Ministry Statements and Speeches 2008

UNGA Third Committee, Item 64 Indigenous Issues.

Statement by Ms Nicola Hill, Representative of New Zealand, 20 October 2008

Mr Chairman

New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to speak on this topic.  For many years New Zealand has given priority to the rights and needs of its indigenous people.  They make up 15 percent of our country’s population and 17 percent of parliamentary representation.

The issue of lands and resources is moving increasingly beyond the question of resolving grievances.  There is a new confidence and dynamism in many Maori communities. The indigenous economy is doing well.  Maori assets in fisheries, forestry and land-based business continue to expand, while tourism ventures owned and managed by indigenous people are flourishing.

In this International Year of Languages, it is appropriate to emphasise the preservation of linguistic diversity and respect for languages. As the Director-General of UNESCO pointed out in his message launching the International Year, “languages are essential to the identity of groups and individuals and to their peaceful coexistence.”     

The New Zealand Government and the Maori population agree that growth in use of the indigenous language contributes to the wellbeing of Maori, both individually and as a community.  The Maori language is a cultural treasure, contributing to the uniqueness of New Zealand and its people.

Since 1987 it has been an official language of New Zealand.  For many years the kohanga reo movement has nurtured the learning of the language by very young children.  In the last decade, support has been provided for home and community language initiatives. These include family language mentors, an information programme for parents about language options, and funding for tribal language planning and implementation.

Maori-language free-to-air television and radio stations with nation-wide coverage have received Government funding and access to reserved frequencies free of charge.  These stations enable Maori views and culture to reach a mass audience. 

To ensure the Maori people reach their full potential through educational achievement, the Government has adopted a Maori Education Strategy for the period 2008-12.  It is called Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success.  The emphasis is on “succeeding as Maori”. Identity, language and culture are essential ingredients of success.

Ka Hikitia promotes a high-quality education system that is accessible, equitable and responsive to different learning aspirations. The aim is to transform the performance of the education system for and with Maori.  Key features of the Strategy include:

• moving away from a focus on problems, failure and risks, towards one which makes the most of opportunities for success;
• incorporating a “potential approach” for Maori in education, which has three underlying principles:
• Maori Potential:  all Maori learners have unlimited potential; 
• Cultural Advantage:  all Maori have cultural advantage by  virtue of who they are – being Maori is an asset, not a problem;
• Inherent Capability:  all Maori are inherently capable of achieving success.

The Strategy’s activities to improve outcomes for Maori learners are as follows:

• Increasing Maori children’s participation in early childhood education, and strengthening their literacy and numeracy in their first years of schooling;
• Ensuring young Maori are present and effectively engaged in learning and achieving in their first years at secondary school;
• Enabling Maori learners to access their preferred Maori language education options, increasing the number of Maori language teachers and enhancing the quality of teaching of the language; and
• Focusing on organisational success in the Ministry of Education and the various education sector agencies.

 
New Zealand’s new School Curriculum has a companion document called Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.  This sets the direction for student learning in schools which conduct their teaching in the Maori language.  The document itself is written in the Maori language, and from an indigenous perspective.

In addition, guidelines have been published for the teaching of the Maori language to pupils of any ethnicity.  Schools can receive assistance and advice in the teaching and learning process.  All children are encouraged to acquire some facility in the Maori language.

As a Pacific country, New Zealand accepts a regional responsibility to promote and protect Pacific indigenous languages.  The New Zealand Human Rights Commission, in its recent Statement on Language Policy, highlights the need to retain not only the Maori language but also the indigenous languages of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, which have close constitutional ties with New Zealand.  Significant proportions of their communities reside in New Zealand.     

In the international context, New Zealand was the first UN member to contribute financially to the establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.  The Forum and its experts have played an important role in assisting the UN to focus on indigenous issues.  The report from this year’s meeting raises important issues relating to climate change, the Millennium Development Goals and (significantly in terms of New Zealand’s intervention today) the safeguarding of indigenous languages.

Thank you Mr Chairman.

 

back to 2008 speech index

top of page