Te Tai – Treaty Settlement Stories

Story: Te Mana o te Reo Māori

Government departments involved in WAI11

Ministry of Justice, State Services Commission, Ministry of Education and Te Puni Kōkiri
 

The Ministry (formerly Department) of Justice has had a long involvement in matters relating to the Māori language. It advises the government on the administration of laws and the operation of courts. The decision of a judge to deny Te Ringa Mangu Dun Mihaka the right to speak Māori in a courtroom was one of key issues raised in the te reo Māori claim to the Waitangi Tribunal (WAI11).

Recommendations from the Tribunal became law in the Māori Language Act 1987, which confirmed the right to speak Māori in courts and a wide range of tribunals. These rights have been upheld and extended in later legislation. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Public Service (formerly State Services) Commission (PSC) has a leadership role in the state sector. It gave evidence during the te reo Māori claim about the public service and the lack of opportunity for Māori-speaking citizens to interact with government agencies in their preferred language. The WAI11 recommendations included a substantial number aimed at improving the status of te reo Māori in the state sector. Some were implemented. The PSC now has a role in ensuring that the modern state sector implements the Maihi Karauna, the Crown’s Māori language strategy.

The Ministry (then Department) of Education was the focus of a great deal of attention during the WAI11 hearings, and many recommendations resulted. While there was recognition of some past support for the Māori language, the history of repression and rejection of te reo Māori in schools during the first seven decades of the 20th century was widely canvassed.

Today the Ministry of Education makes a major contribution to language revitalisation by producing material to facilitate the teaching of te reo Māori and other subjects in the Māori language. The Ministry is the biggest single source of ‘lexical expansion’, the creation of new words and terms for things and concepts not previously expressed in Māori. The system it oversees includes Māori tertiary institutions, schools, pre-schools and kōhanga reo.

Te Puni Kōkiri is the government’s principal policy adviser on matters to do with the Māori language. All draft legislation that affects te reo Māori is looked at by TPK before going to Cabinet. TPK seeks advice from agencies such as the Ministry of Education and the Māori Language Commission.

Since WAI11, much has changed in the state sector. These agencies are still in place, and new bodies with a strong Māori language role such as the Ministry for Culture and Heritage have been created. As the Department of Internal Affairs oversees National Library and Archives New Zealand, this work is now coordinated though the Maihi Karauna, the Crown’s Māori Language Strategy.


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