He rangi hirahira tēnei, ko te tuatahi ka whakarewa te pāhotanga o te reo Māori ki ngā ratonga tereina o Tāmaki Makaurau i wehe atu i Britomart ki Onehunga.
Hei āpōpō ka pāho atu te reo Māori ki ngā ratonga tereina o Tāmaki Makaurau ka tūhono ki te tau hōu Maori arā ki te wā o Matariki.
He mea nui ka kokirihia te reo Māori ki ngā iwi katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau, tā Glenn Wilcox, te heamana tuarua o te ‘Independent Māori Statutory Board’.
“He kaupapa nui ka taea te rongo a Tāmaki Makaurau whānui i te reo Māori, ka whakatenatenahia ngā iwi katoa ki te ako i te reo.
Mā te rongo i te reo Māori ia rā, ka tūmanakohia e au ka kimihia, ka mārama hoki ko te reo he tino taonga mō Tāmaki Makaurau me te mōhiotanga ko tēnei te tino taone Poronīhiana o te ao. E koakoa ana, te kite atu i te mahi nui a “Auckland Transport” ka kokirihia tēnei kaupapa, ka tutuki, ka hua.
“Ka mahingātahi te Independent Māori Statutory Board me ngā whānau a te Kaunihera o Tāmaki kia whakamanahia te reo ki Tāmaki Makaurau whānui. Mā te whakapiki i te reo ki te tokomaha o ngā iwi, me te whakaaroarotanga ki te hunga rangatahi, ka whakapaipai ake te rohe a Tāmaki Makaurau.”
Ko tēnei te wāhanga tuatahi, te whakamahi ki te reo Māori i te hōtaka haumaru a te ‘public transport programme’, me tōna pāhotanga matua hei te timatanga me te waenganui o te haerenga. Ko te wāhanga tuarua o te hōtaka ka whakaniko i ngā karere o nāianei ki ngā haerenga.
Tā te Minita o Te Manatū Waka a Phil Twyford, “Ka nui taku mihi ki Auckland Transport mō te whakamahi i te reo Māori i runga i ngā tereina, ā, ka kipakipa i ngā pāhihi katoa kia mataara tonu, kia tūpato.”
Tā Shane Ellison, te Tumu Whakarae o Auckland Transport, he nui ngā whakaaro, te kaha hoki ka tutukihia tēnei kaupapa, ka hua.
“E manahau ana te pūmautanga o te reo Māori ki ngā tereina, ā, nō mātou te whakahī. Mehemea ka mauria mai e Auckland Transport te harikoa me te mana mauri o te reo ki ngā iwi whānui o Tāmaki Makaurau, ki reira te anga whakamua nui ki te ara tika.”
Ko te tīmatanga o te reo Māori ki ngā tereina, he tapaetanga e Auckland Transport ki te kaupapa here a te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau. Ka āhukahuka tēnei kaupapa here, te reo Māori hei taonga, hei reo mana o Aotearoa me tōna take rerekētanga ki te ao.
He ngākau titikaha a Auckland Transport ki te reo Māori, ka kitea, ka rongohia, ka kōrerotia, ka akona ki ngā ara rerewhenua katoa.
Nā Miriama Smith te reo pāhotanga Māori. He kaiwhakaari, he kaikawe kōrero i te pouaka whakaata.
Te reo Māori arriving on Auckland’s trains
The first Auckland train service to have te reo Māori announcements left Britomart Station today and ran to Onehunga.
From tomorrow all Auckland train services will have te reo announcements which has been timed to coincide with Matariki.
Independent Māori Statutory Board deputy chairman Glenn Wilcox says this is a major step towards bringing te reo into the everyday lives of Aucklanders.
“This is about making sure te reo is heard in Auckland, and about encouraging people to learn the language. By hearing their language everyday, I am hoping people will seek it out and understand that the reo makes Auckland unique, it is the world’s largest Polynesian City. I’m pleased to see that Auckland Transport has taken the step to make this happen.
“The Independent Māori Statutory Board has worked with the Auckland Council family to make te reo more prominent across the city. By exposing more people, and particularly our young people, to te reo, this will only make Auckland a better place.”
This is the first stage in the te reo on public transport programme, and features the main safety announcements and the beginning and mid-point of the journey. The next stage will include an enhancement of the current messages in te reo throughout the journey.
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford says, “ It’s great to see this initiative by Auckland Transport, making te reo Māori a part of many Aucklanders’ daily commute.”
Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison says a lot of thought and effort has gone into making this project a reality.
“Bringing te reo onto trains is very exciting, and we’re really proud of it. If Auckland Transport can bring the joy and importance of the language to more people in Auckland then that’s a big step in the right direction.”
The introduction of Māori language on trains is Auckland Transport’s contribution to Auckland Council’s Māori Language Policy. This policy recognises te reo Māori as a cultural treasure and an official language of New Zealand and is New Zealand’s point of difference in the world. AT is committed to the Māori language being seen, heard, spoken and learnt throughout the transport network.
The announcements have been recorded by actor and television presenter Miriama Smith.
