Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori
Minister for Māori Development

7 Mahuru 2018

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO
MEDIA STATEMENT

He tāwhiri i te wero ‘reo Māori anake’

E rere nei te reo tāwhiri o te Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta Minita Whanaketanga Māori ki te tīmatanga o te wero kotahi marama te roa ki ngā kaikōrero reo Māori kia kōrero Māori anake ahakoa ki hea rātou, ahakoa ngā mahi.

“He tino wero whakahihiko ngākau a Mahuru Māori ki ngā kaikōrero reo Māori ka waiho ko te reo Māori anake hei reo whakawhitiwhiti kōrero o ia rā, o ia rā mō te roanga ake o te marama o Mahuru.

“Ko te whāinga ko te whakawhānui i te kōrerotia o te reo Māori kia rangona ai i tua atu i ngā hui ōkawa me ngā “āhuatanga taketake Māori' pēnā i te marae, engari he whakaahua anō hoki i ngā mahi me ngā āhuatanga o te tangata ia rā, ia rā.

“I te marama o Mahuru Māori, ka tono mōwai (flat whites) te tangata, ka whakahaere hui, ka haere ki te hokomaha, e tae anō ki ngā tākaro a ngā tamariki ko aua momo mahi tonu, heoi anō, ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero rātou e Māori ai te reo.

“E rere ana aku mihi ki te hunga e hāpai ake ana i te mānuka, me te manako anō ka ū tonu ki tēnei wero, “te kī a Nanaia Mahuta.

Nā te tohunga reo o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa a Paraone Gloyne te huarahi o Mahuru Māori i para i te tau 2014. I te tau kua pahure neke atu i te 600 tāngata i rēhita ōkawa i tā rātou whai wāhitanga mai ki te kaupapa, ko te whakaaro i tēnei tau ka nui ake anō.

Kei tēnā, kei tēnā anō te whiringa kia ū ki te kōrero Māori mō te katoa o te marama, mō te kotahi wiki, mō te kotahi rā ia wiki rānei.

He harikoa katoa a te Minita Mahuta ki te kite i te rerekē haere o te āhua o te reo i te motu whānui.

“Mai i taku tihetanga noa iho kua kitea te huringa o te petihana reo Māori ki te rā o te reo Māori, ki te wiki o te reo, nā, kua kotahi marama te roa o te whakanui, o te whakarauora.

“Ahakoa he pae tawhiti tāria te wā e hoki anō ai te reo Māori ki tōna tūranga ake hei reo kōrerorero o ia rā, o ia rā ki ngā tiriti, ki te tēpu kai, ki ngā maunga, ki ngā wai e rere nei o tō tātou whenua waiwaiā,” te kī a Nanaia Mahuta.

Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori
Minister for Māori Development

7 September 2018

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO
MEDIA STATEMENT

Welcoming in ‘Māori language only’ challenge

Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta is ushering in the start of a month-long challenge for te reo speakers to speak only Māori wherever they are, whatever they do.

“Mahuru Māori is an exhilarating challenge for Māori language speakers, to communicate only in te reo Māori every day for the entire month of September.

“The purpose is to normalise the language so that it is heard not only at formal occasions or in ‘traditional Māori’ settings like marae, but also to reflect the activities and values of people every day.

“During Mahuru Māori, people will be ordering flat whites, holding meetings, doing their supermarket shopping and attending their kids’ sports games as normal but whenever they communicate, it will be in Māori.

“I congratulate everyone taking on the challenge and wish them well with sticking to their commitment,” said Nanaia Mahuta.

Mahuru Māori was pioneered by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa language exponent Paraone Gloyne, in 2014. Last year saw more than 600 people formally register their participation and even more are expected this year.

People can choose whether to commit to speaking Māori for the whole month, one week or one day a week.

Minister Mahuta is excited to see the changing profile of te reo Māori in society.

“In my lifetime alone we have seen the Māori language petition progress to a Māori language day, a language week and now, a full month of celebration and revitalisation.

“There’s a long way to go but I look forward to te reo Māori regaining its positon as an normal language on the streets, at the dinner table, in the mountains and on the waterways of our beautiful country,” said Nanaia Mahuta.

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