Happy Māori Language Erasure Week!

As per tradition, it immediately follows Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, at least according to the National Party.

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Behind the Panels

Guys, I think I jinxed us.

Last week, when I said Luxon and the National Party had reached some lows with their thinly veiled acknowledgment of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in light of some policy moves that grounded back a forward moment in the language to a halt, I didn’t expect them to take that as a challenge and go further to a new low.

But on Thursday, Education Minister Erica Stanford revealed the party would cut $30m to te reo Māori funding to boost maths curriculum to buy “new textbooks”. Apparently, there was nowhere else to find this money, certainly not in the 2.9 Billion dollars set aside for landlords, or the $216m for tobacco tax cuts, no, it HAD to come from te reo Māori funding.

During some light PR work for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Stanford stated that she and National were “committed to lifting achievement for Māori learners and closing the equity gap that has persisted for too long in our education system. This government will ensure every child gets the very best start in literacy they can.” Six days later she announced the funding cut.

Danz.

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