May 30, 2019
Reo funding ramped up
The chair of Te Mātāwai says extra funding in the Budget should help in its efforts to get more Māori speaking te reo.
Te Waihoroi Shortland says the $6 million for the Kāhui investment model run will boost Te Mātāwai’s administrative support of the Maihi Māori programme in the wider Māori community and also to develop policy and advice for Te Taura Whiri.
He says there could be a chance to run regular national hui to get a sense of the state of the language.
"Rohe are starting to run symposiums which are kind of rohe-driven to bring people together to share the kinds of things that are happening in the rohe. We’re kind of looking at whether every two or three years it ought to be time to pull the motu together so that we see what’s happening all around," Mr Shortland says.
Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta says the extra money in the Budget for te reo Māori shows the crown is committed to ensuring that basic te reo is spoken by a million people in Aotearoa by 2040.
As well as the money for Te Mātāwai, there is $10 million over four years to fund Te Taura Whiri, the Māori Language Commission, and support an increase in certification for te reo translators.
Another $4 million dollars has been allocated to support events that build a shared national identity.
The Budget also funds $14 million of additional support for Te Māngai Pāho to produce quality Māori programming to support te reo Māori and wider cultural development objectives.
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