Waitangi Tribunal inquiry: Crown accused of ‘gaslighting’ Māori as part of te reo policy

An emotional day concluded the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the use of te reo in the public sector.

On Friday, plaintiffs accused the government of arsoning Māori through its te reo policies, an allegation denied by Crown lawyers.

Lawyer Annette Sykes tearfully recalled the gains te reo Māori supporters have made over the decades.

“I have been fighting for our reo for years and you are dismantling its protections,” she said.

“I saw people die who fought for our reo and who never considered it an official language. Anyone who has been going to kōhanga for free for 40 years – until last year, to be precise – has never paid a penny to promote our reo.

“You cannot tell me that any government should tolerate small, petty parties coming to dismantle the transformation apparatus that has taken place in this country over the last 40 years.

“It is a denial of our Māori mana motuhake, it is a denial of our tino rangatiratanga, it is a transcendence of the power of kāwanatanga. This is as confrontational as declaring war on my people.”

Māori will not tolerate the loss of mana te reo and will fight it with all means available, she said.

Tauranga’s Iwi Ngāi Te Rangi made its claim in December, arguing that the Coalition’s policy of prioritizing English would cause irreparable harm to te reo Māori.

Since then, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis has chosen not to issue directives to the public sector on the use of te reo Māori, leaving it to the discretion of individual ministers.

The applicant’s lawyer, Mataanuku Mahuika, was asked by the tribunal whether this meant the government was stopping the policy.

He replied that the government would be judged by its actions, not its words. A week before the hearing began, the plaintiffs received a letter informing them that the Ministry of Transport was waiving certain te reo obligations, he added.

“Is this how we make policy, is this how we give Māori confidence in their language? ‘Just trust us that we’ve got this,’ because everything we see is going in a different direction and there comes a point where the Crown needs to be reminded of its responsibilities.”

Asking Māori to blindly trust the Crown is “gaslighting”, he said.

“Engari e kī mai te Karauna ki a tātau ‘kei te pai i tēnei wā, ahakoa ngā mahi o mua i tēnei wā hika he pai kaua koutou e āwangawanga, nā reira koina te take a gas lantern.”

“The corona tells us that ‘everything is OK now, despite what happened before’, everything is OK now, there is no need to worry’ – that’s why we call it gaslighting.

However, Crown counsel Seb Bisley denied that this was the evidence given by Crown witnesses.

“What the Crown has been saying throughout the tribunal is: ‘here we are.’ We present to you all the information we have, we bring before you witnesses who give evidence that does not always agree with each other, because we want the tribunal to be able to benefit from the full range of Crown perspectives on these issues.”

Crown decisions were made in a complex political environment, and coalition agreements were not the same as crown actions, he said.

“(Willis) took the position that she described very early on, and then there was quite a careful and comprehensive advisory process that culminated in a very different outcome.”

Chairman of Te Rūnanga o Ngai Te Rangi, Charlie Tawhiao, thanked the Crown representatives present.

“Nā te karauna e timata e au e runga e tāku huarahi ki te reo. Engari ko te ahua nei kua āhua rerekē ngā mahi o te karauna.”

“It was my time in the public sector that started me on the path of learning te reo, but it seems like everything has changed now.”

In her closing statements, Justice Te Kani Williams appeared visibly moved, expressing her appreciation to the plaintiffs and lawyers who appeared before the tribunal throughout the week.

He said the tribunal was grateful to everyone who shared their thoughts and kōrero.

“I kite au te wairuatanga, te honutanga i roto i ngā taunakitanga, i kite mātou i ngā roimata etak ana i ngā kaikōrero, e tata hoki mai ana i ngā roia hoki. Mea rawa ake e rite pea ana ki ngā roimata e tak mai ana ia Rangi tae noa ki Papatuānuku i tenei wā tonu.”

“We heard and felt the spiritual depth of each surrender and saw the tears shed by plaintiffs, witnesses and their legal representatives. Perhaps this is inextricably linked to the tears shed by Rangi that are now falling on Papatuānuku.”

Judge Williams said the tribunal would make every effort to produce a comprehensive report before the end of the year.

The report will be completed and presented in ‘ngā reo e rua’ – in both languages ​​- to recognize te reo Māori and those who have dedicated their lives to fighting for its mana, as well as those who have appeared before them throughout the week, he said .