December 31, 2025

Professor Tom Roa Honoured with CNZM for Lifetime Service to Te Reo Māori and Mātauranga Māori

Matthew Tukaki Posted On December 31, 2025

Renowned Māori academic, language advocate and orator Professor Thomas Charles (Tom) Roa has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for his outstanding services to te reo Māori and education.

Professor Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato, Ngāti Apakura) has spent more than 50 years at the forefront of the Māori language revitalisation movement, shaping national policy, public understanding, and academic scholarship around te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori.

Professor Roa is widely recognised as a founding figure in the modern Māori language movement. As a young leader, he played a prominent role in the historic 1972 Māori Language Petition, which called on the Crown to recognise te reo Māori as a living language worthy of protection and use.

That movement laid the foundations for:

The recognition of te reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa
The establishment of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
The creation of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, now celebrated nationally and internationally

Professor Roa has remained a strong public advocate for te reo Māori ever since, using his voice as a nationally respected orator, academic and kaumātua to challenge attitudes and advance language normalisation.

Professor Roa is a Professor in Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao – the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato, where he has taught, mentored and inspired generations of tauira.

He is internationally recognised for his scholarship in:

Translation theory and practice
Māori–English and English–Māori translation
Māori linguistics

His work has contributed to global discussions on Indigenous language systems, particularly the challenges of translating Indigenous knowledge, values and worldviews into colonial legal, academic and policy frameworks.

Professor Roa’s scholarship consistently affirms mātauranga Māori as a living, evolving knowledge system, rather than something frozen in the past.

Beyond academia, Professor Roa has played a critical role in helping institutions engage more meaningfully with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. His contributions to:

Kaupapa Māori research
Education governance
Tikanga-based practice

have shaped how government agencies, universities and organisations understand their responsibilities to Māori.

His ability to bridge te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā has made him a trusted advisor and leader in spaces where tikanga, law and policy intersect.

Professor Roa has served on the governance boards of Waikato-Tainui, Maniapoto and the Apakura Runanga Trust, contributing to iwi development, cultural revitalisation and strategic leadership.

In 2016, he was appointed as a Crown member of the Waitangi Tribunal, where his deep knowledge of te reo Māori, tikanga and history has been invaluable in hearing and reporting on Treaty claims.

He has also served on:

The Māori Heritage Council
The New Zealand Māori Tourism Board
As a Principal Investigator with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga
And with Te Pūnaha Matatini, contributing Māori knowledge perspectives to complex systems science

For many Māori, Professor Tom Roa’s CNZM is a recognition not just of individual achievement, but of a lifetime dedicated to the survival, strength and flourishing of te reo Māori.

His work reminds the nation that language is not simply a tool of communication, but the foundation of:

Identity
Whakapapa
Tikanga
And tino rangatiratanga

Professor Roa’s appointment as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit acknowledges his enduring leadership, scholarship and service to Māori and to Aotearoa.

At a time when te reo Māori continues to face both growth and resistance, his life’s work stands as a powerful testament to what sustained commitment, courage and vision can achieve.