An Act to declare the Maori language to be an official language of New Zealand, to confer the right to speak Maori in certain legal proceedings, and to establish Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Maori and define its functions and powers.[1]
The Māori Language Act 1987 was a piece of legislation passed by the Parliament of New Zealand[2] that gave official language status to the Māori language (te reo Māori), and gave speakers a right to use it in legal settings such as in court. It also established the Māori Language Commission, initially called Te Komihana Mo Te Reo Maori, to promote the language and provide advice on it.
The 1987 act was repealed by section 48 of the Māori Language Act 2016, however there was no major changes in the provisions of the old legislation and the 2016 act merely updates the 1987 law with new provisions and language.
1991 amendment
The act was amended in 1991 and legislated the Māori Language Commission's name change to Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Māori.[3] It also slightly expanded the range of legal settings in which Māori could be used, to include bodies such as the Tenancy Tribunal and any Commission of Inquiry.
The Maori language act 1987 was inacted by Awheto Dickson in 1986. The thought behind the act was to increase the ammount of maori speaking students in schools and institutions
Context
The act was the result of many years of campaigning by Māori, particularly those involved in the Māori protest movement. It was also the result of shifts in thinking about the Treaty of Waitangi. By the mid-1980s, the treaty had acquired increased relevance thanks primarily to the Waitangi Tribunal. The act was passed at least in part as a response to Waitangi Tribunal finding that the Māori language was a taonga (treasure or valued possession) under the Treaty of Waitangi.[4] The act also drew on a number of international precedents, primarily the Bord na Gaeilge Act 1978ofIreland, which is cited several times in the legislation, but also the Welsh Language Act 1967 of the United Kingdom, which enabled the use of the Welsh languageinWelsh court proceedings.
Despite the act, Māori does not have the same status under law as English. For example, tax records must be kept in English unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue agrees otherwise.[5]
2016 update
The 1987 act was repealed by section 48 of the Māori Language Act 2016 which updates the old law. As a New Zealand first, two versions of the new law were circulated: one in Māori and another in English, with a provision in the law stating the Māori version of the law takes precedent to the English translation.[6][7]
References
^Long title amended on 20 June 1991, by section 2(2) of the Maori Language Amendment Act 1991 (1991 No 40).