Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith says Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is a “hugely important part of our culture”.
Goldsmith was sporting a Māori Language Week pin on his lapel at today’s post-Cabinet media conference.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for everybody to — if they’re interested — take stock in learning something new. I’m going to try and learn a whakataukī (proverb) a day over the week,” he said.
“I’ve got one today which is ‘okea ururoatia’ which is ‘fight like a shark’, which is what we have to do every day in this place.”
Asked why a shark, he said: “Well, this is a dangerous place.”
The Culture Minister said he supported te reo Māori every week as well as Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, but that it was “nice to have a particular week where you focus on it”.
A Māori advocate said the move made no sense as Matariki celebrates Māori culture. (Source: 1News)
Goldsmith ordered officials to remove te reo Māori greetings and references to “Aotearoa” in a formal letter to his Australian counterpart, inviting him to Matariki celebrations earlier this year.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was also challenged on his promotion of Māori Language Week, having not opened the press conference by acknowledging it, which is informally customary.
He also hadn’t posted about the event on social media, which began on September 14.
Luxon said he had made “a number of videos last week” and he would continue to “try and use my limited te reo” as much as he could.
There were no videos visible about Te Wiki o te Reo Māori on Luxon’s Instagram page, nor his X (formerly Twitter), nor his Facebook or LinkedIn pages on Monday afternoon.
Goldsmith hadn’t posted about Te Wiki o te Reo Māori on those social media channels either.
Asked if the coalition was committed to the previous government’s goal to reach one million te reo Māori speakers by 2040, Luxon said Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka was “working up our policy in that space”.
“You can see that we want to encourage as many New Zealanders as possible to take up te reo, it’s important.”
Many people around Aotearoa will be practising their te reo this week. (Source: 1News)
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he didn’t want to “politicise” Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and said it was great Goldsmith was wearing the supportive badge.
“We should all just be willing to give it a go. You aren’t always going to get it right the first time.”
He said he often stumbled over te reo Māori words when reading them aloud and wouldn’t criticise anyone else for not getting it right.
“My message to Kiwis is give it a go — don’t be afraid to try it.”
Hipkins said that during his time as prime minister, he wanted to use te reo more often but worried about not always getting it right.
He added that the late Kīngi Tuheitia had encouraged him to “keep trying”.
