- Hoea te waka tapu tuki te moana ma wai e, toma te whakarongo ake o ihu, aua ka turuki, turuki, paneke, paneke. Haramai te tokio. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e This week on The Hui ` a te reo Maori special celebrating the language at home... - He inu wai mau? - Ae. - Kei reira tetahi kapu. - ...in the community... - It had been such an uphill journey to where we've been and to where we are now, and it's not just for the kids at school. It's what you can see in the whole community. - ...and across the country. - This is a positive demonstration, a positive celebration of what te reo means to most New Zealanders who are proud to call Aotearoa home. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2025 - Nga manu whiti tu a kua wehe ki roto i nga iwi, na mate o te wa, haere mai, haere. Tatou kei te pito ora, tihewa mauri ora, and welcome back to The Hui. The journey to revitalise te reo Maori and tikanga into the Central Otago town of Alexandra hasn't been an easy one, but it hasn't stopped community leaders Francie Diver and Louise McKenzie from driving this kaupapa forward, and now they're guiding the Central Otago District Council to embrace to embrace te reo Maori me ona tikanga. - It was horrific. It was horrific. - A painful journey in Central Otago... - A great deal of the community were dead against anything. - ...now turning a corner... - If more people had the chance to come out from behind their fears and have those korero, we'd be a better country. - ...but is everyone on board? - No. I think there's enough. I don't want to see anything changed. - This is how it is now. (LAUGHS) Harden up. (PEACEFUL ACOUSTIC MUSIC) - The imposing and breathtaking ranges of Central Otago, valleys which surround the small town of Alexandra. Alexandra sits at the juncture of the Manuherekia and Mata-Au rivers. Traditionally whanau didn't live here, though. It was a passageway from the maunga to the moana. That was until the gold-mining boom of the 1860s. - There were no other stories other than gold mining in Central Otago. They knew about Maori, but they didn't... They knew that we actually ate the moa. - Francie Diver and Louise McKenzie are two stalwarts of the Alexandra community. - Now that I am... this age old, I think back, and I thought, 'Shit,' you know. - Could you... thing that out? She's not allowed to say that. - (LAUGHS) - For the last four decades, they've fought to revitalise and strengthen te reo Maori and tikanga in their rohe. - Well, now that I'm this age, which is old, and I look back, I'm really proud and can understand how hard we worked, how painful it was... how courageous we were not to give up. - In the late 1980s, Francie and Louise battled to set up a te reo Maori high-school class. - A great deal of the community were dead against anything Maori, and there were times we'd come home crying ` and one time, a fist in the face, and (CHUCKLES) that's how bad it was. That's how bad it was. - He came roaring across the room, going, 'You Maoris, get outta here.' We weren't there. We heard that it happened in other areas as well. You know, it just seemed so in your face here in Central Otago, that there they could be so serious about it, not having Maori in the school. 'I'm not having it. I'm not having my children learning that.' - Despite the mountain of opposition they faced, Louise became the first te reo Maori teacher at Dunstan High School in 1994. - It had been such an uphill journey to where we've been and to where we are now, and it's not just for the kids at school. It's what you can see in the whole community. - Louise and Francie put a lot of mahi and, I think, a lot of lonely years being a Maori leader here in Central Otago. So perhaps to have some support from the mayor has been a good thing too. - Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan is Pakeha, but he's recently been on his own reo journey. - Well, it's been a fascinating one. I've been mayor for just short of eight years now, and coming into the role, boy, um, probably used no te reo. I grew up in Balclutha, so just downstream from here. I've lived in Otago all my life. - And you never heard a lot of te reo growing up? - No. Like, I'm 60 next year, so incredibly limited and no... no New Zealand history at all. - It wasn't until he became mayor he realised how disconnected he was. - When I became mayor, I thought, 'I'm going to have to learn Mandarin,' believe it or not, cos we had a large amount of Chinese tourists, a growing market there; and also in Central Otago, a lot of our exports, our cherries and so forth to China, so I thought, you know, the basics for politeness. And somehow it got out that I was learning Mandarin. I remember somebody in a Facebook post on it going, 'I wonder if he's bothered to learn any te reo,' and it kind of jabbed me a little bit. - What is it about that comment that really sat with you? - They were right. What the hell am I doing learning Mandarin when I'm, at that stage, completely and utterly illiterate in my own country's language. It's been a wonderful journey. It's still the very beginning, though. (LAUGHTER) - Tim wanted to change the culture within the Central Otago District Council, so he brought in Francie and Louise. - Te reo classes were offered and certificates in bi-cultural competency were offered. - When Francie and I were asked to help with the cultural training of the staff at the council, the councillors were invited to join, and I think only one of them did. But I'm not talking about the staff; I'm talking about the councillors themselves ` no understanding at all, no experience, probably never even been into a Maori home, never been to a tangi, never been to a hui of any sort. Um, they object to karakia. - Do you always feel safe going into those spaces? - Um... well, I used to cry a lot, but as I've got older, I've got... - More confident. - ...meaner. - Kia ora. - Time has brought the results he wanted. - The take-up was just magnificent. And so around the office now it's, you know, very, very common to hear te reo, but when I started eight years ago, nope. - But has he brought locals along with him? - We were not encouraged to use Maori, unfortunately. I would have loved to have in school. Yeah, I think it's a good thing, but, you know, in balance. Like we're all New Zealanders. - What do you mean by balance? - Oh, well, not sort of over-the-top, um, Maori words. Um, (CHUCKLES) we've got to keep our own history as well. - Dunstan High School, they're very much into teaching the kids. It'd be nice if the adults and the grandparents knew a little bit as well. - Would you like to see more Maori signage? - No, I think there's enough. I don't want to see anything changed; but anything new, that's fine. - I don't think you're ever going to change everyone's perception and understanding of te reo and te ao Maori. - In the last year, the use of te reo in public services has come under attack English names now must be used first before Maori. - If 95% don't understand what it is, and all communication is about understanding and comprehension... - Government policy is to have English names first. - I'm concerned about the service they deliver, not woke virtue-signalling. - I think it's a bit of a shame that it's happening. For me, it's another way to learn. - I find it depressing. I can't understand that the present government can have such a shallow... experience of what it is to be Maori. I just can't believe it. I can't understand it. - Despite central government policy here in local government, tikanga and te reo is being embraced. - Morena. - Thank you for letting me share in this magnificent day for you. This is singularly my favourite part of being the mayor. So the first citizenship ceremony I did, I just did it the way we'd always done it ` absolutely no te reo. I don't know if I began with 'kia ora', but I doubt it, no te ao Maori in there at all. OK, so what's going to happen is we're going to get called through by our friends from Ngai Tahu. - Louise and I asked to do so many things in the community, but this one is the highlight of what we do. We appreciate it so much. # Haere mai ra. Haere mai ra. - # Nau mai ra, # haere mai ma runga o te aroha o te ropu nei e Uruuruwhenua. - They haven't heard the karanga or been in touch with things Maori, but they like the feeling. - # Whakatau mai ra e. # - Tena koutou katoa. Ko Wera ko Shetland te whakapapa rongomai. We're light years ahead of where we were, and I think for the new citizens, it's entirely appropriate and wonderful that this happens. The time has come to make a decision and finally become... a real Kiwi, a proud New Zealander. - Ko nga kura o Haehaeata e karanga nei! - ALL: I au, au, aue ha, hi! - It's the Maori country that they're being welcomed to, right, so I'm absolutely loving the amount of Maori influence in our citizenship ceremony. I'm only just holding it together. I've got to admit, this has been incredibly special. - I actually didn't get how profound an experience it was going to be until we were lining up outside and these two wonderful ladies from Ngai Tahu welcomed us into the space... and into New Zealand officially, and I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it as long as I live. Thank you. - It's very, very emotional, very, very emotional. - Yeah, very. - ALL: # Ko au e tu atu nei... - This is the change Francie and Louise are proud to see. - So at long last, it just feels comfortable. Um, we don't have the same resistance. I know people aren't all on our side, but that doesn't matter. We see their children and their grandchildren. Yay! So it's awesome. - # Ko Uruuruwhenua e. # - Ka nui te mihi. Kia tonu mai e te iwi. We will have more from The Hui after this short break. - Nau mai ano e nga iwi. Ko hoki nga mahara ki a Toitu Te Reo i tu i te ratou, the first-ever Maori language festival held in Heretaunga. The idea was to showcase and celebrate the language to combat the attacks against te reo Maori. Dr Jeremy Tatere MacLeod is the man behind the festival and knows just how life-changing learning te reo Maori can be. - I'm pretending I know what's going on. Kei te pai? - No, no, no. There's another one on the other side of the tent. - Time is ticking. - That's where you wanted it, eh? - Yeah, perfect. Let us know if anyone gets out of hand. - The countdown is on... - We've come a long way. We can't turn the dial back now. - ...for a festival... - See, look, this is what I'm thinking. - ...months in the making. - Is Ruth here? - Uh, she should be around. Yeah, Tracy said he's going to send her to stand on the corner. - Do you wanna to check on`? Stand on the corner? (BOTH LAUGH) Wow. If I hear that there's a drama at the doors, I'll panic. - Everything needs to be perfect. - We've spent the last eight months trying to make it happen, get it off the ground. This is a positive demonstration, a positive celebration of what te reo means to most New Zealanders who are proud to call Aotearoa home. - He's talking about Toitu Te Reo, and he, Jeremy Tatere MacLeod, is its mastermind. - I've got till sundown on today, and then I have to relinquish the reins. It just means that we have to execute the plan and let the taniwha do its thing. Let the hui go ahead. - In many ways, it's the culmination of his life's work, his dedication to te reo, but his journey to get here has been rather foreign. - My parents are both Maori. They both left here in the 1970s, late '70s, build a new life in Australia They both met there. I was born in 1986. I went to school there, grew up there, spent the first 17 years of my life there, and my parents had no knowledge of te reo Maori. They lived a happy life in Australia. I suspect they were very anxious about anything to do with Maori language and culture, because they were products of their generation, right? One of my earliest memories of exposure to Maori culture I was 5. We used to get these random VHS tapes, you know, of kapa haka. (ALL SING WAIATA) - And it was one of the first things I remember seeing haka and karanga and whaikorero, and the hairs on the back of my neck standing up when you hear the karanga, and I thought, 'Well, where does that come from? 'You know, where does that come ` a child born in Australia?' Kei te pai, Pen? - Hi. - Toitu Te Reo is the only Maori language festival, a genuine world first. - She picked up on the macron on kaumatua, so, um... (ALL LAUGH) So the whole event was kuamutu, over. - Nothing a bit of duct tape can't fix it. - It's all right. It's not the end of the world, but, you know... - Set in the heart of Heretaunga Hastings, Tatere's managed to get sign-off to shut down the streets of the CBD. - Kia ora. - Kia ora. Kei te pai? - Are you excited? - Yes, I am. Hastings District Council has been amazing. Haven't spent any ratepayers' money just to, you know... (LAUGHTER) ...allay any protests that might come down. - He's just a ball of energy, you know. He believes in this kaupapa so much. And I had him in my office, and I said, 'Jeremy, how do we celebrate te reo Maori every year, Maori Language Week?' And he goes, 'We can do that.' - Tatere is now a well-known Maori leader and reo champion, but it wasn't always that way. - I enjoyed growing up in Australia. I always felt something missing. I knew we were different. I knew we were culturally different. - His fascination with his whakapapa led to a desire to move to his turangawaewae and learn the language his parents had not. - And I remember one day, Dad, he asked me if I was serious about wanting to go and learn te reo Maori, and I said yeah. you know, they handed me a little humble wad of cash to help me get by, sent me on my merry way. I lived here with my maternal grandmother, started at the polytech here learning Maori on the 16th of February 2004. I made a very concerted effort to fit in and assimilate as fast as I could. The first thing was to ditch the Australian accent. A lot of people were sceptical. You know, 'Who's this kid from Aussie?' I mean, those things drive me, right? I was like, 'I'm going to stick it out, and I'm going to go hard,' and I did. - Tatere excelled. He spent seven years studying and was invited into Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo, the top Maori language academy, under the watchful eye of Ta Timoti Karetu. You know, there's a saying that kumara does not speak of his own sweetness. We have the same tribe from the same marae. So I have to watch my P's and Q's. Otherwise, people are going to say, 'Well...' But he's a hard worker. He's a language lover. He's got this knack of going with a hat in hand and saying, 'Please throw in a coin.' He gets things done ` not easily, but they get done. - Yeah, programmes kei konei. When I look back, I've... I've been very lucky coming back here in 2004 and then seven years later, being employed by Ngati Kahungunu Incorporated to lead the tribe's Maori language revitalisation strategy. You know, they placed their faith in a 24-year-old to drive the tribe's language strategy, who was born in Australia. I've tried to give back to my family, to my hapu, to my iwi, to the language, because that language has propelled me into places that I never could have dreamt of. (BAGPIPES SKIRL) All right. Toitu Te Reo ` what do we need? It's time to execute the plan. I'm going to try my best to give some people some mauri and what I can give ` but meaningful, not just a 'kei te pai a koe?' and I'm not even listening. - Mwah. Kia ora. - Tena tatou katoa. Kia ora tatou. Morena. - Mwah. - Haere mai ki tatou tenei kaupapa ki Toitu Te Reo. - Toitu Te Reo is a celebration of the language, a festival that comes at a time when Maori are feeling under attack. - We will change all the woke virtue-signalling names of every government department back to English. - It should have its English name first. - When 5 million people speak English in New Zealand, actually being able to name a government department is actually important. - To attack an innocent language that's an official language of the country that's just sort of, you know, surviving in some communities, that's hard, because I just don't understand that. I thought, 'Well, how can we inject some happiness into this space? 'How can we show the world that this is a language that's loved and it lives in multi facets, 'and how can that be our response?' Activism can be through a positive lens too, and I wanted that to be my contribution. - But his contribution hasn't been without challenges. - Kia ora tatou. Te Rina and I have three sons ` 15, 10, and 2. You know, they've had to live and breathe Toitu. Kia ora, son, love you. Of course, they're the ones that miss out on time with Papa. And only recently I've sort of been diagnosed with ADHD, which sort of made a lot of sense. It validated most of my life's journey. One of the hardest things is slowing down the brain because the brain is always wired. But Toitu was, uh... that was probably my brain when you look at everything that was happening in Toitu. - And there's lots happening. - We've just in the rounds, and, man, it's stunning. - E hikaka rawa atu ki te tai mai ki tenei kaupapa a whakahirahira. - This is the first of its kind, a reo Maori festival that's literally shut down the city. - # Haere mai... - # ...e nga iwi e. - To walk around that festival and see people from all walks of life, from all generations, from all of the tribes of the country, grassroots, it was amazing. And I thought, 'Wow, these people believe in a kaupapa.' He tai mai koe. - Oh! - It's a kaupapa that has the full support of the who's who of Maoridom, now the Maori Queen, Nga Wai hono i te po, played a special part, like Tatere did at the late Kingi Tuheitia's tangi. - Ki Taupiri ko Potatau... There's been so much that I'm extremely grateful for ` good people, good teachers, good mentors, people who have believed in me, but I think it's a bit phenomenal when I look back for a kid born in Aussie. - And it's the next generation of mouldy kids that drives Tatere. - No, I do it because I think about the society that I want my grandchildren to grow up in, and I want it to be a society that's accepting and they won't have to deal with some of the rubbish that we're having to deal with. - I think all generations who are here will get something from it, not least of all the fact that, you know, it's proud to be Maori, despite everything the government does It's the beginning of something big, I hope. It can only get bigger. - I'm amazed at how many people are here from across the country. It's phenomenal. - Rangatahi and tamariki all here embracing their language, embracing who they are. - It's moving, it's heartwarming, it's reassuring, it's reaffirming, and it's a little bit emotional too. - Ae, rere tonu ona. Nga mihi ki a koe e Takuta. We're off to Waiuku next no reira kia e tonu mai e Te Hui. - Nau mai ano e nga iwi. He kaupapa ka hoho pea i o koutou te hunga piranga ana ki a ka tipu i a koutou tamariki mokopuna ki te reo Maori. Kei Waiuku ` takiwa o Tamaki Makaurau ` tetahi pa harakeke e whangai ana i nga rito o te pa ki te reo. Mea nei te purongo a Meriana Johnsen. (FOLKY ACOUSTIC MUSIC) - E haere ana ahau ki te whare o Kahurangi raua ko Tame Malcolm. E Whakatipu ana to raua whanau ki te reo Maori. Moku, he reo tuarua te reo rangatira. No reira, kaore e kore, he hapa ka puta etahi wa. Engari, nau mai te hapa, ma te hapa ka ako. (FOLKY ACOUSTIC MUSIC CONTINUES) Kia ora. - Kia ora! - Nau mai. Tena koe. Haere mai. - Kia ora. Kia ora! Ko Meriana ahau. - Mihi atu. Koa. OK. - (LAUGHS) Kore kupu. - Haere mai. - Kei te rohe o Ngati Te Ata, kei te ukaipo o Kahurangi, te whanau e whangaitia ana. Koina te ahuatanga o ta koutou Ratapu ` noho ki te kainga, ngawari..? - Ae. Pukumahi. - Ne? (BOTH LAUGH) - Ke tenei whare... - He inu wai mau? - Ae. - Ae, inu wai. - Kei reira tetahi kapu. - ...he reo Maori te reo korero. Na te ao i tipu ai raua i whakatokia ai te kakano. - I kuraina ki tetahi kura rumaki reo Maori i Pukekohe, te raki o Pukekoe. Kare matou i korero Maori i te kainga. Engari, I korero Maori toku kuia, me toku koro. No reira, i te wa i tae atu matou ki ta ratou whare etahi wa i korero Maori matou i reira. - I haere au ki nga kura rumaki ki roto i a Rotorua. Engari, he ahua hu au o te wa, kaore he mea cool ki te korero i te reo Maori, i te wa i tipu ake au. No reira, kahore au i tino rata ki te ako i te reo. I mohio ahau i te reo, engari, kihai i tino ako. - Ko te wawata ia, ka tipu ake au tamariki I te reo? - Kaore te mea i whakatau ka reo Maori te tipuranga i tau ai ki taua turanga i runga te hiahia kia tipu Maori kaua ko te reo anake. Engari na wai, na wai I reo Maori te ao katoa. E hia nga kau, son? - Toru. - Toru. He aha nga tae o nga kau, son? - Pango me te parauri. - Ae. E hia nga mea parauri? - Rua. - Haere mai ka karanga ki a ratou? - Kau! - He aha nga rautaki reo Maori ka mahi korua? - I korero Maori. I korero Maori ki a Kaiwhare tera te rautaki. I te wa i patai mai i timata ia ki te patai mai he aha tenei, he aha tena, i tiro ki te Papakupu. (LAUGHS) - Hipi! Hipi me te hipi! (GIGGLES) Tino rata ahau ki te hipi. - Tohua mai, kei hea te noke? Kei hea te noke? Ka pai, i wini koe! Anei to kari. - E tuarihia ana o ratou wheako ki te ao... - I ukuikui to nono? I horoi koe o ringa? - Ae. - Ka pai. - ...nga piki... - He aha tena, Rehua? - He uenuku! - Uenuku! - ...me nga heke o te haerenga reo Maori. - TEARFULLY: Kaore au e pai ki te reo Maori. - Aww. - Pai ahau ki te reo Pakeha anake. - Kua hanga a matou tetahi mirumiru reo Maori mona, engari, ka haere ki te toa hokomaha, ka haere ki te puna kaukau, ka haere ki te papa takaro, he reo Pakeha katoa. Era wahi, ahakoa kua hanga matou i tenei mirumiru, ka puta i te whare, ka rongo i te reo Pakeha. - Toru, wha. Ka pai, Kaiwhare. - Engari, ma te whanau whanui e horahia ana te reo. - Waimarie ana matou kua whakatu oku whanaunga i etahi karaehe karate. - Ae. Ano. - I te wa o te raumati, ka whakahaere toku papa i etahi karaehe teneti i te reo Maori. - ...tenei. - Na tenei whakatipuranga o raua, ki roto i te reo Maori he mea whakaweawe hei te pa harakeke ki hoki atu ki te ako i te reo ki te whakapakari i te reo. Tahuri ake ki te pa harakeke inaianei kua Maori te pa harakeke katoa. - Ae, He tika te korero, ehara i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini. - Poaka? - Ae. - Ae. - He tino kaitunu to mama. - Ia te Ratapu huihui ai o ratou hoa, whanau hoki. Ko te koroua Pakeha hoki e ako ana. - Ka haere au ki te Wananga Takiura mo te tau. - I pehea tera wheako? - Oh. (CHUCKLES) He rereke. I tino wero, he wero pai. - I tino hiahia maua kei te tautoko i te whainga ko te whainga matua, ka korero Maori nga tamariki kia kounga te reo a nga mokopuna. - E rongo, e rongo... - He mea miharo ki a maua ki te whakarongo ki te maringi mai o te reo a nga mokopuna. - ALL: Taiki e. - E puawai tonu ana tenei pa harakeke, a, ara noa atu nga hua kua puta. - E mohio ana matou ki nga hua o te reo Maori. Ka hiki te wairua o te whanau ki te noho rumaki reo. No reira kare au i te tino whakarongo ki nga korero e whakahe ana i te korero, kia korero Maori tatou. Ka whai tonu. Ka kaha tonu matou ki te korero i te reo. - E hoa ma, kua hiki te kaupapa i aianei. That is our hui this week. Kia mau ki te turanga o taputapuatea. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e. Captions by Able. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2025