Macron for E tū a Companies Office first

E tū has welcomed the move by the Companies Office to soon enable incorporated societies like the union to use the macron when they register their names.

Since 2015, E tū has been registered as ETU because the registry system doesn’t allow the use of lower-case letters or macrons for most registered entities.

However, this will be allowed for incorporated societies and charitable trusts from the end of September, which E tū President, Muriel Tunoho says is very welcome.

“That’s great news,” says Muriel.

“Macrons change the meaning of words in te reo Māori. The absence of a macron can change the true meaning of a Māori word or it can be mis-interpreted.”

Muriel says the union had persistently sought to register its correct name – macron included since its merger in 2015 and eventually appealed to the Māori Language Commission Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori for help.

As a result, E tū has been issued with a special incorporation certificate with the name E TŪ – macron included – which is a first for the country.

Muriel says knowing other incorporated societies will soon be able to register using macrons as of right is cause for celebration during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/ Maori Language Week.

“This is a win/win for everyone,” says Muriel.

“We are halfway there and it’s good we have our certificate. Hopefully others will soon as well and we’ll see the normalising of macrons, rather than just in special cases such as ours.”

The convenor of te Runanga o E tū, Sharryn Barton says it’s time the Companies Office recognised its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“I know we’ve got a special dispensation to have our language correctly recognised but it’s a one-off. It should be there for everyone who needs to use it,” says Sharryn.

"We need to see the guaranteed protections of taonga, which include te reo Māori under the Articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, are practised by the Crown and it's entities,” she says.

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