The fate of te reo rests with Maori

Te Rangi Aniwaniwa tumuaki Hilda Halkyard-Harawira sees some merit in the Maori Language Amendment Bill, but does not believe it goes far enough. However, while Maori broadcasting and Maori agencies had a role to play in uplifting the language, she agreed with the elders who said its future resided with Maori willingness to learn and continue to speak it in all situations.

"Te reo Maori should not be confined to ceremonial occasions, and its survival requires constant use and sharing. In Aotearoa, it should be normal for a child to be bi-lingual," she said, while the role of the Bill should be to protect te reo Maori as a national taonga, to establish clear direction and strategies, to create opportunities for Maori to determine and drive outcomes for te reo, and to clarify the roles and functions of both Maori and the Crown in respect to the language.

"Te Rangi Aniwaniwa will put up its hand to host the first of many Far North kapa haka cultural festivals in 2016 as a focus and showcase for school-age children," she added.

For 110 years, Mrs Harawira said, te reo Maori had been systematically banished from the school curriculum and devalued by the wider community, the institutions of Aotearoa and Parliament.

In 1972, Nga Tamatoa called for the language to be taught in schools. Te Reo Maori Society and Te Whakapumau i Te Reo lodged a successful Wai 11 claim with the Waitangi Tribunal, but the NZ Maori Council had to take a claim to the Privy Council in England before te reo was recognised as a Tiriti right. Consequently te reo Maori became an official language in 1987.

"Kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, kura a iwi, wharekura, wananga, ataarangi, puna reo, iwi radio, Aotearoa TV and later Maori Television are the fruition of the dreams of ordinary Maori to retain and revitalise te reo Maori, the mother tongue of Aotearoa," she said.

"These are important accomplishments in a backdrop of five and a half generations where society swallowed the mantra of English language is best. The result of te reo Maori being absent for 110 years is the fear of many Maori that it will not advance their education or job prospects. Te reo Maori is an industry of great potential. Te reo Maori is an important factor in the wellness of our society."

Mrs Harawira congratulated the Maori Language Advisory Panel for visiting the North, but reiterated a number of concerns.

-The Waitangi Tribunal should give clearance for the Bill to proceed to ensure matters of Wai 11 and Wai 262 were not compromised; and so the roles of Te Taura Whiri and Te Mangai Pho would be strengthened.

-The NZ Maori Council should be consulted on the Bill, as it took the case to the Privy Council.

-The role of Te Puni Kokiri under the new structure was unclear.

-The political motivation to hand over responsibility for te reo to iwi/iwi runanga was laudable but a narrow view. In the past 30 years only a few iwi had made a commitment to the retention of re reo, and then usually via other institutions.

-Funding should target the primary organisations that kept te reo alive - kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, wananga, irirangi Maori, Maori TV Ataarangi etc.

-The Bill did not tie responsibilities to Ministry of Education and all other state entities to implement te reo and Tiriti practices. The commitment of funding to train te reo Maori teachers from kohanga reo to wananga must be a state responsibility and not an iwi burden.

-There was no mangai for Ngpuhi, let alone Muriwhenua, on Te Matawai.

-No one in Tai Tokerau properly funded regional manu korero, regional and national schools, kapa haka, secondary kura reo, which were key annual focal points for rangatahi in Northland.

Mrs Harawira went on to pay special tribute to the late Erima Henare for his support of young minds learning te reo Maori and tikanga Maori.

"I wish to pay respects to all our kaumatua and kuia who continued to speak te reo in diversity; to the non-speaker learners of te reo like Hana Te Hemara, Titewhai Harawira, Syd Jackson ma, who pushed for te reo in kura, and the early pioneers of te reo Maori programmes," she said.

"Tai Tokerau has some notable reo Maori exponents in our midst, like Pa Tate, Dr Patu Hohepa, Haami Piripi, Shane Jones, Taipari Munro, Naida Glavish, Sonny Tau, Hone Sadler, Pierre Lyndon, Ngawai Herewini, Hirini Henare, Kingi Taurua, Julian Wilcox, Joe Everitt, Keita Kapa, Anaru Rieper, Nau Epiha, Rahera Shortland, Evelyn Tobin and Anaru Martin, to name a few.

"There is also a new frontier of reo Maori advocates who hail from kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and ataarangi who are now broadening the teaching spectrum of te reo Maori."