Māori Language Act 2016

The Māori Language Act 2016 (No 17) (Māori: Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016) is an act which relates to the revitalisation of the Māori language.

Māori Language Act 2016 Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016
New Zealand Parliament
Citation	2016 No 17
Royal assent	2016-04-29
Commenced	1 August 1987 s 4: 1 February 1988
Legislative history
Introduced	2014-07-24
First reading	2014-07-24
Second reading	2016-03-09
Third reading	2016-04-14
Related legislation
Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006
Status: In force

Drafting

In designing the legislation, the government looked at evidence provided by Te Paepae Motuhake, Waitangi Tribunal and others.^[1]

Provisions

The act established Te Mātāwai, an organisation of iwi, urban and Crown representatives.^[2] Te Mātāwai works with the government under the public policy framework Te Whare o te reo Mauriora.^[3]

The status of the Māori language as a "taonga" (English: treasure) was reaffirmed by the legislation.^[4] The legislation also placed an obligation on the government to protect the Māori langauge.^[5]

The legislation allows for the use of the Māori language lawyers, judges and witnesses in court.^[6]

Criticism

Northland iwi Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, Te Poari o Ngātiwai, Te Rūnanga a Iwi o Ngāpuhi, Te Reo Ngāti Hine filed a judicial review, criticising Māori language being "inconsequential" in the country's courts.^[7]