Māori Language Week: Every day is te reo Māori for me - Tama Potaka

Minister of Māori Development Tama Potaka.

OPINION

E mōhio ana tātou ka whakamānawatia a Kīngi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Te Tuawhitu i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori i tēnei tau.

As we know, this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is dedicated to the memory of Kīngi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Te Tuawhitu.

He tohu a Kīngi Tūhetia nō te kotahitanga o ngā iwi me ngāi Māori, he kaihapahapai ia i te poipoinga o ngāi Aotearoa, ā, i whakapono hoki ia ki te mana o te reo Māori hei wāhanga o tō tātou tuakiri ā-motu.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Māori/Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia to pay their respects for Kīngi Tūheitia. Photo / Kīngitanga.

Kīngi Tuheitia was a symbol of kotahitanga for iwi and Māori, an advocate of all New Zealanders growing together, and a stalwart believer in the importance of te reo Māori for our national identity.

He wā mīharo Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ki a ngāi Aotearoa whānui e kotahi ai, e whakanui ai hoki i te kōrerotia o te reo Māori, hei taonga, hei tūāpapa o tō tātou whenua.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is a fantastic time for all New Zealanders to come together and celebrate speaking te reo Māori, as a taonga and a foundational element of our country’s DNA.

Kua kaha tā tēnei Kāwanatanga tautoko, hapahapai hoki i ngā kaupapa ahurea pēnei i Te Matatini.

Te Matatini receives a baseline budget boost.

This Government has been strong in its support and advocacy of significant cultural events like Te Matatini.

I Te Tahua 2024, i ū mātou ki te whakarahinga o ngā pūtea pūtake ki Te Matatini kia $48.7m hei ngā tau e toru e kainamu ana.

In Budget 2024 we committed to increasing baseline funding for Te Matatini to $48.7m over the next three years.

I pupuri hoki mātou ki ngā pūtea $142m mā ngā umanga e aro ana ki te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori - ko Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, ko Te Māngai Pāho, ko Whakaata Māori, ko Te Mātāwai hoki.

We also retained $142m of funding for those organisations focused on the revitalisation of te reo Māori – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Te Māngai Pāho, Whakaata Māori, and Te Mātāwai.

Tūturu taura tō mātou tohatoha pūtea tautoko ki ngā kōhanga, kura, wharekura, wānanga a hoki e kawe ana i te reo māhorahora.

We continue to support significant investment in kohanga reo, kura, wharekura and wānanga that carry our natural language.

Mōku ake, ko Te Wiki o te Reo Māori hei ia wiki. Koia au mō kōrero i te reo Māori i ngā tini whai wāhitanga e taea nei e au, tae noa ki tēnei whare, ā, e akiākina ana e au kia pēnei hoki te marea.

For me personally, every week is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. I take the opportunity to speak Māori everywhere I can, including inside this house, and I encourage others to do the same.