Wairoa is on the way to being one of the country's first bilingual towns, with the district council yesterday adopting a new policy to encourage the use of te reo Maori.
Yesterday, the council voted to implement the Te Kaupapa Here mo Te Reo Maori ke Te Kaunihera o Te Wairoa (the Wairoa District Council Te Reo Maori policy) which would then go to residents for public consultation.
The policy - one of the first of its kind - is another step toward the district becoming fully bilingual by 2040 - which the council committed to in 2012 under the joint-agency Te Wairoa Reorua 2040 initiative.
Wairoa has the highest proportion of Maori of any local authority area in New Zealand, and a higher than average number of te reo Maori speakers.
Under the policy the everyday use of the language will be encouraged, and promoted through the council.