Tamati Coffey Labour List MP

On Tuesday, thousands of New Zealanders in Tauranga Moana and right across Aotearoa joined together to support Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2021. If this was you, good on you, and if it wasn't kei te pai – you can still make 2021 the year your te reo Māori journey steps up.

My ‘path' started when I was 20, and I haven't stopped learning. It has been a long, hard, but extremely worthwhile slog. I've fallen in love with our reo, learnt from inspiring people, and find myself constantly re-inspired by people like you, giving it a go, right here in our community.

Labour was the party to get te reo Māori listed as the ‘official language' it always should have been. From establishing the Maihi Karauna Crown commitment to having one million New Zealanders speaking te reo Māori by 2040, to Minister Kelvin Davis investing over $300 million into the abilities of Kohanga Reo to further secure the future of our taonga, I'm proud to be part of a Labour government building on that legacy for our whānau.

From boosting putea for Māori broadcasting to Te Ahu o te Reo Māori training more educators in the correct and proper use of te reo - growing more opportunities to learn te reo and better outcomes for our tamariki in our kura - we are working hard to deliver the future voters tell us they want for their kids.

In that future, one day Covid-19 may enter our community. If it does, we need to be confident we have taken every possible action to safeguard our people. We can achieve that by encouraging as many people as possible to book as an individual, or as a whānau, to get their free vaccine. Please protect our whakapapa, be a doer, karawhiua.