Nō te 23 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2025, i puta i Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi a TAKU REO KURA, TAKU REO KAHURANGI, he pūrongo mō ngā kaupapahere a te Karauna e pā ana ki te whakamahinga o te reo Māori ki roto i te ratonga tūmatanui. I whai whakaaro tēnei pūrongo ohotata ki ngā kerēme maha nā ōna kaupapahere, ritenga, mahi, hapa hoki, i whakangoikore te Karauna i te whakamahinga o te reo ki roto i te ratonga tūmatanui, he mea takahi i ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti/the Treaty. I arotahi te pūrongo ki ngā kaupapahere matua e toru o te Karauna:
- ki te whakangoikore, ki te tango rānei i te whakamahinga o te reo i ngā ingoa o ngā tari kāwanatanga me ngā hinonga Karauna;
- ki te whakamātāmua i te reo Pākehā i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero o te ratonga tūmatanui; ā
- ki te whakawhāiti i te āheinga ki ngā utu tāpui mō te reo Māori i te ratonga tūmatanui.
I whakamahara te pūrongo, ahakoa i te tīmatanga he takohanga ngā kaupapahere e rua tuatahi i roto i te whakaaetanga Haumi i waenganui i a Nāhinara me Aotearoa Tuatahi, i hohoro te huri hei kaupapahere a te Kāwanatanga, ā, ka whakatinanahia e ngā Minita takitahi. I ara mai te kaupapahere tuatoru i tētahi kōrero a te Minita mō te Ratonga Tūmatanui ki te hunga pāpāho, he tohu o te takune a te Karauna.
I whakapae ngā kaikerēme i whakararu ngā mahi a te Karauna i te mana o te reo hei taonga, ā, i whakamōrearea i ngā whakapaunga kaha ki te whakarauora i te reo i roto i ngā tekau tau maha. Ahakoa i whakaae te Karauna he taonga te reo Māori, kāore te Karauna i whakaae i takahia ōna takohanga o te Tiriti/the Treaty. I tohe te Karauna kāore e nui te pānga o āna mahi tautoko i te reo Māori. I whakahē Te Rōpū Whakamana i te tūnga o te Karauna.
I kite Te Rōpū Whakamana nā ēnei kaupapahere e toru i takahi te Karauna i ngā mātāpono maha o te Tiriti/the Treaty – tae atu ki te tino rangatiratanga, te rangapū mahitahi, te matapopore moroki, te wairua tōkeke, me te kāwanatanga pai. Hei tā Te Rōpū Whakamana, nā te whakangoikore i te whakamahinga o te reo i te ratonga tūmatanui, i whakapuaki te Karauna i te korenga o tōna ū ki te whakarauora i te reo, ā, i whakakaha anō i ngā tautika-kore i waenganui i te mana o te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori i Aotearoa New Zealand. I whakamahara Te Rōpū Whakakamana e herea ana te Karauna ki te whakatika i te noho mōrearea o te reo, kaua ki te turaki i te reo, i raro i te Tiriti/the Treaty me ngā takohanga ā-ture a te Karauna i roto i Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016, ā ka mutu, kāore te Karauna i whiriwhiri kōrero ki te Māori mō ēnei panonitanga ki ngā kaupapahere i whakaarahia. Mō ēnei take, i tua atu i ētahi atu take, i kite Te Rōpū Whakamana nā ngā mahi a te Karauna i takahia te Tiriti/the Treaty me ōna mātāpono.
I kite Te Rōpū Whakamana nā ngā takahitanga a te Karauna ki te Tiriti/the Treaty kua hua mai te whakahāweatanga ki te Māori, tae atu ki ngā Māori e whakamahi ana i ngā ratonga tūmatanui. I kī Te Rōpū Whakamana nā te noho mōrearea o te reo Māori me whakapakari ake i te reo, ā, me akiaki i tōna whakamahinga. I kite Te Rōpū Whakamana nā ngā mahi a te Karauna i whakaitihia ēnei whāinga, ā, he mea whakahāwea i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori. I whakamahara anō Te Rōpū Whakamana ki ngā āwangawanga i hua mai i ngā mahi a te Karauna, arā i whakatinanahia i roto i ngā kōrero taunaki a ngā kaikerēme ki mua i Te Rōpū Whakamana.
Hei whakatika i te whakahāweatanga i hua mai, i tuku Te Rōpū Whakamana i ngā tūtohunga maha. I karangahia kia whakamutua ināia tonu nei ngā mahi ki te whakangoikore i ngā ingoa reo Māori o ngā tari me te whakamahinga o te reo ki ngā whakawhitinga kōrero o te Kāwanatanga. I tūtohu anō Te Rōpū Whakamana kia whakapakarihia te takotoranga o ngā kupu o Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016, kia kaha ake ngā haepapa a te Karauna ki te tiaki me te whakauka i te reo Māori. I tūtohu anō Te Rōpū Whakamana kia panoni te Karauna i te 2024 Tauākī Kaupapahere Rāngaimahi Kāwanatanga, kia haere tonu ngā utu tāpui mō te reo ahakoa he herenga ki tō rātou tūranga mahi ngā pūkenga reo.
Hei whakaatu i te noho o te reo Māori ki te iho o tēnei ruku tātari, ka whakaputahia te pūrongo o Te Rōpū Whakamana ki roto i te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori.
On 23 October 2025, the Waitangi Tribunal released TAKU REO KURA, TAKU REO KAHURANGI, a report on Crown policies concerning the use of te reo Māori in the public service. This urgent report considered several claims that, through its policies, practices, actions, and omissions, the Crown has discouraged the use of te reo in the public service, in breach of the principles of te Tiriti/the Treaty. The report focused on three main Crown policies:
- to deprioritise or remove from common usage te reo from the names of public service departments and Crown entities;
- to prioritise communications in English in the public service; and
- to limit access to te reo Māori allowances in the public service.
The report noted that, while the first two matters were initially commitments in the 2023 coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First, they quickly became Government policy and were applied by individual Ministers. The third policy arose from a comment to the media by the Minister for the Public Service, which marked it as a statement of the Crown’s intent.
The claimants asserted that the Crown’s actions undermined the status of te reo as a taonga and threatened decades of hard work to revitalise the language. While the Crown agreed that te reo Māori is a taonga, it did not accept that it had breached its te Tiriti/Treaty obligations. The Crown argued that its actions would not have a significant impact on its support for te reo Māori. The Tribunal rejected the Crown’s position.
The Tribunal found that the Crown breached several principles of te Tiriti/the Treaty through these three policies – including those of tino rangatiratanga, partnership, active protection, equity, and good government. The Tribunal commented that, by deprioritising the use of te reo in the public service, the Crown had expressed a lack of commitment to the revitalisation of te reo and had reinforced existing inequities between the status of English and te reo Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Tribunal noted that the Crown is obliged to take active steps to address the vulnerable state of te reo, not to contribute to its decline, under both te Tiriti/the Treaty and the Crown’s own legislative commitments in Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016. The Tribunal similarly observed that the Crown’s intention to limit access to te reo Māori allowances did not align with the standards set in Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 and that the Crown had failed to consult with Māori about these proposed policy changes. For these reasons, among others, the Tribunal found that the Crown’s conduct had breached te Tiriti/the Treaty and its principles.
The Tribunal found that the Crown’s breaches of te Tiriti/the Treaty have caused prejudice to Māori, including to Māori as users of public services. It commented that the fragility of te reo Māori means that the language must be bolstered and its use encouraged. The Tribunal found that the Crown’s actions have detracted from these goals in a way that is prejudicial to the overall revitalisation of te reo Māori. The Tribunal also noted the emotional distress caused by the Crown’s actions, manifested in the evidence claimants gave before the Tribunal.
To address the prejudice caused, the Tribunal made several recommendations. It called for an immediate reversal of actions to deprioritise te reo Māori agency names and the use of te reo Māori in Government communications. It also recommended that the wording of Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 be strengthened to make the Crown’s responsibilities to protect and preserve te reo Māori more explicitly obligatory. The Tribunal further recommended that the Crown amend the 2024 Government Workforce Policy Statement so that the payment of te reo allowances to officials continues regardless of whether te reo skills are a requirement of their role.
To reflect the centrality of te reo Māori in the inquiry, the Tribunal’s report was released in both English and te reo Māori.
Note: This is a pre-publication version of Taku Reo Kura, Taku Reo Kahurangi. As such, all parties should expect that, in the published version, headings and formatting may be adjusted, typographical errors rectified, and footnotes checked and corrected where necessary. Additional illustrative material may be inserted. However, the Tribunal’s findings and recommendations will not change with the publication of this report.
TAKU REO KURA, TAKU REO KAHURANGI is now available to download:
TAKU REO KURA, TAKU REO KAHURANGI – TE RERENGA I MUA I TE WHAKAPUTA
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