Te reo splits the parties as kōhanga reo wait for an answer
Te Pāti Māori would make learning te reo Māori compulsory. ACT wouldn't. That was the final clash at TVNZ's Kaupapa Māori debate on Thursday night, which brought together Māori candidates from seven parties, Newsroom reported.
"It's about having a choice, not making it compulsory," ACT's Nicole McKee said. "And one thing we won't do is take it away, but we don't want it being compulsory."
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said learning te reo was part of being a "true New Zealander". "We will treat you with a lot of kindness and welcome you to our language, but we won't do what you did to our ancestors and strap the s*** out of them to learn English," he said.
The election is on 7 November, eight days away. Three weeks before the debate, Te Pāti Māori costed its Māori-medium education policy. Waititi and Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke announced the policy in Rotorua on 6 October, Te Ao Māori News reported.
According to Waatea News, the party would pass a Te Kōhanga Reo Act and give kōhanga secure annual baseline funding. A dedicated capital fund for kōhanga would get $20 million a year. Another $50m would clear a backlog of about 80 kōhanga that need new buildings or refurbishment. Twenty new kōhanga would open over three years, with priorities set alongside Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.
Kura Māori would get $1.25 billion over five years, or $250m a year, through a ring-fenced property programme. The party would also restore Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori, putting $30m a year into building te reo skills across the education workforce.
Maipi-Clarke said the aim was to give tamariki fit-for-purpose places to learn, and to provide the buildings, kaiako and resources Māori-medium education needs to grow, Waatea reported.
Kōhanga reo now have 9,200 mokopuna, Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust co-chair Lorraine Hale (Ngāti Awa) told Te Ao Māori News. The Trust's annual property grant is $8.3m, spread across 427 kōhanga. That works out to roughly $19,400 each, and Hale said it doesn't stretch far enough.
Families are queuing. "We have hundreds of mokopuna around the motu on waitlists trying to get into Kōhanga Reo; matching that appetite with great kaiako in Kōhanga Reo is a pressing challenge," Hale said.
The first graduates of the Te Kōhanga Reo Bachelor's Degree were among 41 ākonga who received qualifications at Tūrangawaewae Marae, according to the Takurua 2026 edition of the Trust's newsletter, Te Onetū.
A quarter of kōhanga still haven't moved their kaiako onto pay parity, and Hale said any secure annual funding would need to cover them.
Speaking for herself and fellow co-chair Raniera Proctor, Hale welcomed Te Pāti Māori's policy. "The question for the other parties is what does commitment look like from them to Kōhanga Reo."
She was blunt about the current Government. "This government has shown little material support for Kōhanga Reo. I can rattle off 10 kaupapa we have taken to the government that would greatly support Kōhanga Reo, and we got little to nothing new."
Hale said the co-chairs want commitments from across Parliament and a whole-of-government plan to grow kaupapa Māori education, so kōhanga aren't left starting again after every election.
Hale said a Kōhanga Reo Act would be a significant step towards settling the Trust's Wai 2336 claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. She said the size of Te Pāti Māori's investment fitted both the demand and the recommendations in the Wai 2336 report, Matua Rautia.
National's Tama Potaka wouldn't rule out supporting ACT and NZ First policies to abolish the tribunal. He said that would be "a matter for discussion" if National was again in a position to form a coalition with those parties, Newsroom reported. ACT's policy is to shut the tribunal down once it has heard the last historical claim. NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones defended his party's plan to abolish it.
Labour's Willie Jackson called the coalition "the most anti-Māori government of my lifetime".