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See below for English translation
Ko te reo kia kitea ko te reo kia rangoa
He oranga ngakau te kite iho ka nui te piki mai o te aronga o Te Arawa Lakes Trust me Te Tatau o Te Arawa ki te
Kāhu ki Rotorua: Te Arawa backs bilingual road signs
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The trust along with Te Tatau o Te Arawa have endorsed Waka Kotahi inclusion of Maori translations on road signs.
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Hai tā te tiamana o Te Arawa Lakes Trust a Geoff Rolleston, ' Kai te ngarungaru tona ngā wai e ehuehu hoki ana te moana nā te ture i pēnei ai, wheoi anō rā nā te kaha o Te Waka Kotahi me Te Mātāwai kua whitawhita anō te ahi piroku’.Ko te kaupapa -Rotorua Reo rua e kaha arahina ana e Te Tatau o Te Arawa me te Kaunihera o Rotorua me te take hai whakatupu me te whakakotahi i ngā iwi o te takiwā kia kotahi mai otīā ki a ora ai te reo taketake o te whenua.
Mā te whakaaro kotahi tātau katoa e rangatira ai.He whakamihi hoki nā te tiamana o Te Tatau o Te Arawa a James Hamiora ki Waka Kotahi me Te Mātāwai mō ngā mahi nui kua oti i a rātau. ‘E mihi ana ki ngā rōpū me a rāua mahi rangatira’.
Na ā rāua mahi pakeke me te hiahia ki te whakamana i te reo o te whenua e whakahīhī katoa ai te tini tangata o Aotearoa engari ka puta taua wairua ki ngā hau e whā o te ao’.’ Kai te tēpū ngā rōpū tokorua nei a Te Tatau o Te Arawa me Te Arawa Lakes Trust e whakarite tāpaetanga ana hai amo i te whakaaro matua kia reorua katoa ngā tohutohu kai ngā rori otīā ngā huarahi katoa o Aotearoa.
Ko te tino take he whakakōkiri i te waka o te kotahitanga e noho kotahi katoa ai tātau i te ahuareka o te reo, e noho taurite ai te mana o ngā reo e rua o tēnei whenua’.Koia ko ēnei ngā whakaaro o Hamiora.
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E hoki ana ngā whakaaro me ngā mahara ki a Hawea Vercoe me āna mahi rangatira nōna e whakapau kaha ana ki a noho matua mai ko te reo ki ngā wāhi huhua o tēnei whenua. He tumuaki kura no te kura o Te Rotoiti, ko tona wikitoriatanga nui ko te whakamāori me te whakanoho i te kupu ‘Kura’ ki ngā tahataha me te ihu o tō rātau pahi kawe tamariki.
Mai i taua taima, ā moroki noa nei kua Māori te ora o te reo ki ngā tohutohu e kitea ana ki ngā tahataha o ngā kura, ngā pahi me te aha noa atu.
‘Kia pepehangia e ahau e kore te ruaruaki e hoki ki te waha. Koina te whakaaro ka tae mai ki a hau e whakarongo kau ana ngā taringa ki te ia o te kōrero inakuanei.
E mea ana ētehi o ngā rōpū torangapū he kaupapa taumaha e kore e taea e tātau te whakatutuki – e mea ana hoki ētehi o aua rangatira, ka kore ētehi o te hunga o tēnei whenua e noho marama ana ki te kaupapa – engari ki a hoki anō ngā kanohi ki te tū a te pāti Nahinara me te Pāti Māori i ngā tau ko pahemo, ā, e kaha kōrerongia tēnei take e rāua, me te nui hoki o te tautoko ki a rewa ai tēnei waka’.
Nā Rolleston ēnei pito whakaaro.’ E mōhiotia whānuitia ko te puku o te ao Māori, ko te pito o ngā mea Māori kai te takiwā o ngā waiariki, kai kōnei kai Rotorua nei.Nō reira me pēwhea e kore ai e whakaaro ki te pae tata ki tēnei waka whakarei’.
Nahinara
Nā te mea kai te waka kotahi o te whakaaro a Te Mātāwai me Waka Kotahi kua kūwhewhewhewhe ngā rae kanohi o te Pāti Nahinara.
I mate noa atu a Christopher Luxon i te arero o Simeon Brown me tana puta whakaaro moata e mea ana, he rerekē ngā whakaaro o Nahinara ki tēnei kaupapa.
Kāore e tautokongia ana.Nā wai rā ka puta ngā kupu a Chris Bishop, tāna e mea nei ki a tātau, ' E hoa mā kāore he raruraru ki tēnei kaupapa – a wairua nei, kai te kite mātau i ngā painga o tēnei whakaaro’. Ka tae ki te Tūrei kua hoki anō ngā whakaaro o Brown ki tāna i kī ai, he kaupapa pōhauhau noa tēnei ka nui ngā raruraru ka hua – ko te reo Ingarihi te reo o tēnei whenua koina te reo kōrero o ia rā'.
Katahi nā a Luxon ka whakahuri i te uho o te kaupapa kia aro kē tātau ki te nui o te moni ka pau i tēnei whakaaro.
Nā wai ka puta te kōrero a NZTA me tā rātau kī ki te motu whānui, he ahakoa he kaupapa nui, he pakupaku noa te utu.
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Kua mana kē te kaupapa, ka pirorehengia ngā tohutohu rori, ka whakahoungia ki te tohu hou e rua reo ana te kanohi.
—Na Raimona Inia is whakamaori
English Translation
Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Te Tatau o Te Arawa are supporting a move to introduce bilingual road signage in Aotearoa because it would enhance the Rotorua Reorua (Bilingual Reorua) journey.
On August 11, 2017, Rotorua declared its intention to advance as a bilingual city and district, pledging to support and promote both te reo Māori and English.
“Limited progress has been made to date due to the complexities of the law, but the recent actions by Waka Kotahi and Te Mātāwai have opened the door to exciting opportunities,” said Geoff Rolleston, chair of Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
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Rotorua Reorua is led by Te Tatau o Te Arawa with support from its partner, the Rotorua Lakes Council and was launched to encourage and remind locals that they can all contribute to the growth of te reo Māori.
Te Tatau o Te Arawa chair, James Hamiora, commends the road signage initiative led by Waka Kotahi and Te Mātāwai.
“E mihi ana ki ngā rōpū nei me a rāua mahi rangatira. Waka Kotahi with guidance and support from Te Mātāwai demonstrates the power of partnership.
“Their collaboration reflects why Aotearoa is special to locals and international visitors who travel from all corners of the globe to New Zealand.
“Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Te Arawa Lakes Trust are penning a submission of support for reorua road signage because it enhances our local communal efforts to advance as a bilingual city and district so te reo is seen, heard and celebrated alongside the English language,” says Mr Hamiora.
The introduction of reorua road signage builds on the efforts of the late Hawea Vercoe, former principal of Te Kura o Rotoiti, who championed the inclusion of the te reo Māori sign “Kura” on their school bus. Since then, similar signs around Lake Rotoiti and on school buses have become common ground.
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“The recent stance taken by some political parties, suggesting that having bilingual signs on roads is ‘too difficult’ and that ‘people would not understand,’ contradicts the positions previously taken by the National Party and the Māori Party, which is disappointing,” Mr Rolleston said.
“Rotorua is a city rich in culture and heritage, and embracing bilingual signage is a prime example of promoting culture and national identity in our country.
“Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Te Tatau o Te Arawa agree that it makes sense to adopt bilingual signage because reorua is visible everywhere across Aotearoa and te reo is a part of every New Zealanders vocabulary.”
Mixed signals
Te Mātawai and Waka Kotahi have taken on bilingual signage which drew mixed reactions from the National Party.
Leader Christopher Luxon attempted to clarify his party’s position on the road signs after transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said they didn’t support them. National moved to downplay Brown’s comments on Monday, with Chris Bishop saying the party actually had no issue “in principle” with bilingual signage.
But Brown on Tuesday repeated his view that bilingual signs could be confusing. “Most people understand English and speak English,” he said.
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He declined to say if he found the proposed designs, which do feature English, confusing.
Meanwhile, Luxon tried to frame National’s objection as a concern about financing rather than about the actual content of the signs.
In a statement, NZTA said its bilingual signs project was “low cost” and would be rolled out gradually when signs need replacing.
