Stark differences revealed in mandatory te reo Ma¯ ori plans

In 2018, all state sector services were instructed to develop plans to support the normalisation of te reo Ma¯ ori. The deadline has passed and, writes Maxine Jacobs, the results are mixed.

THREE years ago, the muchwanted Maihi Karauna – the Crown’s Strategy for Ma¯ ori Language Revitalisation – was launched. Cabinet instructed all of its government departments and agencies to develop plans to boost the normalisation of te reo Ma¯ ori through their services.

The deadline has passed and the results are mixed.

Sunday News requested a copy of the plans from each of the 36 department and agencies, and the dates they were submitted to Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Ma¯ ori (the Ma¯ ori Language Commission).

Of the 32 that responded, 16 confirmed they had registered their plans by this year’s June 30 target. Two departments have failed to meet the deadline.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the Environment Ministry said they handed in draft versions of their plans.

Others said their plans were still under review with the Ma¯ ori Language Commission.

Eight organisations, including the Ministry for Women, Department of Internal Affairs, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, referred Sunday News’ requests to the Official Information Act.

Just seven were prepared to share their plans. Of those, the Cancer Control Agency has made its language plan available online.

The Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Health did not respond to our request for information.

The Ministry of Transport was the first to register its plan, He Ma¯ here Reo Ma¯ ori, in September last year, ahead of deadline.

However, it was the lightest of the seven plans Sunday News received – a two-page document, fewer than 300-words long.

The ministry’s commitment includes using kupu Ma¯ ori for 30 common words such as pahi (bus), pu¯ tea (finance), kutarere (scooter), and motoka¯ (car), as well as using Ma¯ ori greetings and sign-offs in all its communications.

Deputy chief executive Robyn Smith said the ministry was also providing te reo classes for kaimahi (employees) and was working with Waka Kotahi – the New Zealand Transport Agency – to introduce bilingual road signs.

In Oranga Tamariki’s ninepage plan, Te Tautaki Reo Ma¯ ori, a four-year budget had been set aside to meet its goals under Maihi Karauna.

The ministry’s plan said it would financially support its staff and others who show an interest in advancing their Ma¯ ori language skills, but did not show funding committed to the goal.

‘‘A significant financial investment in the overarching cultural capability strategy is needed, as it is intended to engage external providers to support our cultural capability journey,’’ the plan stated.

Matt Winter, deputy chief executive of corporate services, said it was an interim plan as a component of its overall cultural capability plan that was being developed. ‘‘Building our knowledge, skills and confidence in te reo Ma¯ ori enables Oranga Tamariki staff to support positive cultural identity, belonging and connection for tamariki Ma¯ ori in our care.’’

Statistics New Zealand had already initiated karakia at the beginning of hui and organised waiata groups, alongside bilingual signage in offices.

Its plan, Mahere Reo, also details measures of success to keep the organisation on track, such as an increase in the uptake of te reo classes, and visibility of te reo in communications within and outside the organisation.

Again, replacing common words with te reo Ma¯ ori words, such as ‘‘waka’’ instead of ‘‘vehicle’’, along with Ma¯ ori greetings and farewells on emails were features. Using dual names for organisations or referring to itself by only its Ma¯ ori name was another feature, and providing staff with te reo classes.

In a survey by the Department of Internal Affairs, director of Te

Aka Taiwhenua and Ma¯ oriCrown Relations Julie Black said the department’s language plan was on track, with commitments such as developing bilingual cities well under way.

‘‘We are pleased with the mahi that has already been done, with six centres and iwi either having agreed or are in the process of developing their rautaki.

‘‘As a flagship external programme, Kaupapa Reorua will transition into a national roll-out with a soft launch this financial year.’’

However, Black was concerned that, without strong support and leadership, the plan and staff development would become an afterthought: ‘‘A big issue with implementation is ensuring that learning and development in this area will continue to be prioritised amongst existing workload.’’

Director Matu Ihaka, the pou whakahaere matua of language planning at Te Taura Whiri, said every organisation had made positive changes during the past

‘We are the carrot, not the stick. Te reo is the carrot. The plans are the first-year commitment.’ MATU IHAKA, POU WHAKAHAERE MATUA OF LANGUAGE PLANNING AT TE TAURA WHIRI

three years, but it was decades in the making. He declined to say which two departments of the 36 had failed to hand in their language plans, but said the results would be reported in Te Taura Whiri’s end-of-year report.

The language plans are just the first step in the Maihi Karauna, but the commission was encouraged by the intentions of the agencies, he said. ‘‘We are the carrot, not the stick. Te reo is the carrot. The plans are the firstyear commitment for them, and they are going to foster that in their departments.’’

Using Ma¯ ori kupu in place of commonly used English words was a strong step towards normalising the reo, Ihaka said, pointing out that DirectorGeneral

of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield’s use of motu, or nation, in the daily Covid-19 updates was a clear example of how to teach the public a Ma¯ ori word subtly, without clouding the main message.

‘‘By the fifth or sixth time you’ve used it, they start picking it up. You’re not teaching people language, you’re normalising te reo Ma¯ ori in your own work.’’

Maihi Karauna was designed to uphold the promises made in Te Tiriti o Waitangi to protect taonga such as te reo Ma¯ ori, and place accountability upon the Crown with clear plans of how to introduce greater use of the nation’s indigenous language.

A Colmar Brunton poll last year revealed eight out of 10 New

Zealanders value the language as a key part of our identity.

The challenge now for public services and wider New Zealand was how to convert that attitude to change and more ‘‘ko¯ rero

Ma¯ ori’’, Ihaka said.

The commission’s goal is to have 1 million conversational speakers, 85 per cent of the population valuing te reo Ma¯ ori as a key part of the identity of Aotearoa, and 150,000 Ma¯ ori over 15 speaking te reo as much as English by 2040.

And with 19 years to go, the best way to achieve that was to systematically change the attitude of central agencies towards te reo Ma¯ ori and build the foundations of everyday use, Ihaka said.