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November 20, 2023
No dialing back on spread of te reo Māori
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On November 20, 2023
Download AudioThe chief executive of the Māori Language Commission, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, says some public sector agencies are jumping the gun because of conjecture about the new Government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has moved to drop te reo Māori from correspondence before new ministers are sworn in.
Ngahiwi Apanui says it’s hypocritical to use Māori culture for trade deals while limiting its use internally.
He says a 2021 survey by the commission showed 3 out of 4 public servants care about te reo Māori and its use in their workplace.
“These are the things that can’t be dialed back. And when you start dialing them back, that’s when you start getting staff rebelling, the 300 or so staff from MFAT who railed against the fact that te reo Māori had been stripped from that cabinet paper, or from that ministerial paper,” he says.
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