Maori official language soon

Press, 22 April 1986, Page 9

Maori official language soon

PA Auckland Legislation making Maori an official New Zealand language will be introduced “relatively soon," said the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Wetere, yesterday. Under the bill, people in courts and Parliament would be allowed to speak Maori. Mr Wetere said that after the legislation was in force, he would appoint a five-member commission to help put Maori language “into the system.” The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, said when he opened the Auckland secondary schools’ Maori and Pacific Island cultural festival last Friday that Maori would be made an official language. Mr Wetere said “sufficient” Maori Affairs Department money would al-

low the commission to advise Government departments on Maori language queries. “The commission will monitor language as it applies in the different tribal areas," he said. "They will provide advisory services to all Government departments and provide Maori language criteria. “The commission will be considered to be the guardians of the language who will help put it in place.” The commission, chosen for its expertise with the Maori language, would also license interpreters for the courts and Parliament Mr Wetere said interpreters would be found after the commission was established and when there were "sufficient resources.”