New Zealand Defence Force
Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa

Pānui pāpāho/Media Release

28 o Hōngongoi 2009

Kei te tautoko Te Ope Kaatua i te wiki o te reo Māori

E akiaki ana Te Ope Kaatua o Aoteroa kia hanagai atu te tini me te maha o Te Ope Kaatua ki te wiki o te reo Māori, ara, mo te ako i nga kupu powhiri me nga kupu ingoa waahi.

Ka Timata te wiki o te reo Māori a te 27 o Hongonoi tae ki e 2 o Here-turi-koka 2009. Te kaupapa i tenei tau ko te reo mo te haapori.

Te tikanga mo te kotuitui i te reo Māori i roto i nga raatonga o Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa, ara , a Te Taua Moana, a Tuumatauenga me Te Tauarangi ko te whakapakari i nga kawa me nga tikanga Māori i roto i nga punaha Māori me nga punaha Pakeha o Ingarangi me Uropa.

Ma tenei te whakaumanga a Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa hei whanau kotahi i roto i nga tikanga, nga uaratanga, nga kotahitanga me nga ponotanga.

I tenei wa 12,378 nga tama me nga wahine kei roto i Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa. Etahi kare i roto i Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa, he kaimahi kee. 15.8 pai heneti enei taa taunga he Māori. Ko te tikanga Māori tetahi o nga whenu haa kei roto i ia raatonga o Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa. Engari kei tena raatonga ano tetahi kei takawaenga mo nga tikanga, nga kaupapa me nga tauraki o ia raatonga.

Ko nga kei takawaenga nga kaiarahi, awhina, tohutohu atu ki nga rangatira o ia raatonga o Te Ope Kaatua, kia tika ai te kokiri i nga tikanga me nga kaupapa o ia raatonga o Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa.

He marae to Te Taua Moana, me Tuumatauenga te wawata o Aotearoa i te kaupapa Māori me oona tikanga i roto i nga punaha katoa. Ka kitea tenei i roto i nga mahi kapahaka, hui a iwi, a haapori, a kawanatanga, a motu hoki. I Waitangi me nga ra whakamaumahara i nga hoia i matemate atu i nga pakanga o te ao.

Kei Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa te kaupapa here mo te reo Māori hei tautoko me te awhina i eeraa e hiahia ana ki te ako i te reo mo oona tikanga mai tena raatonga ki tena raatonga a tau.

Tuturu whakamaua kia tina, hui e, taiki e.

English translation
28 July 2009

DEFENCE FORCE EMBRACES MĀORI LANGUAGE WEEK

The New Zealand Defence Force is encouraging all personnel to embrace Māori Language Week and use Māori greetings and place names.

The theme for this year’s Māori Language Week, which runs from runs from 27 July to 2 August, is – Te Reo i te Hapori, Māori Language in the Community.

NZDF culture is interwoven with Māoritanga. “Each of the three Services; Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa (Navy), Ngati Tumatauenga (Army) and Te Tauārangi o Aotearoa (Air Force), has developed our own New Zealand military cultural practices and ceremonies guided by Tikanga Māori on the one hand and British and European custom on the other,” said Navy Māori Cultural Advisor Warrant Officer Mark Pirikahu.

“In this way Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa (NZDF) is unique, is one family of people bound together by the ethic of service to our country, military professionalism, common values, mutual respect, mutual trust, mateship, and our culture.”

Currently NZDF has 12, 378 full time Service men and women and civilian staff. Of this total about 15.8% are identified as Māori.

Tikanga Māori is an integral part of Defence with each Service having a Single Service Advisor for matters Māori. These advisors provide advice on matters ranging from protocols, event management and kapa haka to te reo Māori. Both the Navy and Army have Marae as an integral part of their cultures with the likelihood of an Air Force Marae in their not too distant future. The NZDF endorses tikanga Māori and it is often seen, in particular during formal ceremonial activities. Contingents deployed overseas regularly welcome their replacements with a haka powhiri which gives a distinctive “kiwi” perspective to these occasions.

“The NZDF has a Te Reo Māori language policy which supports several servicemen and/or servicewoman attending Te Reo Māori training through various institutions annually,” W/O Pirikahu said.

ENDS

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