Better Services For Mäori Speakers

24 May 2002

Police and Corrections will be among those government agencies set to improve services to Mäori speaking clients and relationships with iwi Mäori when a pilot series of language planning workshops ends on Wednesday. (29 May 2002)

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Mäori (Mäori Language Commission), Chief Executive Haami Piripi says staff who attend the workshops on 28-29 May will gain an insight into incorporating iwi into their plans, look at international models and be given practical advice on how to align their language plan with the recruitment and staff training systems of their respective organisations. As a result the delivery of services to Mäori communities will be greatly enhanced.

Staff from Statistics New Zealand, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Defence, National Library, Department of Conservation, Department of Corrections, New Zealand Fire Service, Education Review Office and Te Puni Kökiri will attend the workshops.

"The timing of the conclusion of this pilot augurs well for Mäori as it is happening during the period of Matariki and the Mäori New Year. The training will enable those agencies who participated to develop and implement their plans with the support of nature and the strong planning forces which are traditionally inherent with Matariki.

"Despite the fact that we have been advocating and working with government agencies to implement Mäori language plans for over a decade, we have been surprised to find that there are still a number of agencies without a bilingual title, another indication of further work that needs to happen in this area," says Haami.

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