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The new chair of the Maori affairs select committee says it’s important that Maori feel included in the discussion about the future of their reo.
The committee has reopened submissions on a bill to replace the protections of the Maori Language Act with a new iwi-driven structure.
Te Maataawai would oversee the Maori language commission, Maori broadcast funding agency and eventually other bodies involved in language revitalisation.
Tutehounuku Korako says successive Governments have accepted the Maori language is a taonga and they have responsibilities towards its growth and development.
He says a lot of work has been done on the bill, but some Maori may have missed a chance to comment in the lead up to the election.
"We don’t want to relitigate a lot of stuff that has been done but we do want to have time to revisit it all, and while we are doing that there is an opportunity to open the submissions process again." he says.
Nuk Korako says the committee will start hearing oral submissions before the December 5 deadline for the new submissions.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TUTEHOUNUKU (NUK) KORAKO CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjM3MDc=
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