February 09, 2014
No future for rushed reo plan
Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta is warning that there is no guarantee Labour will carry through Pita Sharples’ proposed overhaul of the Maori language sector if it forms the next Government.
The Maori Affairs Minister is rushing through consultation on his Maori language strategy, which involves a heightened focus on regional dialects and a transfer to iwi of control over the language commission Te Taura Whiri and the Maori Broadcast Funding Agency.
Ms Mahuta says Dr Sharples has failed to make the case for the need for change in such a tight timeframe, or the wisdom of handing everything over to iwi.
"The jury will be out on whether this is the best way forward. It’s election year. There are no guarantees, certainly from Labour, that the Government’s initiatives will be carried over. Certainly we will look to the amount of interest that people have in the issue but we make no guarantees we would continue with a Government proposal such as this," she says.
The first consultation hui is being held today in Porirua.
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