahi Māori Partnership Rōpū which made the final decisions on which signs would be part of the package for public consultation. He Tohu Huarahi Māori programme is also supported by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori the Māori Language Commission and Te Manatū Waka the Ministry of Transport.

This consultation follows the successful rule change last year to enable bilingual Kura School traffic signs.

The rollout of this package will begin with signs that need to be replaced, particularly in hard-hit regions where signs were damaged during the cyclone and new signs are needed.

This also reflects our low-cost implementation approach for bilingual signs, which will be introduced as existing signs are replaced or new signs are needed on the network. This is the same approach adopted for the suite of Kura School signs.

Waka Kotahi has undertaken research to identify international precedents and to examine the safety implications of bilingual signage. Many countries use bilingual signage, and research demonstrates that bilingual signs have not led to an increase in the number of people who have been killed or seriously injured where this has been measured (for example in Scotland and Wales). The research note and more information about the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme can be found here.

Consultation on the proposed package of bilingual traffic signs closes at 5pm, Friday 30 June 2023.

Supporting Information

He Tohu Huarahi Māori Bilingual Traffic Signs programme is supported by a multi-disciplinary team from both organisations and an expert panel of te reo Māori translators from across the motu. Te Mātāwai was established in 2016 by Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Act) and works on behalf of iwi and Māori in partnership with the Crown for the purposes of Māori language revitalisation.

He Tohu Huarahi Māori Bilingual Traffic Signs programme work will progress in two phases:

Phase 1: identify, consider, and enable a prioritised selection of bilingual signs by the end of 2023.

Phase 2: undertake a process to consider and, where appropriate, implement the rest of the signs from 2024. This is subject to funding.

More information about the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme.

Kua Tukuna Ngā Tohu Reorua Hou ki te Ara Tuku Kōrero

Kua tukuna tētahi kohikohinga o ngā tohu huarahi reorua e whakaarotia ana ki te ara tuku kōrero, e ai ki te Hoa Toihau o Te Mātāwai, a Reikura Kahi, rāua ko te Kaiurungi o Waka Kotahi, a Kane Patena.

Ko te ara tuku kōrero nei he wāhanga nō te hōtaka He Tohu Huarahi Māori e ārahina ana e Te Mātāwai rāua ko Waka Kotahi kia āhei ai te whakamahinga o te reo Māori ki ngā tohu huarahi puta noa i Aotearoa.

He rōpū motuhake Te Mātāwai e hāpai ana i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori mā ngā iwi, mā te iwi Māori anō hoki. E kōkiritia ana tēnei hōtaka i runga i te whakakitenga kia hoki te reo Māori hei reo mātāmua mō Aotearoa, mā te whakakitea ōna ki ngā taiao o ia rā mā te kaha ake o te kōrerotia me te rangona ōna.

Hei tā Reikura Kahi, “Mā te reoruatanga o ngā tohu huarahi, ka whai hua a Aotearoa whānui inarā ka kitea te reo Māori ngā hapori kei reira ngā whānau e noho ana, e tākaro ana, ka whakapūmautia hoki te mana o te reo. Ko te whakatairanga i te reo, ko te whai wāhitanga mai o te hapori ētahi ākinga nui i te whakarauoratanga o te reo, nā reira mātou e hurō nei.”

“He mahi nui ngā tohu reorua, e hoki mai ai te reo Māori ki te taumata reo taketake e tika ana mōna. Mā te whakapiki i te mōhiotanga o te reo, mā te whakaāheitanga o te reo ki ngā hapori me ngā tāone nui, ka whai tūāpapa tātou e tipu tahi ai ngā kaupapa reo ā-iwi hou e hāngai ana ki ngā whakatipuranga kei te heke mai.”

Kei te kohikohinga nei ngā tohu e 94, ā, kua whakarōpūngia mā te momo o te tohu:

Ngā tohu wāhi

Ngā tohu huarahiwaka tūmatawhānui, ngā tohu huarahiwaka motuhake hoki

Ngā tohu ara hīkoi, ara pahikara hoki

Ngā tohu ārahi, ngā tohu whakatūpato pūmau hoki

Ngā tohu ārahi hoki i ngā ara whānui, ara puaki hoki

Ngā tohu taupua hei whakatūpato

Kei te whakatakoto whakaaro hoki mātou i ngā panonitanga huhua ki te Traffic Control Devices Rule, e whakaarohia ana he mātāmuri noa iho.

I whakatūria tētahi kāhui mātanga reo Māori, e kīia ana ko te Pae Whakamāori, māna e whiriwhiri whakaaro, e tuku whakaaro hoki mō ngā whakamāoritanga i te pūhera tohu.

E kī ana a Ahorangi Tom Roa, o Te Pae Whakamāori, kua rangona, kua kitea whānuitia anō hoki te reo Māori i Aotearoa, ā, mā ngā whakamāoritanga nei e tautoko taua āhuatanga mā ngā tohu i runga i ō tatou huarahi.

“Kua whakaūtia te mana o te reo Māori, e te Pae Whakamāori i runga i te whaiwhakaaro nui ki te haumaru o te hapori, me te ōrite tonu o ngā tohu reo Māori huri noa i Aotearoa.”

I mātairuatia ngā whakamāoritanga nei, nā, he mea tautoko e Te Mātāwai.

“Kua whāia, kua whakauruhia hoki e mātou ngā whakaaro o ngā rōpū huhua, ngā mātanga reo Māori me te ao Māori, ngā Kaunihera ā-Rohe, ngā rōpū whakahaumaru, ngā rōpū mahi huarahi” hei tā Kane Patena.

“I rangahau hoki mātou i ngā tohu reorua kei whenua kē, ka kitea hoki, mehemea he pai te hanga o ngā tohu, kua heke iho te mōreareatanga.”

E kī ana a Nicholas Manukau, te Tumuaki ā-Motu o Waka Kotahi, ko te reo Māori he taonga tuku iho mo ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa, ahakoa ko wai, ahakoa nō whea, 
“nō tātou, te reo Māori, ko ia te pou tuakiri o Aotearoa”.

Nā te mahi tahi ki Te Mātāwai i hua mai ai he ohu mahi tahi mā He Tohu Huarahi Māori, māna ngā whakataunga whakamutunga mō ngā tohu ka whai wāhi mai ki te kohikohinga ka tukuna ki te ara tuku kōrero. Ko He Tohu Huarahi Māori tētahi hōtaka e tautokona ana e Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori me Te Manatū Waka.

E whai ana tēnei ara tuku kōrero i tētahi panonitanga ki te ture i tērā tau e whakaaetia ai ngā tohu huarahi reorua mō ngā kura.

Ka tīmata te whakaputanga o ngā tohu nei i ngā tohu me whakahou, inarā kei ngā wāhi i haukerekerehia e te huripari, ā, me whai tohu hou ērā wāhi.

E hāngai ana tēnei ki tā mātou rautaki whakaputa i ngā tohu reorua mā te iti o te utu, kia whakatūria ngā tohu hou nei ina whakahoungia ētahi tohu, ina pīrangihia ētahi tohu hou hoki. Koinei hoki te rautaki i whāia ai mō ngā tohu kura hou.

Kua mahi rangahau a Waka Kotahi kia tautohua ai ngā tauira kei te ao, kia whakatewhatewha hoki i ngā pānga haumarutanga o ngā tohu reorua. Arā noa atu ngā whenua e whakamahi ana i ngā tohu reorua, ā, e ai ki ngā kōrero kāore e kitea ana te pikitanga o ngā aituā, o ngā whara nā ngā tohu reorua ki ngā whenua e ine ana i tēnei āhuatanga (hei tauira, ko Kōtirana me Wēra). Kei konei ngā kōrero mō te rangahau me ētahi atu pārongo e pā ana ki te hōtaka tohu huarahi reorua nā He Tohu Huarahi Māori.

Ka kati te ara tuku kōrero e pā ana ki te kohikohinga tohu huarahi reorua e whakaarotia ana hei te 5 karaka i te pō, Paraire 30 Hune 2023.

He Kōrero Tautoko

E tautokona ana te hōtaka tohu huarahi reorua a He Tohu Huarahi Māori e tētahi ohu pūkenga rau mai i ngā rōpū e rua, me tētahi kāhui kaiwhakamāori mātanga nō te motu whānui. I whakatūria Te Mātāwai i te tau 2016 i raro i te Ture mō te Reo Māori, kia mahi mā ngā iwi me ngāi Māori, kia mahi tahi hoki ki te Karauna mō te whakarauora i te reo Māori te take.

E rua ngā wāhanga o te mahi o te hōtaka tohu huarahi reorua a He Tohu Huarahi Māori:

Wāhanga 1: ka tautohu, ka wānanga, ka whakaāhei hoki i tētahi whiringa mātāmua o ngā tohu reorua i mua i te paunga o te tau 2023.

Wāhanga 2: ka whai i tētahi pūnaha hei whiriwhiri, ā, ki ngā wāhi e tika ana, ka whakatutuki i te toenga o ngā tohu nei mai i te tau 2024. Kei te wātea o te pūtea tēnei wāhanga.

He pārongo anō mō te hōtaka tohu reorua a He Tohu Huarahi Māori.

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