Finance Minister Nicola Willis has defended the Government’s policy on allowances for te reo Māori-speaking public servants after a Tauranga iwi claimed it breached the Treaty of Waitangi.

Te Pāti Māori has backed the decision of the Ngāi Te Rangi Settlements Trust, which filed a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal yesterday against the new Government, alleging breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the “undermining” of te reo Māori.

Last week, Willis told RNZ she would ask for advice on how to stop paying bonuses to public servants for te reo Māori proficiency.

The trust’s claim said Willis’ comment in the media was merely one action the Government had taken that had breached Article 2 of Te Tiriti and/or the Maori Language Act and/or tikanga and/or the Bill of Rights 1688.

“Given that the payments made to those public sector employees with te reo Māori proficiency are not ‘bonuses’, but allowances for sought-after skills, the use of the word ‘bonus’ is pejorative and incites hostility against the Māori civil servants receiving such allowances, in breach of Te Tiriti,” the claim said.

“Removing such allowances is unfair to civil servants who bring those skills and proficiencies to their role and to the public agencies they work for to allow those agencies to properly serve Māori. Many of those agencies also assist the Crown to perform its Treaty partnership obligations, given the actions they are required to take under their relevant statutory frameworks.”

Nicola Willis responds

In Parliament today, Willis was asked about the Government’s policy being included in the Waitangi Tribunal claim.

She responded: “I hope there hasn’t been a misunderstanding about what the Government’s views on that issue are, which are that we want to uphold all employment clauses and existing collective agreements.

“There is no intention to take any of that back, despite the rhetoric from some.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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Willis said the Government wanted to ensure that people’s skills or experience needed for their roles were reflected in their base remuneration.

“I hope that that policy hasn’t been misinterpreted in any way and I’m confident that we can work that through.

“We absolutely appreciate that having skill in te reo Māori, knowledge of tikanga Māori, having experience in te ao Māori are really important for many roles in the public service and we wish to see people with those skills, experience and knowledge continue to perform roles in the public service that are well remunerated.”

Asked if the policy undermined progress in promoting te reo Māori when Government policies had been removing te reo from the public service, Willis said: “We continue to celebrate te reo Māori.

“It is one of New Zealand’s official languages. We absolutely welcome people using te reo Māori, it being a feature of public life. We will continue to support that.”

Te Pāti Māori commends Ngāi Te Rangi

In a press release today, Te Pāti Māori co-leader and Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi said the party backed Ngāi Te Rangi’s Waitangi Tribunal claim to protect te reo.

“The fight for te reo Māori has been an intergenerational war against a system that has oppressed its use. It was beaten out of our kaumātua, and now the Government are using their force and might to strip it out of Government organisations.

“Te reo Māori is the only official spoken language in this country. The message this Government is sending young tamariki is that it’s not okay to speak te teo Māori. That they shouldn’t be comfortable with their Māoritanga. That te reo Māori is not good enough.”

Te Pati Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The “multitudes of people” who came together last week for the protests were “genuinely concerned and even afraid of this Government’s agenda”, Waititi said.

It should be a “clear signal” that te iwi Māori “won’t be accepting any rubbish from the new coalition Government”.

“It puts all breaches of Te Tiriti on notice.

“I commend Ngāi Te Rangi for leading this out. I would hope that every other settled iwi do the same to assert their tino rangatiratanga and their rights.”

At the post-Cabinet press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was aware an urgent claim had been submitted with the Waitangi Tribunal regarding the threat of the Government’s policies regarding Māori issues.

His only comment was to say people should celebrate the use of te reo Māori, noting that he had always wanted to learn the language further.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.