Alternate formats in te reo Māori to support accessibility and inclusion for tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā (Māori disabled) have been created for the 2023 Census, Stats NZ said today.

Audio files and a 2023 Census Easy Read guide have been created in te reo Māori and English, to give Māori more choice over how they access information about the census.

Audio files are created by reading content aloud and describing images or illustrations, and the Easy Read guide provides illustrated step-by-step information for how to fill in the census form.

Creating English Audio files is a straightforward process, with synthetic voices readily available for people reliant on technology like screen readers. However, the process for Māori narration is much more complex. We do not yet have a synthetic voice that can pronounce te reo Māori accurately, so the Audio files for the census had to be created in a studio using human narration by Stats NZ staff.

Stats NZ Principal Advisor for Accessibility, Ronelle Baker (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāpuhi), said that people often have to choose between being Māori or being disabled, because there just are not enough resources that prioritise both culture and accessibility.

“By providing accessible materials in te reo Māori, we are responding to the needs and rights of tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā in a more tangible way,” Ronelle Baker said.

“We worked with People First to create Easy Read materials in te reo Māori and have created Māori Audio files in-house after hearing about the technology challenges our kāpō (blind, vision impaired, and deafblind) whānau have when accessing te reo Māori.”

Kāpō Māori Aotearoa Chairperson, Nigel Ngahiwi (Ngāti Maniapoto), says their organisation has been working towards a text to speech technology solution for te reo Māori for a long time.

“Having Audio files in te reo Māori is something we are very passionate about. While a Māori screen reader is still a way off, this is what our people need to achieve greater access to Te Ao Māori,” Nigel Ngahiwi said.

“The census reader has a beautiful mita (rhythm). It is nice and clear, and easy to understand.”

The census website is completely bilingual, and people can complete their census in te reo Māori or English. Information about the census is available in 27 other languages, including New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) videos. Information is also available in other formats, such as Braille and Large Print.

People who have not yet completed their census forms are encouraged to do so now. The alternate formats and language support content is available on the census website at www.census.govt.nz (via the Languages toggle at the top right of webpages) and at www.census.govt.nz/alternate-formats/.

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