Waitangi Tribunal Claim
Wai 2336: Matua Rautia: Report on the Kōhanga Reo Claim
Nō te 28 o ngā rā o Hūrae i te tau 2011 i tāpaetia ai he kerēme ohotata e Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga Reo ki Te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, ka ingoatia ko Wai 2336. I ngā marama o Māehe me Āperira i te tau 2012 ka noho te Taraipiunara ki te whakarongo ki te kerēme, ā, nō te 18 o ngā rā o Oketopa i te tau 2012 ka whakaputaina tētahi rīpoata hukihuki mō te kerēme, ko tōna ingoa ko Matua Rautia.
I puea ake te kerēme ohotata nā runga i te whakaputanga o te rīpoata a Te Ope Kura Kōhungahunga i te tau 2011 me ngā whakapae whānui mō ngā takahitanga o te Tiriti me tā te Karauna pēhi i ngā Kōhanga Reo i ngā tau ngahuru mā rua ka pahure ake nei. Nā te kerēme i kitea ai tā te Karauna tāmi i te kaupapa nei me te kukume iho ki raro i tāna anō kaupapa kura kōhungahunga, ki raro tonu i te mana o te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, ka hē i konei tāna mahi nui ki te tiaki, ki te whakatairanga anō hoki i te reo Māori.
On 28 July 2011, the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board filed a claim under urgency with the Waitangi Tribunal, Wai 2336. The Tribunal heard the claim during March and April 2012 and released a pre-publication version of its report into the claim, Matua Rautia, on 18 October 2012.
The urgent inquiry was triggered by the publication in 2011 of the report of the Early Childhood Education Taskforce and wide-ranging allegations of Treaty breaches concerning the Crown's treatment of Kōhanga Reo over the past two decades. The claim noted that the Crown had effectively assimilated the Kōhanga Reo movement into its early childhood education regime under the Ministry of Education, stifling its vital role in saving and promoting the Māori language.
Ka kitea e te Taraipiunara ka hē i te Karauna tāna manaaki tika i ngā matea o te Kōhanga Reo hai waka kawe i te tuku ihotanga o te reo me te whanaketanga o ngā whānau nā tāna pūnaha kura kōhungahunga, tāna tukanga tuku pūtea, āna inenga kounga me āna kaupapa waeture. Hai konei kua takahia ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti, arā, ko te mahitahi me te tautika.
Hai tā te Taraipiunara, ka hē i te Karauna tāna ū tika ki te whakaaetanga mahitahi ki Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga i whakamanatia ai i te tau 2003. Nā wai i kino ka kino kē atu te hononga i waenganui i te Karauna me Te Poari, hōhā atu, hōhā mai ngā taha e rua, i kaha kē atu te hē nā te kore o te Karauna i noho ki te kōrero ki Te Poari mō te rīpoata a te Ope, he mea nui hoki te kauanuanu atu, kauanuanu mai e ai ki te whakaaetanga mahitahi.
Ka puta i te Taraipiunara tana māharahara nui ki te noho whakaraerae o te reo Māori, ā, i te mea he taonga rā hoki, kua hē i te Karauna tana haepapa nui ki te manaaki tika i te reo. I whakaae rātau ki ngā whakatakotoranga kōrero a ngā mātanga i kī rā kāore i tua atu i te noho rumaki a te kōhungahunga hai waka tuku iho i te reo me ngā tikanga Māori mai i tētahi whakatipuranga ki tētahi whakatipuranga. Hai tā te Taraipiunara anō, ko te Poari te kanohi kaitiaki o te kōhanga reo, kāore hoki he kaupapa whakatairanga i tua atu e ora tonu ai te reo Māori.
Ka mea te Taraipiunara i kaha rawa atu te takahia o te kaupapa nā tā te Karauna takahi i ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti. Hai tā rātau, kua pēhia kinotia nei te kaupapa, ā, ka pēhia tonutia, kino rawa atu nei. Nā konā ka puta te kupu a te Taraipiunara, e tika ana te kerēme.
Ka puta te whakahau a te Taraipiunara kia whakaae te Karauna ki tōna hē, kia whakapāha i tōna hē me ngā takahitanga o ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti. Ka puta te tūtohunga kia whakatūngia e te Karauna tētahi Kaitohutohu Taupua Motuhake ki te tari o te Pirimia me te Komiti Matua hai waihanga anō i te hononga i waenga i ngā tari kāwanatanga me te Poari Matua, kia ea wawe ai ngā raruraru nō mai rā anō. Ko ētahi o aua raruraru, ko te āhua o te tuku pūtea e kounga ai te tuku ihotanga o te reo; te anga arotake i ngā waeture me te whakatutuki; te rangahau i te whaihua me ngā putanga ā-mātauranga o te kaupapa o te Kōhanga Reo; me ngā kōrero whakamōhio i ngā whānau Māori ki ngā hua ā-reo, ā-mātauranga o te noho rūmaki i ngā tau tōmua.
Ka puta hoki te whakahau a te Taraipiunara kia tiro whāwhaitia te āhua ki te pūtea hoko rawa e taea ai e ngā Kōhanga Reo ngā waeture kura kōhungahunga hou i mua i te tau eke o 2014.
Ka tautokona e te Taraipiunara te wāhi mutunga o te rīpoata Wai 262, a Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, i kī rā me whāwhai te whakatikatikahia o ngā kaupapa here a te Karauna e ora tonu ai te reo Māori. I mea hoki te Taraipiunara e ora ai te reo me mahitahi ngā taha e rua – Māori mai, Karauna mai, e tutuki ai te wawata kia ora roa te reo Māori hai taonga nā te Māori.
Nō muri mai i te putanga o Matua Rautia, ka koke te tūtohutanga tuatahi (te whakarite i tētahi Kaitohutohu Taupua Motuhake) mā roto mai i ngā mahi a Hōnore Michael Cullen, nāna nei te “te Rīpoata a Cullen” i whakaputa. Ka tukuna tēnei rīpoata ki a Hōnore Hekia Parata i te Noema o te tau 2013, ko tāna, he haukoti i te kokenga o te Kerēme kia oti rā anō ngā pōtitanga o te Poari Matua. Kāore te Rīpoata a Cullen i paku koke whakamua.
Nō muri mai i ngā pōtitanga Poari i te tau 2017 me te panonitanga o te kāwanatanga i te Hepetema o taua tau, ka tuhi Te Poari ki te Minita hou o Te Arawhiti, ki a Hōnore Kelvin Davis, nā, i te tau 2018 ka tīmata ngā whiriwhiri i waenga i ngā kaiwhiriwhiri a Te Poari (a Moana Jackson rāua ko Tina Ratana) me te Karauna (a Glen Webber). E hia nei ngā marama ka huri, ka whakatārewahia anō, ā, ka waihangahia e Te Poari tētahi whakahaere hou e mahitahi ai ngā mema Poari ki ngā Minita me te Taha Whakahaere o Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga Reo e mahitahi nei me ngā āpiha matua o Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga.
Kua whakaurua ngā hua i ngā whakapuakitanga Tahua karapipiti nei i ngā tau 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 me te tau 2023.
The Tribunal found that the Crown's early childhood education system, in particular its funding formula, quality measures, and regulatory regime, had failed to adequately sustain the specific needs of Kōhanga Reo as an environment for language transmission and whānau development. These failures constituted breaches of the Treaty principles of partnership and equity.
The Crown, the Tribunal said, had failed to fulfil the partnership agreement it entered into in 2003 with the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust. An already difficult relationship between the Crown and the Trust, with frustrations on both sides, had worsened following the Crown's failure to consult the Trust on the taskforce's report, as required in good faith under the partnership agreement.
The Tribunal expressed its deep concern at the vulnerable state of Te Reo Māori, to which, as a taonga, the Crown had a duty of active protection that it had failed to meet. It accepted the expert evidence that early childhood immersion was an effective means of transmitting te reo me ngā tikanga Māori to the next generation. Kōhanga Reo, represented by the Trust as kaitiaki, were, the Tribunal considered, essential to the survival and revitalisation of Te Reo Māori.
The Tribunal concluded that significant prejudice to the claimants had occurred as a result of the Crown's breaches of Treaty principles. It considered that as a result, the claimants had suffered, and were likely to continue to suffer, significant prejudice. The Tribunal accordingly adjudged the claim to be well founded.
The Tribunal called on the Crown to make a formal acknowledgement and apology for the Treaty breaches that had occurred. It recommended that the Crown appoint an interim independent adviser based in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to redevelop the engagement between Government agencies and the Trust and to ensure early progress on resolving outstanding issues. These issues included the funding regime for sustaining quality in language transmission; the regulatory and performance reviewing framework; research on the effectiveness and educational outcomes of the Kōhanga Reo model; and information for Māori whānau on the linguistic and educational benefits of early Te Reo immersion.
The Tribunal also recommended that urgent attention be given to the need for additional capital funding to enable Kōhanga Reo to comply by the deadline of 2014 with the new early childhood regulations.
The Tribunal endorsed the conclusion of the Wai 262 Tribunal's report, Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, that urgent steps were needed to address recent Crown policy failures if Te Reo were to survive. The Tribunal noted that survival requires both Treaty partners – Māori and the Crown – to collaborate in taking whatever reasonable steps are required to achieve the shared aim of assuring the long-term health of Te Reo as a taonga of Māori.
After Matua Rautia was published, the first recommendation (appointing an interim Independent Adviser) was initially progressed through the work of the Hon Michael Cullen who produced what was labelled the “Cullen Report”. This report was presented to the Hon Hekia Parata in November 2013, who choose to stall any further progress on the Claim until the National Trust held Board elections. There was no further progress on the Cullen Report.
Following the Board elections in 2017 and the change of Government in September 2017, the Board wrote to the new Minister for Te Arawhiti Māori / Crown Relationships, the Hon Kelvin Davis, and in 2018 negotiations began between the Board’s negotiators (Moana Jackson and Tina Ratana) and the Crown (Glen Webber). After several months, this process stalled, and the Board set up a new model which saw Board members working with Ministers and the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Executive working with senior officials from the Ministry of Education.
The outcomes have been included in successive Budget announcements in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Ko ngā kitenga matua me ngā tūtohunga a te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi:
Me whakarite e te Karauna, mā Te Pirimia, tētahi kaitohutohu taupua motuhake hai whakahaere i te whakatinanatanga o ngā tūtohinga a te Taraipiunara, ki te whakapakari anō hoki i te whanaungatanga i waenganui i ngā tari kāwanatanga me Te Poari Matua.
E tautoko ana te Taraipiunara i tā Te Poari Matua whakatau kia waihangatia he ture motuhake mō ngā kōhanga reo, heoi “mō te wā nei, ko tā te Karauna he whakatūturu i ētahi pūtea āwhina i ngā kōhanga reo.”
Mā Te Tari o Te Pirīmia me te Komiti Matua, ka waiho mā te kaitohutohu motuhake e whakahaere, wawe nei, te hōtaka mahi ka waihangatia e Te Poari Matua me te Karauna, e ai ki tā Te Kawenata a te Tokotoru.
Mā Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga me Te Puni Kōkiri e kōrerorero, e mahitahi me Te Poari Matua ki te rangahau i ngā pānga me ngā hua o te kaupapa nei o te kōhanga reo, pēnei i te whai huarahi hai tautoko, hai whakanui anō hoki i tā te kōhanga reo e takoha nei ki te tuku ihotanga o te reo me te angitu o te Māori i tōna ake ao mātauranga.
Mā Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, Te Puni Kōkiri me Te Poari Matua e mōhio ai ngā whānau Māori ki ngā painga mō ngā mokopuna o te haere ki te kōhanga reo, arā, ko ngā hua reo Māori me ngā hua mātauranga. Me whakamōhio atu hoki rātau ki te hirahira o te hōtaka reo rua me te hōtaka rumaki reo Māori hoki, mehemea kai te pīrangi kia ora tonu te reo, hai reo ora.
He mihi, he whakapāha ōkawa hoki nā te Karauna ki Te Poari Matua me ngā kōhanga reo, mō te kore o āna kaupapa here kura kōhungahunga i tino tautoko i ngā kōhanga reo. I tua atu o tēnei, ko tā te Karauna he whakaae ki te utu i ngā nama rōia mō te kerēme a Te Poari Matua.
The Tribunal’s key findings and recommendations were that:
The Crown, through the Prime Minister, appoint an interim independent advisor to oversee the implementation of the Tribunal’s recommendations and to redevelop the engagement between government agencies and the Trust.
The Tribunal supported the Trust and the Crown’s consideration of separate legislative recognition for Kōhanga Reo, but “in the meantime, the Crown will need to ensure that funding support for Kōhanga Reo is provided”.
Through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the independent advisor, oversee and facilitate the urgent completion of a work programme developed by the Trust Board and the Crown in accordance with the Tripartite Agreement.
Through the Ministry of Education and Te Puni Kōkiri, there is discussion and collaboration with the Trust to research the effects and impacts of the Kōhanga Reo model including how to support and build on the contribution that Kōhanga Reo make to language transmission and Māori educational success as Māori.
Through the Ministry of Education, Te Puni Kōkiri, and the Trust, Māori whānau are informed of the relative benefits for mokopuna in attending Kōhanga Reo with respect to te reo Māori and education outcomes. They should also be informed of the importance of bilingual / immersion programmes if te reo Māori is to survive as a living language.
The Crown formally acknowledge and apologise to the Trust and Kōhanga Reo for the failure of its Early Childhood Education (ECE) polices to sufficiently provide for Kōhanga Reo. In making such an acknowledgement and apology the Crown should also agree to meet the reasonable legal expenses of the Trust in bringing the claim.
View the Report, Wai 2336: Matua Rautia: Report on the Kōhanga Reo Claim
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Matua Rautia
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Ngā kokenga o Te Kerēme o Wai 2336 taka noa mai ki tēnei wā
Wai 2336 Claim progress to date
Nō te tau 2012 ki te tau 2017, ka whakatārewatia e te Minita o te Mātauranga o taua wā, e Hōnore Hekia Parata ngā whiriwhiringa kōrero me Te Poari Matua mō te Kerēme kia oti rā anō ngā pōtitanga o te Poari.
I te Tīhema o te tau 2017 ka tīmata ngā whiringa i raro i te kāwanatanga haumi hou, ā, i ngā Minita Reipa, arā, i a Hōnore Kelvin Davis rātau ko Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta me te Tiamana hou o Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga Reo, i a Matua Hook.
From 2012 to 2017, the then Minister of Education, Hon Hekia Parata halted the Claim negotiations with the Trust Board, pending Board elections.
In December 2017, the negotiations began under the new coalition Government led by Labour Ministers the Hon Kelvin Davis, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the new Te Kōhanga Reo Trust Board Chairperson, Matua Hook.
Nō te tau 2018, ka wānanga tahi ngā kaiwhiriwhiri a Te Poari Matua, a Moana Jackson rāua ko Tina Olsen-Ratana me te kanohi o te Karauna, a Glenn Webber, i tētahi ara tautika, i tētahi ara tōitū mā ngā kōhanga reo.
During 2018, the negotiators for the Trust Board, Moana Jackson and Tina Olsen-Ratana and the Crown, Glenn Webber discussed an equitable, sustainable pathway for Kōhanga Reo.
Nō te 4 o ngā rā o Hune i te tau 2019, i tētahi kauhau i muri mai i te kupu Tahua ka puta i te Minita o Te Arawhiti, a Hon Kelvin Davis te kokenga tuatahi i tā te Karauna whakaea i te kerēme kōhanga reo.
Ko ngā homaitanga ko ēnei:
$2.5 miriona mō ngā Hangarau Mōhiohio, Whakawhiti Kōrero hoki
$8.5 miriona mō ngā Papanoho
$21.484 miriona mō ngā utu ki ngā kaimahi kōhanga reo
On 4 June 2019, the Minister for Crown Māori Relations, Hon Kelvin Davis, in a Post Budget speech, announced a first step towards the Crown addressing the Kōhanga Reo Claim.
This included allocation of:
$2.5 million for Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
$8.5 million for Property
$21.484 million for Kōhanga Reo staff costs
Ko ngā tukunga Kāwanatanga i te Tahua 2020 ko te:
$158 miriona i ngā tau e whā ki te whakapiki i ngā utu pūtea
$21.1 miriona i ngā tau e whā ki Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga Reo mō ngā mahi aromatawai, whakatikatika, whakahaumanu anō i ngā papanoho kōhanga reo
$13.8 miriona ki te tautoko i te whatunga kōhanga reo, ki te whakapakari hoki i te raukaha me te mātau o ōna tāngata
$2.8 miriona ki te mahitahi me Te Poari Matua o Te Kōhanga reo hai āwhina i ngā whānau ki te tiaki i ngā tamariki matea ako
The Government allocations in Budget 2020 included:
$158 million over four years into increased funding rates
$21.1 million over four years to Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust for ongoing work to assess, remedy and rehabilitate Kōhanga Reo properties
$13.8 million to support the Kōhanga Reo network and enhance the capability and capacity of its people
$2.8 million to work with Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust to provide support for whānau to support tamariki with learning support needs
Ka whakamanahia te Tohu Whakapakari hai Tohu e te Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa.
Tohu Whakapakari recognised as a Degree by New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
Ko ngā tukunga Kāwanatanga i te Tahua 2022 ko te:
$76 miriona i ngā tau e whā hai tautoko i ngā utu kaimahi kōhanga reo, kia tika ai
Pūtea hai whakatū i tētahi Pātengi Raraunga Kaimahi Kōhanga Reo (PRKKR) me tētahi tukanga rēhita motuhake mā ngā kōhanga reo
The Government allocations in Budget 2022 included:
$76 million over four years to support Kōhanga Reo kaimahi salaries to achieve pay parity
Funding to establish a Kōhanga Reo kaimahi database - Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and a distinctive Kōhanga Reo registration process
Ko ngā tukunga Kāwanatanga i te Tahua 2023 ko te:
Ētahi atu anō pūtea (kāore anō kia tau te rahinga) kia mau tonu ai ngā taumata utu ā-tau Utu Ōrite ki ō ngā kaimahi kura
Tētahi tukunga rangitahi he $3 miriona te rahi mō ngā whanaketanga nohopapa
Koi wareware tātau, i te tau 2014, ka tuku wawe a Te Puni Kōkiri i ētahi pūtea hai āwhina i ngā kōhanga reo kia tutuki ai ngā here raihana, ā, i te Tahua 2018 i whakaritea he pūtea mō ētahi wēne ngaringari noa nei hai kawe i ngā mokopuna ki te kōhanga reo.
The Government allocations in Budget 2023 included:
Additional funding (yet to be quantified) to maintain Pay Parity salary levels in line with Kura kaimahi
A one-off $3 million allocation for property aligned improvements
It is important to note that, in 2014, Te Puni Kōkiri also provided urgent funding to assist Kōhanga Reo to meet licensing requirements and in Budget 2018 funding for a small number of vans to transport mokopuna to Kōhanga Reo.
Hōnore Kelvin Davis – E mihi ana, Te Kōhanga Reo
Hon Kelvin Davis – Thank you to Kōhanga Reo
Tēnā koutou mō koutou e tiaki nei i ā tātau tamariki.
Mō koutou e whakatipu nei i ngā reanga kōrero Māori.
Ki ō tātau kaiako me ō tātau kaimahi katoa, tēnā koutou i ngā tini hāora e pau nei i a koutou ngā āhika katoa ka taea hai tautoko i te kaupapa.
Ki ngā kaikōkiri tuatahi o te kaupapa, ngā rangatira, ngā kuia, ngā whaea kēkē, ngā whaea, ngā mātua me ngā whanaunga - tēnā koutou katoa.
I ū tonu koutou ki te kaupapa, ā, kua ora ake te iwi Māori i te rangi nei tērā i nanahi, nā tō koutou ū.
Thank you for taking care of our tamariki.
For helping to grow generations of Reo speakers.
To all our kaiako and kaimahi, thank you for the many hours of blood, sweat and tears you have given to support the Kaupapa.
To the founders of the movement, the leaders, the nannies, the aunties, the mothers, fathers and cousins – thank you all.
You kept true to the movement and we, as Māori, are better today than we were yesterday because of your commitment.
Hon Kelvin Davis, Mei 2019. Te kauhau Tahua Taumuri. (Post Budget speech)