Te reo Māori at 50: Why language investment matters for NZ’s future - Editorial

THE FACTS

• Māori Language Week is this week.
• More than 30,000 people signed a 1972 petition calling for reo recognition. What began as a day of recognition in 1975 became a week.
• Te reo became an official language in 1987.

Every year, Māori Language Week reminds us that te reo Māori is not a cultural ornament. It is part of who we are as a country.

Fifty years have passed since a petition signed by more than 30,000 New Zealanders was carried up the steps of Parliament, demanding te reo Māori be recognised, taught and protected.

This year carries extra weight: half a century of activism, policy, resurgence and conversation. What began as a day of recognition in 1975 became a week, and in 1987 te reo Māori became an official language.

Pride sits alongside unease. Over the past two years, the coalition Government has pushed English-first settings across agencies. The Act Party has sought to recast Māori and te reo obligations through the Treaty Principles Bill. The passport redesign now prioritises English over te reo. Small changes. Big signal.

That signal is fuelling unease among Māori, who see decades of reo gains being systematically pared back.

But anniversaries are an opportunity to look forward.

Investing in te reo, culturally and professionally, can ensure it thrives for the next 50 years.

There is more than pride at stake. Te reo offers professional capital across careers, leadership, service and brand. It is not about asking for full-immersion fluency. It is about embracing and expanding second-language vocabulary.

An expanded set of words unique to Aotearoa that travel well anchors identity: whānau, mana, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaupapa, mahi, hui, whenua, rangatiratanga. Words that carry values.

At home, this shared lexicon can enhance services and strengthen team culture.

Offshore, those same words act as brand assets. They make New Zealand legible and memorable.

They show a country confident in its own voice. Tourism uses them. Food and film carry them. Diplomacy benefits from them.

Language is soft power. We should use it.

The Government has a part. So do councils, iwi, businesses, schools, unions and boards. Industry bodies can publish sector glossaries. Broadcasters can keep normalising everyday reo. None of this is radical. It is routine nation-building.

This is not about replacing English. It is about building bilingual strength.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori at 50 should be more than a poster on the wall. It should be a plan. Invest in the reo. Tie it to pay, promotion and performance. Make it part of daily work, not a seasonal gesture.

The question isn’t whether we should learn te reo. The question is, who wants to miss the upside by ignoring it?

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