Te Ururoa Flavell: Broadcaster had passion for te reo

Anzac Pikia

I hinga te totara nui i Te Wao-Nui a Tane. E te rangatira o te ao papaho, okioki atu ra ki o tatou tipuna.

I begin today by paying tribute to the late Anzac Pikia. Anzac was a senior Maori broadcaster at TVNZ who passed away recently in Rotorua.

He was well known across the Maori spectrum for his strength and passion for te reo, his professionalism in his mahi as a reporter, producer and journalist and as an avid follower of kapa haka.

Our condolences go to his whnau, friends, colleagues and his hapu and iwi from Waikato, Ngati Hikairo ki Kawhia, Ngati Maniapoto and Ngapuhi.

Maori words

Last week was Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori and it was good to see the effort made by some to use more Maori words, but it would be good if this week was not required.

If people committed to pronouncing te reo correctly all the time, instead of just one week a year, our language would be much better placed to survive. Seeing the YouTube clip from Finnian Galbraith got me thinking it's probably a generational thing. Young people seem to have a better grip on te reo and its importance than those a generation or two above them.

The Black Caps and Cricket New Zealand need to take a bow too. Bilingualism on their website and the targeted social media strategy to attract young Maori into the sport is an awesome example to set for other codes. I'm looking forward to seeing the team play with Aotearoa across their shirts, and hope this is something other representative teams follow.

Emergency skills

I was pleased to be invited to the graduation ceremony for about 20 rangatahi who completed the Youth in Emergency Services programme recently. These young people spent about four weeks learning how to be a first responder to an emergency.

This was the first group to graduate from Murupara, hopefully others take up this great opportunity too.

Winter health

Our hospital has recently had a huge number of people arriving to the emergency room with severe illnesses that could have been picked up earlier by visiting their doctor. We need to take care of ourselves over these colder months and take our health seriously. There are lots of options like phoning the free Healthline on 0800 611 116, or even the nurse at your surgery if you are unsure or just want advice. So keep active, stay warm and well. Kia kaha tatou.

-Te Ururoa Flavell is the co-leader of the Maori Party and the MP for Waiariki