Mahuta Nanaia: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 24 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19527. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):He mihi mahana he mihi matariki ki a koutou katoa. Kua tau tēnei pire i mua i te aroaro o Te Pāremata. Ki taku mōhio ko te tino whāinga he whakatū i tētahi poari whakahaere hei ārahi i ngā rautaki arā ngā kaupapa e pa ana ki Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori Te Māngai Pāho me Te Pouaka Whakaata Māori. Heoi anō i tukua tēnei kaupapa ki mua i te aroaro o Te Taraipiunara me taua hiahia kia ora ia tō tātou Reo Māori. Ki a mātou nei o Reipa he taonga Te Reo Māori mō ngāi Māori arā mō ngā tāngata katoa.[A warm be it small acknowledgment to you all. This bill has alighted before Parliament. To my understanding its principal objective is to establish a governance body to drive strategies—namely matters for discussion that relate to the Māori Language Commission the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency and Māori Television. However this matter was sent before the Waitangi Tribunal with that very desire that our Māori language remain a live one. To us of Labour the Māori language is a treasure for all Māori and for everyone.]The first reading of the Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill during Māori Language Week provides exactly the right context to assess its purpose and consequences for our indigenous language. First and foremost Labour considers Te Reo Māori to be a taonga for Māori and for all New Zealanders. The recognition of Māori as an official language in 1987 gave licence to its use in Māori settings in addition to the freedom of expression and its use in public places in schools and on official occasions. That has resulted in greater acceptance and normalisation of Te Reo Māori.This House is well attuned to the chequered history prior to the language revitalisation movement. Indeed in my grandparents’ time they carried lucid memories of being forced to speak in English. This in turn had a consequent impact on the next generation which may have had access to Māori in the home but not in the wider society they were engaging in. I count myself fortunate to have been a child on the cusp of the language revitalisation movement in the 1980s. Although bilingual education became a reality in my community in 1981 it gained momentum fully as a result of the Wai 11 claim and the subsequent Māori Language Act 1987. Those brave ambitions were championed by Māori leaders and language experts past and present who understood the significance of language culture and identity for Māori to prosper and survive in our country. Our greatest respect is accorded to all those who led this charge. Minister Sharples you are amongst that cohort. Tēnā koe.I draw the attention of members to that point in history because the 1987 Act was not a creature of Government policy. It was a direct response to a Waitangi Tribunal claim where the rights of Māori and the responsibility of the Crown were juxtaposed on the status of Te Reo Māori. The bill we are considering today is a creature of Government policy. It should pass one simple hurdle in my mind to assure those champions of Te Reo Māori that its provisions are consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Inherent in this test is the ability of the Waitangi Tribunal to consider the extent of the Crown’s ongoing fiduciary obligation to protect Te Reo as a taonga for Māori.At the completion of this first reading debate I intend to move a motion to send the bill to the tribunal for that exact purpose and for no other reason. This is a matter of principle and not a question about who allocates resources or who sits on boards. This would allow the House to consider the full implications of transferring responsibility and oversight for Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Te Māngai Pāho from the Crown to Te Mātāwai.Ki taku mōhio pai kē te tuku i ngā mana whakahaere ki ngā iwi kia kawe i te kaupapa mō tō tātou Reo ēngari he mahi anō tā Te Karauna kia tiaki i tō tātou taonga hoki. Me āta whakaarohia kia kaua Te Karauna e huri tuarā ki tōna tiakitanga mēnā ka noho te mana whakahaere ki ngā iwi.[To my understanding the governance structure would really be better placed with the tribes being responsible for our language. But the Crown will have a role to play in terms of ensuring that our treasure is looked after as well. This has to be deliberated over very carefully to ensure that the Crown does not turn its back on its guardianship responsibilities should the governance structure remain with the tribes.]It appears to Labour that there is not a strong enough expression in the bill to make clear the nature and extent of the Crown’s ongoing obligation to protect Te Reo Māori in light of the transfer of responsibilities to Te Mātāwai. As far as I can make out from clause 7 the principles guiding a Government department are specified in the bill. The unintended consequence of this provision may well be a narrowing of how the public sector participates in its role to grow and sustain Te Reo Māori if the overarching obligation of the Crown is not clear. Minister today in question time you pointed to clause 12(c) as another expression of what the Crown’s obligation might be. I might say simply that the responsibility sits with the Minister of Māori Affairs but one might ask the question why it is not the Minister of Education when the education system is critically responsible for the way in which all our children have access to Te Reo Māori.The bill also expresses that the Crown iwi and Māori responsibility for Te Reo is managed through a purchase agreement. This is a concern because purchase agreements are guided by Government policy whereas the Crown’s obligation is to recognise Te Reo as a taonga and that it should be protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. The title to the Māori Language Act 1987 stated that “Whereas in the Treaty of Waitangi the Crown confirmed and guaranteed to the Māori people among other things all their taonga: And whereas the Māori language is one such taonga.” It seems to me that there was a clear intent in drafting the 1987 legislation that the Crown retained an ongoing obligation to protect our taonga. That description is no longer in the bill that we are considering today.This bill is about the role and function of a governing body; it is not about Te Reo Māori. It is not about how the grassroots up have greater access to Te Reo. If it was there would be more obligation on the Minister of Education to play a greater role in this process because every Māori language strategy that exists amongst iwi is critically about their memoranda of understanding with the Ministry of Education. The bill does not recognise the important role that iwi and Māori play in revitalising Te Reo at a local level in our homes amongst our whānau hapū and iwi and the relationship that they want with the education institutions in their area.It is not so clear from supporting documentation where fiscal responsibility for achieving these shared objectives rests—one might presume equally between those iwi represented on Te Mātāwai other stakeholder groups and the Crown but clearly it remains a question to be answered. There is a mechanism available to the Crown to appoint Crown advisers and statutory managers if Te Mātāwai struggles to achieve its objectives or if accountability and transparency reporting falls short of expectations. In some regards this is not the full transfer of powers and responsibility that may have been anticipated—the devil is in the detail.Labour remains vigilant about the way in which Te Reo Māori can grow and thrive as a working language for all New Zealanders. This requires iwi Māori and the Crown to share an obligation for its future—an ongoing obligation. As a country we have made significant gains in language revitalisation—kōhanga reo kura kaupapa wharekura Te Ātaarangi and Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo exemplify the extent of our progress that is recognised across indigenous communities around the world yet we have so much to do. Labour does not want Te Reo Māori to be a political football based on who did what and when. This is not a lolly scramble for money or policy recognition. It matters to too many people for us to diminish the take like that.How we in this House determine a way forward for the growth promotion and protection of our language is of the utmost importance. We hesitantly support the bill going to a select committee; however we urge the Minister to consider the motion which is an opportunity at the very least to allow the Waitangi Tribunal to assess the purpose of the bill against the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.My speech is devoid of any type of political posturing. My children go to te kōhanga reo. I want them to have a lifetime of opportunity learning their language and being well educated to participate in the global community that they are living in.He maha ngā pātai i whakatō kia mārama pai ngā mema o Te Whare i ū tonu mātou he taonga tō tatou Reo Māori mō ngā tāngata katoa arā mō ngā whakatipuranga. Ko te mea nunui me pēwhea e tiaki Te Reo ka pēwhea te tuku haere i Te Reo me pēwhea Te Karauna e hāpai e tautoko i tēnei whāinga? Ko te take kia ora ai Te Reo mō tātou katoa. Tēnā tātou.[Many questions were conceived to ensure that members of the House are well informed that we were resolute in terms of our Māori language being a treasure for all people and indeed for generations. The most significant thing is how the language should be looked after how it should be offered about how the Crown should take it up and how it should support this objective. The issue is that the language be a living one for us all.Thanks to us.]