Nā Alana Thomas

Ruia ruia, opea opea, tahia tahia

Kia hemo ake te kākoa

Kia herea mai ki te kawau korokī

E tātaki mai ana i tana pūkorokoro whaikaro

He kuaka mārangaranga

Kotahi te manu i tau ki te tāhuna

Tau atu, tau atu, tau atu

Kei ngā mate huhua o te wā, haere. Haere i te kākārauritanga, haere i te waka o te ahiahi e timu nei ki te pō, ki te pōuriuri, ki te pō tangotango, ki te pō e au ai te moe, haere, haere mai, haere oti atu. Tauārai o te pō ki a rātou, titoko o te ao marama ki a tātou, tihei mauri ora.

Tuia te rangi e tū nei, tuia te papa e takoto nei, tuia te muka tangata e rangitāmirohia nei, e whiria nei i roto i tō tātou whare kōrero, e ita ai te taukaea o te aroha kei roto i tēnā, i tēnā o tātou. E ngā kaihoe i te waka o te ture, tēnā koutou. Koutou kua tau mai nei me ō koutou waka mai i ngā ngaru puta noa i te motu ki tēnei papa o te ture, ki tēnei whare kōrero, nei au ka mihi.

Pēnei i te whare, e whā ngā kokonga o tēnei kōrero nei, ko whakamihi, ko whakapapa, ko whakarauora, ko whakamua. I konei tātou aro ai ki ngā kokonga e whā e mōhio ai tātou i te oranga o te reo Māori i te ao ture, e mōhio noki ai tātou me pēhea tātou e tiaki i a ia i ngā tau kei te heke mai. Nō reira, kua oti te wāhanga ki te mihi, me kotahi atu ki te kokonga tuarua, ki te whakapapa o te reo ki te ao ture.

I te tau 1987, i whakaturehia te reo Māori hei reo mana mō Aotearoa e te Ture mō te reo Māori me te ahei o ētahi tāngata ki te kōrero i te reo Māori i ngā kōkiritanga o te ture. Taka rawa mai ki te tau 2016, ka whakakorengia taua ture, kātahi ka whakakapingia tana tūranga e te Ture mō Te Reo Māori hou. Ko ngā hua o tēnei ture nei, ka pūmau tōnu te reo Māori ki tōna taumata hei reo mana mō Aotearoa, āpiti atu, i whakaūngia te reo Māori hei taonga mō te iwi Māori, he reo e kaingākautia ana e te motu whānui, ko te reo taketake ake o Aotearoa, ka mutu, he reo whakahirahira te reo Māori i te ahurea whānui o te motu. Toru tekau mā toru ngā tau ināianei mai i te whakaturetanga o te reo Māori hei reo mana o Aotearoa me te ahei ki te kōrero i te reo Māori i ngā Kōti, e uia tonu ana te pātai nui, āe rānei, nā ēnei whakaturetanga tō tātou reo Māori i whakaora i te ao ture o Aotearoa? Hakoa i te wā o te whakairotanga o Te Ture mō te Reo Māori e turuāpohia ana ka whai mana ōrite te reo Māori ki te reo Ingarihi, ka toko ake te pātai, kua tutuki rā āno tātou i tēnā whāinga i roto i ngā whakahaerenga o te pūnaha ture o naiānei? Kua tuhia, kua tāia te nuinga o ā tātou ture i te reo Ingarihi anahe, kua tuhia, kua tāia te nuinga o ngā Whakawākanga Kōti i te reo Ingarihi anahe, kua tukuna te nuinga o ngā puka tono me ngā puka tauira a te Kōti i te reo Ingarihi anahe; ka mutu, ko te nuinga o ngā Tiati o Aotearoa, kāhore ōna reo Māori nō reira mārakerake ana te kitea, kotahi nahe te whakautu, kāhore, tino kore nei. Wai hoki, he tino roa te huarahi kei mua i a tātou kia tutuki ai i taua whāinga. Āe, kei reira te Ture mō te Reo Māori e whakaū ana i te āheinga ki te tuku i te reo Māori i ngā kōkiritanga o te ture, engari kei reira hoki ngā tukanga, ngā kaupapa here me ngā tikanga a te Kāwanatanga e tāhere tonu nei i te Māori, ka ngū nei tōna arero tūpuna. Ahakoa he kōrero Māori ia, ka noho mū tonu te Māori, e horokūkū ana ki te tuku i te reo Māori i tā tātou pūnaha ture. Ki te hiahia te tangata ki te whai i te reo Māori i tōna Kōtitanga, i wāna nei hoki, ko te manatika o tāna take te papa. Inā hoki kāhore te Tiati e whakawā ana i tana Kōtitanga i te kōrero Māori, kāhore tana rōia e whakakanohi ana i tana take i te kōrero Māori, kua tuhia te nuinga o ngā ture i te reo Ingarihi anahe, ka mutu he uaua, he roa rawa te hātepe ka mate te tangata ki te whai mēnā ka hiahia ia ki te kōrero Māori. Ko tā te kaituhi nei, i tēnei wā, ko te reo Māori, he reo e whakataki noa iho ana i te kaupapa matua, he reo e hāpaitia ana e te tokoiti nahenahe i te ao o te ture.

Nō reira, me tahuri tātou ki te kokonga tuatoru o te whare, ki te whakarauora. Me pēhea tātou te hunga rōia Māori e whakarauora mai i te reo ki te ao ture? E tika ana kia mihia te tokomaha o ngā hōia reo Māori i roto i tō tātou hunga i whakapau werawera i ō rātou wā mō te oranga tonutanga o te reo Māori. Ko Matiu Dickson tērā, ko Takuta Ranginui Walker tērā, rātou katoa i whakaaro nui mai ki te reo Māori, i whawhai mō te reo Māori hei reo matua ki tēnei whenua. E rere ana ngā tai o mihi, o aroha ki a rātou, e kore rawa e warewaretia. Ko rātou tonu tērā e noho nei hei kaiurungi kia hoea tikahia ai te waka o whakarauora i te reo haere ake nei, haere ake nei. Ko tā te kaituhi nei, e kore ai ā rātou mahi e moumou, me hiki tō tātou hunga i te manuka kua whakatakotohia e rātou. Me whakawhānui ake te Kāhui Kaiwhakawā kōrero Māori, te hunga rōia kōrero Māori me ngā kaimahi o te Kōti kia pakari ai te haere o tētahi pūnaha ture kākano rua kia eke panuku, kia eke tangaroa me kore noa e rere māori nei tō tātou reo ki ngā toronga katoa o te ao ture.

E whakapono ana te kaituhi nei, me titiro tātou ki ngā whare ako, ki ngā whare wānanga, ki ngā kura reo anō hoki hei whakapakari i te reo māori o Ngāi Ture. I roto i ngā hui ā-tau, kua toko ake te pātai i te puku o THRMoA, he aha tā tātou ki te reo Māori, e ora tonu ai ia. Ka moe taua pātai me ngā whakahekenga toto a ō tātou tupuna, ka puta mai ko te Kura Reo o THRMoA – he kura reo mā te hunga ture nahenahe, he kura reo mā ngāi tātou e noho ana i roto i te ao ture, e ngākaunui ana hoki ki te reo Māori. Ko te aronga nui o te kura nei, kia piki ake te kounga, kia nui ake te kitenga, te rongonga, i ngā painga o te reo Māori o ia rā. Koia i muia ai te marae e te rau tangata, rōia mai, kaiwhakawā mai, Māori mai, tauiwi mai anō hoki. Ka mihi rā hoki ki te kāhui kaiako me ā rātou pukenga rau, Karena Kelly, Hemi Kelly, Mataia Keepa, Corin Merrick me Tai Ahu, nā rātou i akiaki mai, i whakakotahi mai i ngā whakaaro me ō rātou pūmanawa kia tutuki pai ai ā tātou kaupapa, tau atu, tau mai, e kore aku mihi e mutu.

Hei whakakapi ake i konei, ka tahuri ki te kokonga tuawha, ki te anga whakamua. E tika ana, ara noa atu ngā ārai me ngā taiapa ka mate tātou ki te kake: tae atu ki te hunga tokoiti e taea ana te whakapakari i te taha Māori i te ao ture, te mahi uaua kia whakamāorihia ngā tikanga o te ture tuku iho, te tika me te tino hāngai o te mahi whakairo ture, wai hoki, ko te manakohanga o te iwi whānui kia noho ōrite te mana o te reo Māori ki te mana o te reo Ingarihi, heoi ehara ēnei i te raru ki tai. E taea ana e tātou. Engari me timata te tāhuri mai i o tātou whakaaro ki tō tātou reo. E tika ana me noho te reo Māori kei te tihi o ō tātou whakaaro, me noho mātāmua te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori i ā tātou mahi katoa, whakatairangahia tō tātou reo Māori ao pō, pō ao, a haere ake nei. Ki te tautiaki tātou i te reo Māori mai i te tūāpapa o te whare ture, ki ōna poupou, ki ōna heke, kāhore e kore ka tū tika tō tātou whare ture. ▪

Te reo Māori and the Law

In this beautifully phrased piece Alana uses a traditional Muriwhenua narrative to introduce this article that discusses the important role of te reo Māori in the law.

Before addressing this topic in depth, she opens her kōrero (dialogue) with a mihi to those who have passed on. She acknowledges they still play a role in how we are bound together and how we work together as one in the law. She acknowledges and welcomes all those in their respective areas of the law that have taken an interest in this kaupapa.

Alana draws comparisions to the four corners of a whare (house) to introduce the main themes of the article.

The first corner is her mihi which she finishes by disussing the importance of knowing how to look after this language for the years ahead.

Turning to the second corner Alana takes us through the whakapapa of te reo Māori from the passing of the Māori Language Act in 1987 which made te reo Māori an official langauage and also gave speakers the right to use te reo Māori in legal settings. Whilst acknowledging this shows the Māori language is precious to us and should be celebrated, she asks if 33 years later the Māori language really is alive and well in the law.

She notes the prevalent language in the law is still English and furthermore, those that wish to speak te reo Māori within legal sittings are often faced with a number of challenges that make it difficult.

The third corner of the whare is dedicated to whakarauora (revitalisation). She calls on Māori lawyers to ensure our language within the law is revitalised. She pays homage to those who have gone before us who fought tirelessly for the recognition and promotion of the use of te reo in all aspects of the law and asks us to not let their efforts go to waste. She challenges all of us to whakapakari (strengthen) the pathways for the revitalisation of the language so that we can see te reo Māori flourish within the law.

Alana encourages us to look towards our teaching institutions and initiatives such as Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa’s Kura Reo that have brought more te reo Māori into learning environments within the legal space.

The final corner of the whare talks about the future. Alana recognises that the path ahead is not an easy one and there will be a number of challenges, but it’s nothing we can’t achieve if we work together and remember the importance te reo Māori has within Aotearoa as outlined in Te Ture mō te reo Māori.

Alana finishes by calling for the mana of te reo Māori to be truly equal to the mana of the English language within all aspects of the law. This will play an instrumental role in laying a strong foundation for a legal system that works for all New Zealanders.