Vandalised waste bins at Kulim Park in Tauranga have had te reo Māori words painted over. Photo / Alex Cairns
Vandalised waste bins at Kulim Park in Tauranga have had te reo Māori words painted over. Photo / Alex Cairns
“They better have a lot of paint.”
That’s the message to the vandal or vandals who painted over te reo Māori words on more than 40 public bins in Tauranga, from the commission tasked with helping to revitalise use of the language.
Tauranga City Council was aware of 45 vandalised bins between Kulim Park, Pilot Bay and Marine Parade, sustainability and waste manager Dan Smith told the Bay of Plenty Times.
He said the council hoped to finish the clean-up today at an estimated cost of $3500-$5000, after first learning of the vandalism on Wednesday morning.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori - Māori Language Commission spokeswoman Christine Ammunson told the Bay of Plenty Times on Friday that if people wanted to cover over all te reo Māori signs, “then they better have a lot of paint because we know most people support the Māori language”.
“Most New Zealanders, particularly our younger people, see te reo as something that is part of their identity as a New Zealander,” Ammunson said.
“This is proven by official statistics as well as our own Kantar polling. Support for te reo is growing.”
A month ago, the commission launched the Te Reo Māori Business Network, a free virtual way for businesses to support one another as they incorporate te reo across their business.
Last year Stats NZ reported just under a third (30 per cent) of New Zealanders could speak more than a few words or phrases of te reo Māori in 2021.
Fairly good te reo speakers were at 7.9 per cent, and almost a quarter (23 per cent) of Māori spoke it as a first language. All of those figures were up on 2018, and measures of support for te reo Māori usage continued their “consistent” rise.
A recent University of Canterbury study showed non-Māori-speaking Kiwis could recognise more than 1000 te reo Māori words or part words, and could understand the meanings of about 70, Whakaata Māori reported in August.
Vandalised waste bins at Kulim Park in Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns
In a Tauranga City Council media release about the vandalism on Thursday, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said “racist behaviour” would not be tolerated in the spaces it administered.
“This is not who we are, or who we want to be, and is a sad reflection on a small section of our community.
“Our message to those who are responsible for this silly and misguided vandalism is that it’s totally unacceptable and we invite them to reflect upon the cost and hurt they are inflicting.”
The council said the matter had been reported to the police.
A police spokesperson confirmed on Thursday they were “following lines of inquiry”.
No arrests had been made.
A Western Bay of Plenty District Council spokesman said it had not had any reports of similarly vandalised bins.
Anyone who has information that might help police could contact them in 105 or anonymously on 0800 CRIMESTOPPERS (0800 555 111).
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
