Ngāi Te Rangi’s bill for Waitangi Tribunal claim could reach $300,000

court Ngāi Te Rangi’s application was heard in June.

‘Irreversible harm to Maori’

A statement from Ngāi Te Rangi claimed the government’s prioritisation of English would cause “irreversible harm to the Māori language” and violate the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Stanley estimates that the tribe has spent nearly $100,000 in legal fees to prepare its claim, and that additional costs associated with the process could bring the total to $300,000.

The tribe also filed a claim in court seeking compensation for costs.

Stanley said Ngāi Te Rangi’s “funds urgently need to be spent elsewhere”.

“It can be used for our employment programmes and housing social and health programmes.”

However, he said: “The fight for your language is a just fight.”

Once an emergency case is approved, he said, the tribe achieves its goal of slowing down government action and allowing other tribes to follow suit.

Maori images, the Olympics and ‘Kiwitanga’

Ngāi Te Rangi chairperson Charlie Tawhiao, who made the original claim for Māori, said the Māori language was important because it was not just about mauritanga but also about “kiwetanga”.

He said the Government’s priority on English seemed to contradict the celebration of Maori culture by many athletes on the New Zealand Olympic team, who may or may not be Maori.

“When I watched the Olympics, I saw how much of Maori culture was embodied in Maori imagery. The most common theme among them was their relationship to this place – whether it was the green jade taunga or korowai they wore, the Maori greetings they used, or the haka.”

It said Ngāi Te Rangi had cut funding for some kaupapa Māori cultural programs, which had an “adverse” impact on its efforts to revitalise Māori culture, which remained “fragile”.

RNZ reports that the Crown attorney In May this year, the government told the court it was committed to meeting its legal obligations under the Maori Language Act and recognised Maori as the “language of the iwi and the Maori people”.

The tribunal is expected to release its findings in the coming months.

The offices of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka were contacted for comment.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Mail. She has been working as a journalist since 2021.