Māori language revitalisation body Te Mātāwai and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kōtahi are teaming up to make joint decisions on the next set of bilingual traffic signs.
Te Mātāwai co-chair Reikura Kahi, who will sit on the partnership rōpū with fellow board member Mātai Smith, says their focus will be to ensure iwi Māori views are heard and acted on so that iwi and Māori identity is enhanced at the local level.
The bilingual signs will be implemented as new projects are progressed or as older or damaged signs need to be replaced.
Feedback on signs will be sought from a wider iwi/Māori audience, the public and from local government, who will be responsible for implementing the signs on local roads.
Director of Land Transport Kane Patena says Waka Kōtahi’s vision of contributing to having te reo Māori seen, heard and spoken is aligned with Te Mātāwai.
He says numerous countries use bilingual signs and no evidence was found of such signage increasing the number of people being killed or seriously injured.
