MEDIA STATEMENT

3 OCTOBER 2014

Māori Party Welcomes Te Reo Māori Report

Māori Party Co-leader, Te Ururoa Flavell, has welcomed today’s release of the report, Ka mārō te aho, ka tau te korowai: Te reo Māori findings from Te Kupenga 2013, as showing an important breakthrough in understanding what drives te reo Māori ability and use.

“During the recent campaign period, the significance of te reo consistently featured high in the polls undertaken by Māori Television. This report reveals three important factors leading to the revitalisation of the Māori language.”

“The findings show there is a strong relationship between te reo Māori and other aspects of culture. 62% of Māori who know their tribal identity and can express that through pepeha, also used at least some te reo in the home.”

“The use of te reo Māori in the home and whānau is also a critical factor in strengthening use of the language. The third success factor emerges from enrolment in Māori medium education which has a very positive effect on te reo Māori ability.”

Te Kupenga found that 22.6% of Māori (106,500) spoke te reo Māori ‘very well,’ ‘well’ or ‘fairly well.’

“The findings provide us with a good window to see the types of approaches that best support language revitalisation, as well as underlining the importance of whānau, hapū and iwi in leading its revival. The Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill will be an important means by which to drive the development, and the Māori Party looks forward to building on the momentum when the bill is debated by the Māori Affairs Select Committee when Parliament resumes.”

“The Māori Party believes that everyone living in Aotearoa should be encouraged to learn and speak te reo Māori,” ends Mr Flavell.

ENDS

Background

• Te Kupenga was a post-censal survey on Māori cultural wellbeing with more detailed questions on language proficiency which was carried out in 2013. It is the best survey to give the full picture of the health of the Māori language in 2013. The survey population for Te Kupenga was people who identify with the Māori ethnic group or have Māori descent. In-depth interviews were held with 5500 people.

• Submissions on the Māori Language Bill closed on 14 August 2014. The Māori Affairs Committee is required to report back on 24 January 2015.

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