11. Question No. 11—Education (Pacific Peoples)TANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Associate Minister of Education (Pacific Peoples)Question No. 11—Education (Pacific Peoples)11. TANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Associate Minister of Education (Pacific Peoples): Meitaki maata e te Vaa Tuatua. What recent work has the Government done to enhance Pacific languages and bilingual learning in Aotearoa?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Associate Minister of Education (Pacific Peoples)): Meitaki maata e te Vaa Tuatua. As we celebrate te 'Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani I look to the Cook Islands proverb which says E 'ama rāi to te vaka"—the vaka cannot sail the ocean without the ama to give it balance working together to carry us all on that vaka across the moana to new horizons. This Cook Islands proverb underpins the work of this Government and the Pacific Languages Strategy. It paints the picture of sailing together bound together and one outrigger providing balance to the other describing the work done by Government to support Pacific languages in Aotearoa with the Minister of Education working alongside the Minister for Pacific Peoples Pacific educators and learners and Pacific communities and why this Government in Budget 2022 has invested $13 million to support the growth of the Pacific bilingual and immersion schooling workforce and the retention of the current workforce.Tangi Utikere: How is the Government supporting Pacific languages and bilingual teaching in schools?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Meitaki maata e te Vaa Tuatua. Last Sunday I opened te 'Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani Cook Islands Language Week 2022 at the Enuamanu Hall in Māngere. There I spoke of the challenges for the Cook Islands language classified as vulnerable by UNESCO with 9 percent of Cook Islands people speaking the language in Aotearoa which is why te 'Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani and the Pacific language weeks are essential to raise awareness and breathe life into the mataora of te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani its people and their identity as Cook Islanders across Aotearoa New Zealand and the vast blue Pacific continent. Our nine Pacific language weeks will allow our Pacific people to walk in two worlds and demonstrates how this Government is building cultural capacity and bilingualism and for the next generation of Pacific learners.Tangi Utikere: What do educators say about having these Pacific resources available for their students?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Meitaki maata e te Vaa Tuatua. A 2019 report on Pacific bilingual education highlighted that the New Zealand school roll is more ethnically diverse than it has ever been and there are now more Pacific students at school when compared with the Pacific population in Aotearoa. As of 2018 about 79000 students identified themselves as Pacific or nearly 11 percent of the national school roll. A bilingual teacher in that same 2019 report captured the work of Government well when they said referring to Pacific languages and cultures "If you know from where you come there is no limit to where you can go. If learners can connect and know who they are and celebrate those things that make them unique then we have a better chance to raise the achievement levels referring to Pacific languages skills and cultural intelligence.""