Australian Kiwi's love of te reo

Jeremy Tatere MacLeod may have been born and raised in Queensland to Kiwi parents, but it never held back his passion for Maoridom.
While he was still at primary school he was busy writing to kaumatua back in New Zealand, eager to find out as much as he could about his parents' country and his whakapapa.
The turning point came when his father, at the suggestion of relatives, asked if he would like to go to New Zealand. "A week later I was on a plane and never looked back," he said.
At 17, he was living in Waimarama with his grandmother, Ruma McDonald.
Seven years later, at just 24, he is Pouarataki o Te Reo ona Tikanga me te Matauranga at Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII), responsible for managing NKII's te reo Maori strategy, part of the organisation's strategic plan.
It was a steep learning curve for Mr MacLeod, who is of Ngati Kurukuru (Ngati Kahungunu), Ngati Rangiwewehi and Ngati Uenukukopako (Te Arawa), Nga Mahanga (Taranaki), Ngati Huataki (Rangitane) and Ngati Takihiku (Ngati Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga) descent.
He enrolled at EIT, earning a BA (Maori) honours degree. During his studies he spent three months on exchange at Tomakomai University, Japan, studying the indigenous Ainu culture and their language rejuvenation strategies.
Last year he completed the intensive Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo (Institute of Excellence in Maori Language) course run by Te Wananga o Aotearoa, lectured by Professors Timoti Karetu, Te Wharehuia Milroy and Pou Temara.
He remains passionate about other languages - one of his goals is to learn Pacific languages, starting with Cook Islands Maori.
"I have made a personal effort to learn about other iwi, why they do things a certain way different to Ngati Kahungunu, and what we might learn from other iwi and their experiences trying to keep te reo and culture alive," he said.
It was right that NKII should be taking a lead role to regain what had been lost language-wise in the past century, Mr MacLeod said. One way could be providing educational toolkits that could be adapted to each marae and hapu's needs.
While the struggle to keep te reo alive should not be forgotten, all New Zealanders needed to embrace Maori culture for it to be strong. And while it was great to have Maori Language Week, he felt Maori should be speaking te reo 52 weeks of the year. "We need to stop looking for someone or something to blame for the loss of te reo. There were so many outside influences, but it's time to move on and get on with it."