Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency today unveiled one of the first bilingual kura/school traffic signs since a recent Rule change was introduced.
Nō tēnei rā, ka huraina e Te Mātāwai me Waka Kotahi ko tētahi o ngā tohu huarahi reorua tuatahi mō ngā kura/kura auraki, nō muri mai i te whakahoutanga o ngā Waeture.
Ko te Waeture Ikiiki Whenua: Ngā Taputapu Whakahaere Waka Hāereere (Ngā Tohu Kura/Kura Auraki) 2022 tērā, ka tautuhi i ngā tikanga here mō ngā tohu 'kura' ka taea te whakamahi ki ngā huarahi kua whakahoutia kia reorua ngā tohu kura hou.
I whai kupu a Tākuta Jeremy Tātere McLeod i te whakarewatanga ki Ahuriri, ko ia te kanohi o Te Poari o Te Mātāwai nō tēnei takiwā, he Pouwhakahaere hoki nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Hei tāna: “ka whakamihi a Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated ki ngā mahi hei whakatangata whenua anō i te reo Māori ki te rohe o tō tātau iwi. He iwi mātau kua kaha nei te ngaro haere o te reo Māori, ā, he tino huarahi ngā momo mahi nei hei whakaora mai anō i te reo Māori ki tēnei takiwā".
Hei āpiti mai, ka kī a Reikura Kahi, Hoa Toihau o Te Mātāwai: “he kōpare pai tēnei kaupapa ki te whāinga ngātahi a Ngāi Māori me te Karauna , kia māhorahora, kia whakanui hoki i te reo Māori. He tino huarahi tēnei hei whakawhānui i ngā wāhi ka whai wāhi te tangata ki te whakamahi i te reo Māori ki ō rātau hapori”.
Ka kī a Kane Patena, Director of Land Transport ki Waka Kotahi: “he tapuwae iti tēnei ka nui tōna awenga hei huarahi e whai wāhi mai ai a Aotearoa whānui ki te reo Māori mā ngā tohu huarahi”.
Ko te whakamanatanga o te waeture hou tētahi wāhanga o te hōtaka He Tohu Huarahi Māori e kōkiritia ana e Te Mātāwai me Waka Kotahi ka taki whakanui i te whakamahinga o ngā tohu reorua, haere ake nei.
Kei te tautokona He Tohu Huarahi Māori e tētahi kapa pūkenga-maha nō ngā tari e rua me tētahi rōpū mātanga whakamāori kōrero nō ngā pito katoa o te motu. He mea whakatū a Te Mātāwai i te tau 2016 e Te Ture o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Act), ā, ka mahi tahi ki te Karauna ki te whakaora i te reo Māori.
“Kei te hāngai te whāinga a Waka Kotahi kia rangona, kia kitea nuitia te reo Māori ki tā Te Mātāwai,” hei tā Kane Patena.
Mā te waeture hou, ka miramira ake te momotuhi o te kupu 'kura' ki runga i te kupu 'school' kia kitea te rerekētanga o te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā i ngā tohu kura hou.
Ka whakamahia ngā tohu Kura/School e ngā Mana Whakahaere Huarahi hei te wā me whakahou ngā tohu o tēnei wā, ka whakamahia kētia he tohu hou. Ka mana ā-ture tonu ngā tohu reo Pākehā anake mō tēnei wā, kia tae ki te wā ka whakahoutia.
Kei te tautokona tēnei hōtaka e Te Manatū Waka me te whai wāhi mai hoki o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
Kua whakamahia kētia ngā tohu reo rua i runga i te kōtuitui ki roto i ngā tau, engari ka riro mā te waeture hou e whakaōrite ai, e whakahaumaru hoki ai te whakamahinga puta noa i a Aotearoa.
Tērā ētahi atu tohu huarahi ka tukuna hei matapakitanga mā te iwi tūmatanui hei te roanga atu o tēnei tau.
Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency today unveiled one of the first bilingual kura/school traffic signs since a recent Rule change was introduced.
The Land Transport Rule: Traffic Control Devices (Kura/School Signs) Amendment 2022, which specifies requirements for ‘school’ signs that can be used on roads, now requires bilingual sign supplements for new school signs.
Speaking at the launch in Ahuriri Napier, Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, local Te Mātāwai Board representative and Director at Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated said: “Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated salutes the efforts being undertaken to normalise te reo Māori again within our tribal region. We are a tribe who suffered major language losses and initiatives such as these go a long way to reinstating te reo Māori within the district.”
Te Mātāwai Board Co-Chair Reikura Kahi added: “This kaupapa represents a positive contribution to Māori and the Crown shared vision, kia māhorahora te reo Māori – to share and celebrate Māori language. We see this as a critical step to expand the spaces where people feel empowered to use the Māori language in their communities.”
Waka Kotahi Director of Land Transport Kane Patena said: “This small but important step represents a significant opportunity to increase Aotearoa whānui engagement with te reo Māori through traffic signs.”
The introduction of the new rule is part of the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme led by Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi which will see more bilingual signs enabled using a phased approach.
The He Tohu Huarahi Māori programme is supported by a multi-disciplinary team from both organisations and an expert panel of te reo Māori translators from across the motu. Te Mātāwai was established in 2016 by Te Ture o te reo Māori (Māori Language Act) and works in partnership with the Crown for Māori language revitalisation.
“The Waka Kotahi vision of contributing to having te reo Māori seen heard and spoken is aligned with Te Mātāwai,” said Mr Patena.
The amended rule shows the word kura in bolder font above the word school to differentiate te reo Māori and English on new school traffic signs.
The Kura/School signs will be used by Road Controlling Authorities when existing signs need to be replaced or new signs are introduced. Existing English-only school signs remain legal traffic signs until they are replaced.
The programme also has support from Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport and input from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Language Commission.
Bilingual signs have been used on the network for some time, but the rule change will help with more consistent and safe use across Aotearoa New Zealand.
A selection of other traffic signs is expected to be released for public consultation later this year.
