MANA wants Te Reo Māori petition fulfilled

Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau
Annette Sykes, MANA candidate for Waiariki
Te Hāmua Nikora, MANA candidate for Ikaroa Rāwhiti
Sunday 14 September 2014

"More than four decades have passed and the petition calling for Te Reo Māori in schools still remains a dream unfulfilled" said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, on the forty second anniversary of the Te Reo Māori petition which was tabled in Parliament on 14 September, 1972.

"Not only is 14 September now known as Te Rā o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Day, in acknowledgement of the petition being tabled, it's also an occasion to remember and honour all those involved in getting the petition started, who travelled the country for six months moving from hui to hui to collect the 30,000 signatures, and the final march onto Parliament grounds to present it" said Annette Sykes, MANA candidate for Waiariki.

"We honour the members of Ngā Tamatoa and Te Reo Māori Society who got the petition up and running. In particular, we pay tribute to Hana Jackson who presented the petition on behalf of the 30,000 petitioners and Te Kapunga (Koro) Dewes who conceived the idea" said Ms Sykes.

"For MANA, we want the vision of the petitioners made a reality and have campaigned strongly for Te Reo Māori to become a core curriculum subject at all levels of schooling" said Te Hāmua Nikora, MANA candidate for Ikaroa Rāwhiti. "Te reo Māori is a taonga that needs to be embraced by all New Zealanders so that it is a living language in our communities."

MANA recently launched their Te Reo Māori policy in Parliament. See www.mana.org.nz for further details.

ENDS

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