'Have compassion and commitment to te reo' Committee urged

Te Mātāwai appeared before the Māori Affairs Select Committee, taking the opportunity to brief the mostly new MPs about our mahi for iwi Māori as an Independent Entity, and give a preview to our new Statement of Intent 2024 -2027.

The Māori Affairs Committee looks at business related to Māori Affairs and Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. Government agencies normally have an annual review for financial scrutiny and performance for report back to Parliament.

As an Independent Statutory Entity, Te Mātāwai was not required to attend but chose to attend the briefing last month to collaborate and work better with the Crown on Māori language outcomes. It also wanted Parliamentary Members to hear how critical it is that whānau Māori lead reo revitalisation and are resourced to do so.  
 
“We are the faces of hapori, iwi and hapū - and we are led by those communities and whānau. Our main focus is ‘kia ūkaipō anō te reo’ and we understand that more than anything, if the language is spoken within the home by parents and tamariki, our language will thrive,” said co-chair Reikura Kahi.  
 
“We need this Government to have courage and belief, to have compassion and commitment to this language - te reo Māori. The ancestral knowledge passed down from our ancestors belongs to this land that we can all connect to, which makes Aotearoa New Zealand,” said Haki Tuaupiki, Ngā Paemanu o Tainui.