September 05, 2016
Statutory board wants action on words
Auckland’s Independent Maori Statutory Board has welcomed Auckland Council’s adoption of a te reo Maori policy, but says the implementation plan is light on detail.
Deputy chair Glenn Wilcox says the board identified the need for a Maori language Policy in its first Te Tiriti o Waitangi Audit, but it has taken four years to be developed.
That is indicative of the speed the 24 recommendations from the audit are being addressed, with only five signed off so far.
He says the pace should pick up after the recent establishment of Te Toa Takitini, a cross-council executive working group to respond to matters Maori.
The language policy is critical if the council is to deliver on the outcome it promises in the new Auckland Plan, that a Maori identity is Auckland’s point of difference in the world.
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