Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties are promising on issues that affect Māori. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Te ao Māori is a fairly uneven policy area – the Māori Party lists more than 80 separate policies, … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Rage by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, $55) “A better title for Rage, perhaps, would be Rabid … He remains … Read more
What’s the best way to get adults reading? Get them reading when they’re children – and there’s no better place to start than the Unity Children’s Bestseller Chart. AUCKLAND 1 Mophead by Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press $25, 5+) Your newly-anointed Margaret Mahy Book of the Year; “perfect”, the judges said; freshly reviewed for us … Read more
The political party has accused the Policy election information website of inaccurately presenting its views to the voting public. The New Conservative party has accused election-information website Policy of misrepresenting its views. In social media videos and posts published over the weekend, the party attacked Policy.nz, saying it showed bias in the way it presented … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM sacks Iain Lees-Galloway, Winston Peters makes stirring contribution to day of chaos, and Tarras locals not thrilled about potential new airport. By now, you’ll probably have heard the news that Labour MP for Palmerston North Iain Lees-Galloway’s political career is over. PM Ardern dismissed him from all … Read more
With te reo Māori classes about to start for 2020, the ‘no vacancy’ signs are going up around the country as people continue to flock to learn our native language. There’s no denying that a reo-volution is underway across Aotearoa. At Te Wānanga o Aotearoa we have around 8000 people enrolled on our te reo … Read more
New Zealand’s first language is endangered. We can’t afford to normalise misspelling and mispronunciation any more than it already is, writes Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins. If it really was just a joke, then why did some respond with racism? One of our most well-known food companies, Watties, launched a campaign recently that deliberately misspelled … Read more
She’s been a stalwart on our screens and airwaves for two decades and could easily rest on her laurels, but the indefatigable Stacey Morrison is all about giving back to her community. Across Auckland on any given weekday, you’ll find a free te reo Māori class being taught, from Unitec and AUT’s popular classes to … Read more
Calls to Marcus Lush’s Newstalk ZB show defending the incorrect pronunciation of Māori place names in Otago have been captured and shared by angry listeners. Should we despair at the callers’ attitudes, or celebrate the popular response, asks Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins It’s the way it is. These are the words a caller to … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZDF under inquiry scrutiny, competing statements on Labour investigation released through lawyers, and a thorough look at Air NZ’s carbon offsets. Ever since the book Hit and Run was published, the Defence Force have been under various degrees of pressure over whether Afghan civilians were killed … Read more
Western companies trademarking culturally significant words and phrases? It’s not as uncommon as you think. Here are just four examples from the past year. Air New Zealand & Kia Ora No word in te reo has had more mainstream cut through than our national greeting. Now, Air New Zealand is attempting to go one step … Read more
Cornell Tukiri sat down with his Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa classmate Te Karere to talk about his relationship with te reo Māori, and what the language revival means for his whānau. Cornell Tukiri: Mōrena, why don’t we start with you telling me a little about yourself? Te Karere: Ko … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Range of reaction to Kiwibuild reset, Peter Ellis dies before Supreme Court appeal can be heard, and calls for apology for te reo suppression. Hang on, it is still called Kiwibuild right? The government’s flagship policy, which has by most metrics been a disaster, has been … Read more
RNZ journalist Te Aniwa Hurihanganui was about to catch a plane home from Auckland when an Air New Zealand worker saw her name on her passport and asked, how on earth did you spell that as a kid? It wasn’t the first time. I had just spent three days at Ihumātao, the 32-hectare land-block in … Read more
What’s the best way to get adults reading? Get them reading when they’re children – and there’s no better place to start than the Unity Children’s Bestseller Chart. These lists of the bestselling children’s books at Unity Wellington and Little Unity in Auckland cover the four weeks to July 4 2019. AUCKLAND 1 Te Tiriti … Read more
A tool of colonisation or liberation? Te Paipera Tapu (The Holy Bible) turns 150 this year, with the first full translation being published in 1868. Dr Hirini Kaa shares some of the cultural and historical significance of this book. The late, great Māori academic Ranginui Walker, in one of his memorably powerful phrases, once described Christianity as ‘total … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: 1080 activism hits Parliamentary forecourt, concerns about NZ First’s influence over the government aired, and a long day looms at Fonterra. All of a sudden, 1080 activism has become far more visible and prominent, using both legal challenges and direct action. Yesterday, protesters scattered fake pallets and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Teachers not impressed by new pay offer, attempt to use the Harmful Digital Communications Act to fight bad press, and swamp house family evicted. A new pay offer has been made to primary teachers, and will be considered by union members in an online ballot. Radio NZ reports … Read more
Nichole Brown shares her love of te reo Māori and her hope that together, we can turn Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori into a lifelong celebration for our tamariki. This week marks another Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week – and as much as we would love a nation united in … Read more
Children are sponges, they say. So why, asks Emily Holdaway, won’t radio give some thought to the kids who are adopting the incorrect pronunciation they hear on a daily basis? I stand in the kitchen, doing the dishes. I can hear Mum reading to Ziggy in the lounge. She’s reading to him the story of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Greens and Labour at odds over compulsory te reo in schools, petrol prices hit high, and farmers facing big mycoplasma bovis bill. The government won’t yet back a Green Party push for compulsory te reo Māori in schools, reports Newshub. New Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to co-founder of Reobot, Jason Lovell, whose IBM Watson-powered chatbot allows you to practise conversational Māori via Facebook Messenger. ONE: How did Reobot start and what was the inspiration behind it? I want to … Read more
Nichole Brown shares a beautiful personal essay about how her daughter’s thirst for knowledge has reignited her love for her te reo Māori. Shoes inside. That was my ultimate act of defiance against my mother’s tongue. Wearing shoes inside. It might not seem like much, but inside I felt like I was screaming rebellion at my … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura shares the challenges of encouraging te reo Māori with teenagers and the joy of total immersion environments for all of the whānau. My motivation for learning Māori has changed a lot since I first enrolled in a total immersion te reo course three years ago. Back then, I was all about the fast-track to … Read more
How Māori women can find our way back to equity through the stories of the past. In 1993 a group of Māori women filed a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, now known as the Mana Wahine Claim. The claimants included a list of dream dinner party guests – all of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, Lady … Read more
Paul Moon, author of the controversial new book Killing Te Reo Maori, argues that making te reo Māori a compulsory school subject is the worst thing we could do to preserve the language. To paraphrase Nietzsche, “te reo Māori is dead, and we have killed it.” Well, not quite, but it is possibly only a … Read more
I pānui a Hēmi Kelly, pūkenga reo Māori nō AUT i te pukapuka hou e whakatutū nei i te puehu nā te tohunga hītōria Pākehā, nā Paul Moon kia kore ai koe e mate ki te pānui. Ko te ingoa o te pukapuka ko Killing Te Reo Maori. Kite tonu atu au e tamō ana … Read more
The current conversation about the preservation of te reo has been focused on the role and responsibility of Māori speakers, as exemplified by Bill English’s claim that it’s not government’s place to save ‘someone else’s’ language. But what about Pākehā learners of te reo? Eliza Jane looks back on her experience at Auckland’s Newton Central … Read more
This morning on RNZ Kim Hill generously gave Don Brash 30 minutes in which to explain his problem with Guyon Espiner speaking te reo on the radio. Self-appointed Kim Hill expert and superfan Sam Brooks brings you her best burns. When it was announced that Don Brash was going to be interviewed by Kim Hill … Read more