A strategic revitalisation budget for te reo Māori
Pānui Pāpāho | News Release
31 Haratua 2019 |May
2018
He tahua Pūtea rautaki mō te Whakarauoratanga Reo
Māori
Kua mihia e Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori ngā
nekehanga pūtea ki te whakarite i te pūtea tautoko haere
tonu, haere tonu mō ngā mahi whakatakoto mahere reo,
whakapiki hoki i te tokomaha o te hunga kaiwhakamāori whai
tohu kaiwhakamāori ā-tuhi, ā-waha.
I roto i Te Pūtea 2019, kua tohua he pūtea tāpiri o te $2.460 miriona ia tau, ia tau ki Te Taura Whiri, me te $1.5 miriona o taua pūtea he mea kua toha kē mai i ngā tau e rua kua taha ake nei, nā, ināianei kua whakaritea kia haere tonu
E kī ana te Tumuaki o Te Taura Whiri a Ngahiwi Apanui, he mea rautaki te tahua.
“He mea tautoko e Te Taura Whiri te Whakamaheretanga Reo, engari ko ngā whakahaere, ko rātou kē te hunga kei te hanga i ngā mahere, ko rātou anō te hunga kei te whakatinana i aua tikanga. Kua oti i Te Rūnanga te whakatau hei te mutunga o te tau 2021 me whai mahere reo ngā tari kāwanatanga katoa. E tautokotia ana hoki e mātou ngā whakahaere rāngai hapori me ngā pūtahi i te rāngai tūmatanui whānui tonu.
“Ahakoa kāore ōna pūtea mō te ratonga whakamāori, ka whakatenatena tonu Te Taura Whiri i te hunga matatau ki te kōrero Māori, koia te paerewa e tino hiahiatia ana, kia eke ki ngā taumata e tika ana kia whakawhiwhia te tangata ki te tohu whakamāori ā-tuhi, ā-waha i raro i Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016.
“Tāria te wā ka piki te hiahia mō ngā ratonga whakamāori, mā mātou ngā paerewa e pupuri, e hāpai tonu. I roto i tōna whakarauoratanga he mea nui kia puritia te kounga o te reo Māori, kia mau, kia puāwai. E mātua whakarite ana ā mātou pūnaha whakamana tohu kaiwhakamāori ka tutuki tēnei.
“He tohu ēnei
whakatau pūtea o te tīmatanga a te whakatinanatanga haere
o te Rautaki reo Māori a te Karauna, te Maihi Karauna, he
mea i whakaterea e te Minita Whanaketanga Māori a Nanaia
Mahuta tata ki te tīmatanga o te tau. Ko tōna wairua, ko
tōna koronga mō te tau 2040 ka eke ki te miriona tāngata,
ngā tāngata nō Aotearoa e mōhio ana ki te kōrero Māori
ki tōna taumata taketake.
“Kua tohua hoki i Te Pūtea tētahi paku pūtea mō te aromatawai me te arotake. Mā konei e whai mōhio ngā whakatau ki ngā rauemi e hiahiatia ana hei tautoko i te whakarauoratanga ā haere ake nei.
“E mōhiotia ana te whakataukī “mā ōna hua ka mōhiotia te rākau” i te ao Māori, i te ao Pākehā hoki. Mōhio pai Te Taura Whiri ka tahuri mai te kāwanatanga, te iwi Māori, ka mutu, katoa mai, katoa mai e ngākaunui ana ki te reo ake o Aotearoa ki a mātou ki te kite he pēhea rā ngā hua. Kua titikaha te ngākau ki te kī atu, āe mārika, tareka ana".
A strategic revitalisation budget for te reo Māori
The Māori Language Commission has welcomed budget moves to provide on-going support for language planning and to increase the number of certified translators and interpreters.
Budget 2019 has allocated additional
funding of $2.460m per year to the Commission, including
$1.5 million already allocated in the past two years and now
made on-going.
The Chief Executive of the Commission,
Ngahiwi Apanui says the funding is strategic.
“Language
Planning is something the Commission supports, but it is
other organisations that actually make the plans and put
them into practice. Cabinet has decided that by the end of
2021 all public service departments will have language
plans. We are also supporting private and community sector
organisations and agencies in the wider state
sector.
“And while the Commission is not funded to
provide a translation service, it is able to encourage more
fluent speakers of Māori to reach the high standards
required for certification as a translator or interpreter
under the Māori Language Act 2016.
“We are
expecting a big increase in demand for translation services
and will be upholding standards. It is important that as the
Māori language revitalises its quality is maintained and
enhanced. Our systems to licensing translators ensures
this.
“These funding decisions mark the beginning of
the implementation of the Crown’s Māori Language Strategy
announced by the Minister of Māori Development Nanaia
Matuta earlier in the year. The intention is that by 2040
there will be a million New Zealanders able to speak Māori
to at least a basic level.
“The budget has also made a small allocation for monitoring and evaluation. This will inform future decisions on the resources needed to support revitalisation.
“The proverb “the tree is known by its fruits” is well known in Māori and English. The Commission is conscious that the government, the Māori community and all who love New Zealand’s own language will be looking to us for results. We are confident we can deliver”.