Tamati Coffey criticised for speaking too much te reo

Television presenter and newly elected Labour MP Tamati Coffey has been criticised for speaking too much Maori on screen.

Coffey, who hosts part of new TVNZ show Moving Out, shared a warning he received from a view on his Twitter account yesterday. The message read: "Congratulations on your appointment but just a quick note after listening to you on your new television program ... The maori [sic] language your [sic] are speaking is getting a bit boring and you need to be very careful that the public will not turn off very soon."

Coffey shared the warning with a Tweet: "Got this 2 kick off Labour Day. Just a reminder that still in 2017, our show 'Moving Out' is still breaking new ground #officialsince1987"

Coffey said the use of te reo Maori throughout the show was purposeful.

"It is an aspiration for me to use that much of the language in daily life.

"The decision was made by the producers, to get te reo into people's homes through the mainstream networks."

He said the "ground-breaking" decision to have such high te reo content had received "overwhelmingly positive feedback".

"You're not going to please everybody, not everybody likes every television show anyway.

"Having bilingual content on mainstream television is long overdue, but we are still getting reactions like that. I am happy to be breaking new ground in that area."

Since the show aired Coffey has received multiple comments from viewers who say the show has helped them pick up new Maori words or improve their pronunciation.

"If we can encourage more people just having a go it will help to get our te reo out there and being used."

Coffey took over the Waiariki MP seat from Te Ururoa Flavell in last month's election.

Moving Out follows the journeys of city dwellers as they attempt to forge new futures in provincial New Zealand.