Tauranga court staff have been making in-court announcements in te reo Maori as well as English under an initiative aimed at recognising the status of the country's first language.
Since Monday, the first day of Maori Language Week, court registrars and attendants have opened, adjourned and closed court sittings at district, youth and family courts in both languages - firstly in te reo Maori followed by the English translation.
For instance, when court attendants ask those seated in the public gallery to stand, they say "Turitari Taki tu" which means: Silence, all stand.
One Tauranga court staff member, who did not wish to be named, told the Bay of Plenty Times that while she and her colleagues had been undergoing training, her main concern was being able to pronounce te reo correctly so she did not offend anyone.
Tauranga District Court manager Beth Bowden said staff at the courts had been practising hard.