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Support for the appointment of Willie Jackson as the urban Maori representative on Te Matawai, the new board responsible for developing the Maori response to language revitalisation.
There has been criticism that the Radio Waatea and mainstream broadcaster does not have the reo expertise needed for the job.
But Kawe Roes, who hosts Maori Television current affairs show Kawe Korero, says even though Mr Jackson is not a fluent speaker, he has energy and ideas he can bring to the task.
"Our language is in danger. There are less than 1 percent of our people who can speak it fluently, let alone speak a few phrases. Are we going to continuously put down people who want to help with our language skills even though their language skills may not be great. The way I was raised and taught, me poipoi te tangata, me manaaki te tangata, we need to care for, we need to look after these people who want to give value to our language and want to help it out," he says.
The other 12 members of Te Mataawai are still to be selected by iwi and other stakeholders, so it could be several months before it starts work.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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