An increased appetite to learn Te reo Māori among different parts of the Parliament system means the work of the Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever.
An increased appetite to learn te reo Māori among members and staff from different parts of the Parliamentary system means the work of Parliament's Māori Language Service is in demand more than ever.
Compared to several years ago there's now also significantly more acknowledgement of and referral to Māori customs and protocols at Parliament. This is part of the reason why Nga Ratonga Reo Māori recently changed its name to Nga Ratonga Ao Māori, opening up the service's scope to more than just the language.
"We're asked for advice on a lot of things - very often - a few a day, several a week, from all parts of the Parliamentary Service and the Office of the Clerk, and they could be reo related, marae related, tikanga related, etc," says Maika Te Amo, the man who heads the five-person unit.
"I still see my main role as supporting the House with Māori language services, primarily simultaneous interpretation of all sittings of the House and also sittings of the Māori Affairs Select Committee, at every sitting, but also any other committee that requests simultaneous interpretation.
"The other thing is translation - and that can be anything from communications through the Parliamentary Engagement team that go out on the website or the social media channels. A heavy part of our load comes from the Māori Affairs Select Committee - all of their reports are bilingual, so we translate all of those as well."
From 1868 until 1920 Parliament had interpreters in the House. Then, for most of last century, Parliament didn't even employ an interpreter to support MPs who spoke in Māori. It wasn't until this century, with the reintroduction of interpreters and Māori language services, that te reo began to flow significantly in the chamber again.
People who follow the action in the debating chamber these days will be familiar with numerous MPs fluently using te reo in speeches. If you're watching the debate on Parliament TV you may see other MPs listening-in via an earpiece. That's made possible because of simultaneous interpretation by Te Amo and his colleagues.
It's not only Māori MPs who use te reo in the chamber. Many MPs regularly pepper their speeches with the language, or use Māori for all their formal phrasings (e.g. asking for a supplementary question during Question Time).
Furthermore, Te Amo says there's a lot of interest in using the language among staff of the Parliamentary Service and the Office of the Clerk.
Labour MP Kiritapu Allan debating in Māori in the chamber…