February 15, 2017
Councillor’s reo post stirring pot of ignorance
The man who blew the whistle on a New Plymouth district councillor's Facebook post questioning the amount spent on Maori language says he was offended by his ignorance.
In response to a call to make Maori compulsory in schools, councillor Murray Chong claimed te reo Maori is being kept alive on a respirator, with more than $600 million a year spent to get just 18,000 proficient Maori speakers.
Dinnie Moeahu says Mr Chong hasn't attended any wananga or kura or been to places where he might see the language thriving.
"He only stirs the pot of ignorance and ignorance only breeds ignorance and ignorance also has a tendency to breed hate and hate only begets hate and no one achieves anything, not as a community, not as a people. It should not be tolerated, especially from a councillor who is representing not some people, not 80 percent of people, but all people," he says.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH DINNIE MOEAHU
Copyright © 2017, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com