Crown launches commitment to te reo Māori

 Māori Development Minister, Hon Nanaia Mahuta, says the Crown’s commitment to ensure basic te reo is spoken by a million people in 2040 took a major step forward today. 

The Maihi Karauna, the Crown’s Māori language strategy, was launched at Te Matatini in recognition of the festival’s passion and commitment to te reo. This strategy is intended to complement the Maihi Maori which supports iwi, hapū and whānau aspirations towards te reo māori revitalisation. 

“Te reo Māori is special to Aotearoa it provides a unique context to experience our culture and history and the language is an important way to share our values and world view. 

“Te Matatini is an ideal forum to launch the Maihi Karauna as it draws together in the kapahaka art form the aspects of Māori oral histories through waiata, haka, mōteatea and poi compositions. 

“The Crown has long held the responsibility to protect te reo Māori as a taonga and the Maihi Karauna sets out a context for that responsibility to inform how Government can achieve this for all of us to use, share and protect te reo Māori. 

“I know that for te reo to thrive by 2040 we all need to do our part, working together to make te reo a working, living language,” said Nanaia Mahuta. 

Minister Mahuta says they are bold goals stretching out to 2040 and a practical step forward will be through initiatives which are focussed on rangatahi. Three areas of focus include: 

• Hosting rangatahi regional workshops and a national summit. 
• A social marketing campaign to promote the value of te reo Māori. 
• Snap-reo, a series of quick, micro-lessons in te reo Māori, available on a variety of media.  

“We want everyone to feel supported in their efforts to use te reo, wherever they are and with or talking to. Importantly we want young people to feel confident in who they are and coming from New Zealand – a way to achieve this is to share a connection through te reo Māori,” said Nanaia Mahuta.

Kua pānuihia te ngākaunui o te Karauna ki te reo Māori

Hei tā te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, hei tā Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta, kei te kōkiri whakamua te whāinga a te Karauna kia eke te nui o te hunga e mōhio ana ki te whakahua i ngā kōrero māmā i te reo Māori ki te kotahi miriona ā te tau 2040. 

I whakarewaina, te rautaki reo Māori a te Karauna, arā, ko Maihi Karauna ki Te Matatini hei whakanui i te kaha o taua huihuinga ki te hāpai i te reo Māori. E haere ngātahi ana tēnei rautaki me te Maihi Māori ki te tautoko i ngā wawata o ngā hapū me ngā whānau mō te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori. 

"He reo ahurei te reo Māori ki Aotearoa. He huarahi motuhake e rangona ai tō tātou ahurea me ngā kōrero tuku iho – ko te reo te waka e kawe atu ana i ā tātou tikanga me tō tātou tirohanga ki te ao. 

"E tika ana kia whakarewaina te Maihi Karauna ki Te Matatini i te mea, mā roto i ngā mahi kapa haka e rongo ai tātou ki ngā kōrero tuku iho, i roto i ngā titonga waiata, i ngā haka, i ngā mōteatea me ngā waiata poi. 

"Nō mua rā anō te haepapa o te Karauna ki te whakamarumaru i te reo Māori hei taonga. Kei te Maihi Karauna ngā kōrero mō te whakatinanatanga o tēnei kawenga e tutuki ai te whāinga nui kia kōrerohia, kia whakapāohohia, kia whakamarumarutia te reo Māori e tātou katoa. 

E ora nui ai te reo ā te tau 2040, me māia tēnā me tēnā o tātou, me mahi ngātahi ki te kōrero i te reo Māori hei reo ora," te kī a Nanaia Mahuta.

Hei tā Minita Mahuta, he whāinga nui ēnei e tiro whakamua ana ki te tau 2040. Ka kitea te whakatinanatanga o te kaupapa i roto i ngā kaupapa e toru e arotahi ana ki ngā rangatahi: 

• Ko te whakahaere i ngā hui ā-rohe mā te rangatahi me tētahi huihuinga ā-motu.
• Ko tētahi rautaki pāpāho ā-pāpori e whakatairanga ana i te mana o te reo Māori .
• Me ngā paki-reo, arā, ko ngā akoranga poto i te reo Māori - e tukuna atu ana mā ngā momo ara pāpāho o te wā. 

"E tika ana kia manaakihia ngā tāngata katoa e hāpai ana i te reo Māori, ahakoa kei hea, ahakoa e kōrero ana rātou ki a wai. Ko tētahi mea nui anō, me tū māia ngā rangatahi i runga i tō rātou mana āhua ake me tō rātou hononga ki Aotearoa – ko te reo Māori tētahi hononga nui nō te katoa," te kī a Nanaia Mahuta.

Editor’s Note: Maihi Karauna Cabinet Paper available here https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/a-matou-kaupapa/maihi-karauna