Stark differences in mandatory te reo Māori plans from government departments and agencies

Friday, 17 September 2021

Three years ago, the much vaunted Maihi Karauna, the Crown’s Strategy for Māori Language Revitalisation was launched. Cabinet instructed all of its government departments and agencies to develop plans to boost the normalisation of te reo Māori through their services.

The deadline has passed and the results are mixed.

Stuff 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 Māori (the Māori 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.

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

Others said their plans were still under review with the Māori Language Commission.

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

Just seven were prepared to share their plans. Of those, the Cancer Control Agency has made their 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 Māhere Reo Māori, in September 2020, ahead of deadline.

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

The ministry’s commitment includes using kupu Māori for 30 common words such as pahi (bus), pūtea (finance), kutarere (scooter), and motokā (car), as well as using Māori greetings and sign-offs in all its communications.

In a statement, 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 nine-page plan, Te Tautaki Reo Māori, 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 Māori 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 Māori enables Oranga Tamariki staff to support positive cultural identity, belonging and connection for tamariki Māori 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 usage English words with te reo Māori words, such as using “waka” instead of “vehicle”, along with Māori greetings and farewells on all emails were features of the plan. Using dual names for organisations or referring to itself by only its Māori name was another feature, as well as providing staff with te reo classes.

In a survey conducted by the Department of Internal Affairs, director of Te Aka Taiwhenua and Māori-Crown 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.

“Resourcing remains a critical challenge, as is attracting and retaining appropriately skilled staff.”

Director Matu Ihaka, the pou whakahaere matua of language planning at Te Taura Whiri, said every organisation had made positive changes in the past 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,” Ihaka said. “Te reo is the carrot.

“The plans are the first-year commitment for them, and they are going to foster that in their departments.”

Using Māori kupu in place of commonly used English words was a strong step towards normalising the reo, he said, pointing out that Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield’s use of motu, or nation, in the midday Covid-19 updates was a clear example of how to teach the public a Māori word subtly, without clouding the main message.

“By the fifth or sixth time you’ve used it, they start picking it up,” Ihaka said.

“You’re not teaching people language, you’re normalising te reo Māori 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 Māori, and place accountability upon the Crown with clear plans of how to introduce greater use of the nation’s indigenous language.

A 2020 Colmar Brunton poll revealed eight out of 10 New Zealanders value the language as a key part of New Zealand’s identity.

The challenge now for public services and wider New Zealand was how to convert that attitude to change and more “kōrero Māori”, Ihaka said.

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

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

“Although we would like to change the world now, we are happy that they have committed to changing.”