Korako Nuk: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKorako Nuk: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 09 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9559. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]NUK KORAKO (National):E mihi atu ki koe e Te Mana Whakawā ā tēnei te mihi o te mema o Te Whare Paremata e huri noa i Te Whare me mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. He hōnore tēnei mōkū ki te tū ki konei hei Heamana o Te Komiti mō ngā Take Māori he tūraka kua noho au ina tekau mā ono mārama kua hipa. I roto i te wā kua wānaka tā mātou komiti i ētahi pire he nui tonu. Ki a mātou he mea nui rāwa atu ngā pire whakatau kerēme Tiriti. He whakatikatika i ngā mahi o mua hei awhina ki te whakatipu i te ōhakao Te Iwi Māori. E whakapono ai au ko tēnei te pire nui rawa atu kua wānaka mātou. Mā tēnei hanganga ture ka rerekē ngā kawenga mō te ora o Te Reo Māori. Kia tae ki te pānui tuatoru o te pire ka kōrero whānui au mō ngā painga hoia i te rā nei ko taku hiahia kia kōrero mō ngā āhuataka o te pire me te huarahi i whāia kia tae ai tātou ki tēnei pānuitaka tuarua.Ko tētahi tirohaka o te pire nei he mea auaha i te wā o Tā Pita Sharples. Nāna hoki i mau mai ki Te Whare i te rā i puta tana kauhau mutuka. I taku kuhunga mai ki Te Pāremata ka eke hei heamana o Te Komiti mō ngā Take Māori kite tonu au i te nui o te mahi nei me te mea kia tika tonu. Kua rongo ki ngā tohetohe nei mēnā ko te pire nei te huarahi tika kāore rānei. Ahakoa he aha te kaupapa ka tohea tonutia te huarahi tika hei whāingahia ko te mea ki ahau kia whānui kia hōhonu ngā whiriwhiringa i te pire nei.I te hui tuatahi ake o Te Komiti mō Ngā Take Māori o tēnei Te Pāremata e rima tekau mā tahi ka puta tā mātou pānui kia tukua mai he kōrero tāpaetaka. Ka tono āwhina mātou i Te Puni Kōkiri mō ngā tono i whiwhi rātou me ngā whitiwhitinga kōrero i tū. Waihoki ka hoki Te Minita mō ngā Take Māori ki te titiro anō i te pire nei. I te mārama o Tīhema i tērā tauka whakatū e ia Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i Te Reo Māori. Ko te mahi a tēnei rōpū he whakatakoto whakaaro motuhake mō te pire me ngā rerekētaka ka taka mai. I noho motuhake Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i Te Reo Māori i ngā mahi a te komiti. Hoia i puritia e mātou ā mātou whiriwhiringa mō te pire kia mutu rā anō ngā mahi a Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri. Nō te mārama o Hune i tērā tau ka tae mai te pūrongo a Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri ki te aroaro o Te Minita ā nō te mārama o Oketopa ka whakaaetia ngā panonitaka e Te Rūnanga Kāwanataka. I wānaka i tautoko te komiti i ēnei panonitaka.E whai iho nei ko ngā whakarerekētaka matua: tuatahi kua takoto ki te pire he kōrero i Te Reo Māori o ngā kōrero Ingarihi. He mea tino nui rawa atu tēnei kotahi anake te pire kua takoto katoa ngā kōrero i Te Reo Māori me Te Reo Ingarihi hoia ko tēnei te wā tuatahi me te pire tuatahi ka noho rite te kaha o tēnā reo me tēnā reo. Ki te tohea te tikanga o waenganui i te tuhinga ā-Reo Māori me te tuhinga ā-reo Ingarihi ka arongia ko te tuhinga Reo Māori. Tuarua tērā tētahi atu whakarerekētaki nui ko te whiti e mea ai he taoka Te Reo Māori o ngā iwi me Te Māori ko te reo taketake ia o Aotearoa he mea nui rawa ki tēnei whenua. Tuatoru i te tuhinga tuatahitaka o Te Ture e mea ana kia tangohia Te Taura Whiri me Te Mangai Pāho tā rāua tūraka hei hinonga Karauna kia noho mai hei hinonga ā-ture noa iho. Ka tūtohu mātou kia kuhuna he panonitaka ki te pupuri i te tūraka o ēnei hinonga hei hinonga Karauna. Mā tēnei ka noho tonu rāua i raro i Te Ture mō Ngā Pūtea Tūmatanui. Ko ngā mahi me ngā whakapaunga putea ka noho tonu i raro i Te Pāremata.Tuawhā ko tētahi atu mea kua tūtohu mātou kia panonitia ki ahau he mea nui tēnei ko te whakatū kia rua ngā rautaki mō Te Reo Māori. Ka noho a Maihi Karauna ki raro i ngā kawenga o Te Karauna ko tāna he titiro ki ngā kaupapa ā-motu. He kōrero nui tēnei kei roto i te pire. E ai ki ētahi mā tēnei e whakakapi te whāwhārua i te tuhinga tuatahi o te pire arā kei Te Karauna te kawenga kia whakatairangatia kia tiakina Te Reo Māori. Ko tērā atu o ngā rautaki kīia ai ko Maihi Māori. Kei Te Mātāwai ōna kawenga mō ngā iwi Māori me Te Maori. Ka noho ēnei rautaki e rua hei whakaatu atu he mea nui kia rite kia tika te pire ki ngā taha katoa. Ka whakahokia e te pire te tūraka o Te Māori hei kaitiaki o te taoka kamehameha.Hāunga tērā he mea nui tonu kia kaua te pire e unu i te kawenga o Te Karauna nāna nei Te Tiriti i waitohu ki te tiaki me te hāpai i Te Reo. Whakapono au nā runga i ngā whakahounga ka noho te pire ki te wāhi tika e rite ai ēnei whainga nui e rua. Kei te whakapūmautia te kawenga o Te Karauna mā tētahi whakahounga ki te kaupapa a Te Mātāwai te wāhi e mea ai “Te Minita mō ngā Take Māori” ka hurihia ki “Ngā Minita o Te Karauna.” Mā tēnei e whakaatu atu ēhara i te mea ka noho ngā kawenga o Te Karauna ki runga i ngā pakihiwi o Te Minita kotahi ēngari kei runga i Te Kāwanatanga katoa.Tērā anō whakahounga kei pōhēhē ētahi he mea iti noa hoia ki ahau he mea nui te kake ake i te tokomaha kei runga i Te Mātāwai atu i te tekau mā rua ki te tekau mā toru. Nā te tapiritanga o tētahi māngai mō te hunga Māori i ngā tāone ka piki te rahi ki te tekau mā toru. Ahakoa te nuinga o ngā tākata o Te Mātāwai kei reira hei kanohi mō ngā iwi me aro tonu tātou ki te nui o tātou tae rawa ki te hunga rakatahi kei te noho ki ngā tāone. He nui rātou kei te noho tawhiti i ō rātou iwi kua motu rānei te here ki te iwi. Ahakoa tērā kia whai wāhi tonu rātou hei kaitiaki o Te Reo Māori.Me kī ko ngā reo o te rakatahi nui rawa atu i roto i tēnei mahi. E kore pea e nui ngā rerekētaka i roto i te wā poto. Ēngari ki te tika tēnei mahi ko ā tātou tamariki ka whiwhi i tētahi reo ora reo kaha reo kōrerotia. E mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa.[This member of the House acknowledges you Mr Assistant Speaker and all of you throughout the House. It is an honour for me to stand here as chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee a position I have held for the past 16 months during which time our committee has considered some very important bills. Treaty of Waitangi settlement bills are of great importance to us as they address past grievances and assist the economic growth of Māoridom. I believe this to be perhaps the most significant bill we have considered. This new legislation will alter responsibilities in regard to Māori language revitalisation. When it reaches its third reading I will elaborate on the benefits. Suffice to say today I will simply discuss aspects of the bill and the process we followed to bring it to second reading stage.One perspective is that the bill was created during the time Sir Pita Sharples was here and he introduced it on the day he gave his valedictory speech. When I entered Parliament and was elected as chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee it was obvious to me that this was a big piece of work and we had to get it right. There was already dissent about whether the approach was right or not. Regardless of what approach would be followed it would be debated so it was apparent to me the consultation on this bill would have to be wide and comprehensive.At the very first meeting of the Māori Affairs Committee of the 51stParliament we called for submissions. We sought advice from Te Puni Kōkiri on the submissions it had received and the consultation it had undertaken. In addition the Minister for Māori Development decided to take another look at this bill. In December that year he established the Māori Language Advisory Group. The purpose of this group was to provide independent advice on the bill and on any changes that emerged. The Māori Language Advisory Group work was independent of the work carried out by the committee. However we did put our consideration of the bill on hold until the advisory group had completed its activities. In June 2015 the advisory group reported back to the Minister and in October the changes were approved by Cabinet. After careful consideration the committee also supported the changes.The key changes are as follows. Firstly a Te Reo translation of the English has been inserted in the bill. This is very significant as there has been only one other bill where the text is in both Māori and English; however this is the first bill where both languages are of equal validity. If the meaning between the Māori and English is contested it is the Māori version that will take precedence. Secondly another significant change is the line that refers to the Māori language as being a treasure of Māori tribes and of Maoridom; it is the indigenous language of New Zealand and valued by the nation. Thirdly in the first draft of the bill it stated that the Māori Language Commission and the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency would lose their status as Crown entities to become statutory entities only. We recommended that the entities retain their status as Crown entities and in so doing remain under the Public Finance Act where their activities and expenditure would remain under the Crown.Fourthly another thing we recommended and which I believe is significant was the establishment of two Te Reo Māoristrategies. The Maihi Karauna—Crown Strategy—will remain the responsibility of the Crown and focus on national-level issues. This is prominent in the bill and some say it covers the gaps in the first draft of the bill in terms of the Crown being responsible for promoting and protecting the Māori language. The other strategy is referred to as the Maihi Māori which will be the responsibility ofTe Mātāwai on behalf of Māori tribes and Māoridom. These dual strategies represent the important balancing act that is required in this bill. The bill reiterates the role of Māori as guardian of the great treasure.That aside it is important that the bill does not allow the Crown to relinquish its responsibility as one who signed the Treaty to protect and promote the Māori language. The responsibility of the Crown is reinforced in an amendment to the purpose of Te Mātāwai where “the Minister of Māori Affairs” is replaced by “Ministers of the Crown”. This ensures that the Crown responsibilities are not left on the shoulders of one Minister alone but on all of the Government.One further amendment which some may consider minor but to me is quite significant is to bump up the membership of Te Mātāwai from 12 to 13. This change results from the addition of a representative for urban Māori. Although most of Te Mātāwai membership will represent traditional tribal groupings credence still needs to be afforded to the broader urban and youth population many of whom are displaced from traditional tribal regions and populations. Despite this they still have a stake as guardians of the Māori language.It could be said that the voice of the youth is perhaps the most important throughout this process. Dramatic changes are not expected overnight; however if done correctly our children will inherit a thriving strong spoken language. I acknowledge you all.]