Bilingual government can help save te reo - report

The Tribunal says language is in crisis and a change in mindset is needed. Photo / BOP Times

New Zealand should have a bilingual Maori-speaking government, a hard-hitting report from the Waitangi Tribunal said yesterday.

Led by Justice Joe Williams, the tribunal released a specific te reo chapter of its WAI 262 Flora and Fauna claim inquiry which deals with intellectual property issues.

In a letter to Maori Affairs minister Dr Pita Sharples, Justice Williams said te reo was in crisis and urgent action was needed to change the situation.

"Like Maori, the Crown too must own the challenge facing te reo - and, as with Maori, the best way of meeting that challenge is to use the language.

"The point of all this is that there is no reason why the Crown must be monolingual in English ... it is important not to overlook the fact that the Crown represents Maori too.

"It is not a Pakeha institution, even if that has been its character for much of the past.

"The Government must shift its mindset so it comes to see Maori not as external to itself but as part of its very own make up."

Prime Minister John Key said his Maori language skills had improved since he was elected and he continued to learn a little bit more most weeks.

However, that didn't mean all ministers needed to.

"I think a little bit, makes sense. It's respectful in the environments we often find ourselves in," Mr Key said.

Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson is watching developments closely because of the broad nature of the original claim. He wished he could speak Maori.

"If I had my time again I would certainly do it, but learning languages when you're older is pretty hard."

He bristled at suggestions it was inevitable that Maori will die, like Latin.

"Certainly, I don't accept that in relation to te reo and I don't accept that Latin's dead especially as I have a degree in the subject."

Dr Sharples said he'd like to see his colleagues speaking Maori. However, governments could only do so much for language revival.

"It's really got to be by the people. If you want a language to survive the responsibility lies squarely with the people.

"Really, it's about getting the language into the homes and families talking it and that's how it will survive."

Dr Sharples would not be drawn on the likelihood of action on any of the report's recommendations because of his own review into the value government was getting for its te reo spend.

FADING VOICES
* Proportions of younger te reo speakers declining as older speakers are dying off.

* Since 1993 the proportion of Maori in kohanga reo fell from half to a quarter.

* In 2009 15.2 per cent of Maori children participated in Maori medium education. A decade earlier it was 18.6 per cent.

WAITANGI TRIBUNAL WANTS TO
* "Revamp" Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission.

* Give it more powers to compel public bodies to contribute to te reo's revival.

* This could be done by the commission approving Maori language plans, for example in schools.

* Make the commission the lead te reo agency, (currently Te Puni Kokiri shares responsibilities), to address lack of leadership.

* Equal appointment of Crown-Maori board members to the commission to make it function as a partnership.