Māori Language Act 2016, ss 37, 40
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) was first established by the 1987 Māori Language Act to develop and advise on ways of giving effect to the status of te reo as an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand, and to promote it as a living language and an ordinary means of communication. The newer Act, Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016/Māori Language Act 2016, continued the Commission and its role. The Commission also grants official certificates of competency for interpreters and translators for te reo. (For interpreters and translations in court cases, see the next two sections in this chapter, “Your right to speak te reo in court” and “Translation of court documents into te reo”.)
Māori Language Act 2016, ss 17–19
The 2016 Act also established a new independent body, Te Mātāwai, to represent iwi and Māori in providing input into Māori language strategy. Te Mātāwai provides leadership in promoting the health of te reo for iwi and Māori, including at the community level, and also supports and influences government initiatives aimed at promoting te reo.
Note: The Māori Language Act 2016 carried over basically unchanged the rights contained in the previous Act, the Māori Language Act 1987. The 2016 Act did, however, make some changes to the organisational framework for promoting te reo.