In this putanga | issue of Reowatch:

This month has reminded me how far ahead the community of Māori speakers is in its thinking, and how much the halls of Parliament don’t know about our lives. As I sat in Select Committee hearings I realised politicians don’t know Māori speakers actually exist in this nation. They think that everyone does their life in English, full stop. As I listened to the oral submissions and questions, I learned people still think the te reo Māori they see (and hate) is for them - but it isn’t. I think a key issue with the language planning and policy we have is that is wasn’t communicated to citizens well enough about what it was supposed to do - make us bilingual again.

I was disappointed in the quality of the questions from the Committee - I was asked as to whether I thought te reo Māori should be protected. Really? Are we still all the way back there there? We should be moving on from that and barrelling down towards becoming a fully trilingual nation. It’s 2026. Parliament is still drawing a cart on a horse.

A big piece of news to update you on is the Māori Affairs Committee released their annual review reports for 2024 this month on Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori and Te Puni Kōkiri. Oddly, only Te Taura Whiri received a heavy critique for its work to bring the Maihi Karauna strategy to life, but the strategy is actually administered by Te Puni Kōkiri (even though it probably shouldn’t be). I’m unsure why Te Puni Kōkiri weren’t critiqued for their performance as the leading agency. The more I learn about the intersection between te reo Māori and Parliament, the more I learn there really is no process applied, and anything goes! Word has it Select Committee found that one of the main goals (to have 150,000 speakers of Māori under 15 years of age by 2040) is not on track. I’d add another goal to the mix - the one that requires the public sector to be bilingual by 2040. One million speakers though? I think we can do it!

The Maihi Karauna strategy that expired in 2023 is still in use, but it’s not been refreshed for three years. Work is underway and it’s scheduled to be finished this year. That’s very welcome relief for those of us under the thumb of political interference in issues surrounding te reo Māori.

March brought some interesting aspects to the world of te reo Māori - read on to see what I said in my oral submission on the English Language Bill, about your Uncle’s outburst in Parliament and the next pursuit to remove te reo Māori from the lives of everyday New Zealanders. All the while, remember we need to grow our use of te reo Māori through it, everyday, lest we actually fall behind!

Until next time, kōrerotia, waiatatia.

Vincent Ieni Olsen-Reeder

Kaietita, Reowatch