News

Keep up to date with our mahi.

Sorry, no blog posts in your current filter. Try broadening your search?

Digital creators, a quiet trailblazer and beloved Nanny honoured at Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025
A vibrant spectrum of winners took centre stage at Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025, the annual Māori Language Awards held in Wellington tonight. Hosted by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission), the event celebrates those carrying te reo Māori into the future.

November 2025

Ko te kai a te rangatira, he kōrero – Celebrating 50 years of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with kai
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) is serving up something special with Whānau Kai and Bargain Box to show that te reo Māori brings plenty of flavour to our everyday lives.

September 2025

50 years, one week, everyone’s invited: Te Wiki 2025
In the lead up to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (14–20 September 2025) Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) announces the launch of nationwide activities to help all New Zealanders get involved in this year’s golden anniversary of Māori Language Week.

August 2025

“Not Today, Coloniser”: A Call to Courage from the Waves 2025 Indigenous Languages Summit, Ottawa Canada
Today, I had the honour of speaking on a global panel alongside other Indigenous leaders at the Waves 2025 Indigenous Languages Summit in Ottawa, Canada. Invited by the Indigenous Languages Commissioner of Canada, this summit is the largest Indigenous languages conference ever...

August 2025

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Recognised at Australasian Reporting Awards
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) is proud to announce it has received a Bronze Award in the 2025 Australasian Reporting Awards (ARA) for its 2023/2024 Annual report.

May 2025

Tai timu, tai pari – TAIHOA e HAERE!
“This isn’t about whether a road sign says “stop” or “taihoa.” It’s about whether our country is willing to move forward on the tide of revitalisation — or retreat into tired, old patterns of resistance and fear.” 

May 2025

Nominations Open for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 
The karanga is out! Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, is calling for nominations for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 – a celebration of those who are championing the normalisation and revitalisation of te reo Māori.

May 2025

Woolworths​ New Zealand​ - supporting rangatahi to succeed
Woolworths is one of the leading ​retailers ​in Aotearoa​ New Zealand​, serving more than 3 million customers every week. Woolworths ​is ​focused on giving customers the very best in choice, value and convenience, while keeping social and environmental responsibilities top of ...

March 2025

Whakaata Māori – making Māori language vibrant and accessible to all
Whakaata Māori is Aotearoa New Zealand’s national indigenous media organisation, dedicated to revitalising and empowering te reo Māori, culture and identity through storytelling.  Guided by the vision, kia mauriora te reo - a future where te reo Māori is spoken everywhere, eve...

March 2025

Taking te reo to the stage!
Te Matatini Society Incorporated is the national organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand responsible for fostering, developing and protecting traditional Māori performing arts. 

February 2025

Uplifting and celebrating te reo Māori for learners across Aotearoa
Centering learners and their whānau, creating great education opportunities, supporting learning that is relevant to the lives of New Zealanders today and into the future. Those are some of the goals of Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga - the Ministry of Education. 

February 2025

In our hearts and on our minds
Creative New Zealand is one of the most significant institutions within the Aotearoa arts scene. They encourage, promote and support the arts in Aotearoa for the benefit of all New Zealanders through funding, capability building, an international programme and advocacy. 

February 2025

Te reo Māori in the pockets of New Zealanders every day
Google is one of the most influential technology companies in the world, known for its search engine, digital products and innovations in AI, cloud computing, and more. As part of their innovative work, Google has moved towards increased support for indigenous languages, inclu...

February 2025

Ensuring te reo Māori is a healthy, vibrant and thriving everyday language
Te Puni Kōkiri is the Government’s principal policy advisor on Māori wellbeing and development. 

February 2025

Second drop of ‘Kia kaha te Reo Māori’ gear lands for summer 2025
Summer is heating up with the long-awaited second drop of Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori kākahu (clothing) landing at The Warehouse just in time for Waitangi Day.

January 2025

Hawaiki Tipuna, Hawaiki Mokopuna, Kia ūkaipō anō te reo!
Kuini Moehau Reedy (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Mate), Kahurangi Rangimarie Naida Glavish DNZM. JP (Ngāti Whātua) and Tini Molyneux (Ngāi Tūhoe) each received a Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating their significant contributions to te reo Māori spanning over four decades.

January 2025

‘Decisions made with no logic’ Māori Language Commissioner responds to decisions not to restore Māori place names
“Frustrated is an understatement – kua eke ki te kakī” is the response of the Māori Language Commissioner to recent decisions rejecting the restoration of some Māori place names proposed by Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (New Zealand Geographic Board).

December 2024

Māori Language Commissioner Concerned Over Funding Cuts to Te Ahu o Te Reo Programme
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) is deeply concerned by the recent government announcements regarding cuts to funding for Te Ahu o Te Reo, a programme dedicated to supporting the revitalisation and teaching of the Māori language.

September 2024

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Celebrates Board Chair’s Win at the 2024 Women in Governance Awards
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is thrilled to announce that its Board Chair, Professor Rawinia Higgins (Ngāi Tūhoe), has been awarded the prestigious Women in Governance Award 2024 in the Māori governance category.

September 2024

New Māori resource for Olympic Games launched: Cheer on our Olympians in te reo Māori!
Te reo Māori is going all the way to Paris as the first-ever bilingual sporting resource for an Olympic Games is  launched today.  

July 2024

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori: Lifetime achievement awarded to three prominent wāhine
A health advocate for Māori, a veteran broadcaster, and a Kōhanga Reo champion walked away from Ngā Tohu Reo Māori with the highest honour of the awards night. 

April 2024

Dates confirmed for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2024
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori will take place from the 14th – 21st of September 2024.

April 2024

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori returns
Ngā Tohu Reo Māori | The Māori Language Awards is an annual event that celebrates the achievements of individuals and organisations that have made a notable contribution to the revitalisation and normalisation of te reo Māori.

October 2023

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori mourns former commissioner Tā Patu Hohepa
He maimai aroha ki a Tā Patrick Patu Wahanga Hohepa KNZM (1936 - 2023). We are devastated to hear of the passing of one of the most prominent stalwarts of te reo Māori and a former commissioner of this tari. Our deepest condolences go to the whānau of Tā Patu Hohepa (Ngāpuhi, ...

September 2023

An Open Letter to Aotearoa ahead of Māori Language Week 2023
I thought long and hard about how to respond to the cries from some to limit our language. Their cries aren’t new, they’re as old as New Zealand. But how we respond to them has changed.

September 2023

Global call to protect indigenous languages by law
To mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we are releasing the address given by Māori Language Commissioner Professor Rawinia Higgins to the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022.

August 2023

36 years of te reo Māori as an official language
The first thing the inaugural board of the Māori Language Commission did when it met for the first time was to change its name to a Māori one: Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

August 2023

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori dates confirmed for 2023.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is happy to announce that the dates for Māori Language Week 2023 have been confirmed.

February 2023

OPINION: Language “worrier”’ than a “warrior”.
About 3000 indigenous languages are under threat. Professor Rawinia Higgins, Toihau o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori wrote an Opinion piece for Sunday magazine on how far we’ve come to protect te reo Māori and how far there is to go.

February 2023

A message from King Charles III
On this Waitangi Day, my first as King of New Zealand, I send my warmest greetings to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

February 2023

Recognising legacy contributions to the revival of te reo Māori
Pioneering te reo Māori movements and milestones were celebrated at this year’s Māori language honours event held last night in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

December 2022

New Zealand’s Battle for te reo: Call for stories
As the nation prepares to mark 50-years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to parliament, New Zealanders are being asked to share their stories that tell of the battle for te reo Māori.

September 2022

Reo Māori Pins released for supporters of te reo
The Māori Language Commission has launched a #reomāori pin for learners and supporters of te reo Māori.

August 2022

We are not just woke: we are wide awake - Māori Language Commissioner, Professor Rawinia Higgins
I saw a cartoon this morning that would have you believe speaking more than one language makes you less intelligent. 

August 2022

Commission welcomes te reo chocolate wrappers
The Māori Language Commission welcomed the release of a block of chocolate translated into te reo Māori, Miraka Kirīmi (Creamy Milk).

August 2022

35 years since te reo became an official language of New Zealand
Te reo Māori became an official language in its own country 35-years-ago today and the battle for its survival has yet to be won says the Māori Language Commission. 

August 2022

Early birthday present for Māori Language Commission
 The Māori Language Commission says the latest statistics showing te reo Māori is supported and spoken by more people than ever before is an early birthday present. 

July 2022

Māori Language Commission pays tribute to the late Anaru Robb
The Māori Language Commission has paid tribute to Māori language champion Anaru Robb who passed away suddenly this week. 

May 2022

Koha for Kōhanga as whānau invited to share their reo stories
The Māori Language Commission has marked the kōhanga reo movement’s 40th birthday by sending koha and toolkete to language nests across the country and inviting former and present staff, children and whānau to collect stories for the Aotearoatanga: Stories of te Reo Māori camp...

May 2022

About all the Māori nonsense - a response from Māori Language Commissioner, Professor Rawinia Higgins
An article published yesterday that labelled te reo on Radio NZ as Māori nonsense is responded to by the chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Professor Rawinia Higgins

April 2022

Coming soon: te reo Māori courses for the public sector
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is launching pilot te reo Māori courses for the public sector! 

April 2022

The Māori Language Commission paid tribute to the late leader, Tā Wira Gardiner
Tā Wira was exceptional because he led from the front in all he did. Te reo Māori was no exception.

March 2022

New Zealand’s Battle for te reo Māori: Call for Stories
The Māori Language Commission is calling for help collecting stories, images and memories that trace the ongoing battle to save the Māori language.   

February 2022

Māori language campaign wins global communications prize
Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori has taken out the supreme award at the International Public Relations Association’s Golden World Awards for Excellence.

November 2021

Te reo Māori game gets native trees in the ground this lockdown

September 2021

An Open Letter to Aotearoa
In our hardest times, New Zealanders turn to our first language for comfort and solidarity.

September 2021

Toi Reo Māori 2021
Toi Reo Māori is a free training course that turns highly proficient speakers into qualified translators and/or interpreters.

September 2021

Māori Language Moment 2021
New Zealanders are being invited to be part of history and help shape the future as the Māori Language Commission seeks to set a new world record with its award-winning Māori Language Moment.

August 2021

Matariki, the gatherer of people | Matariki Hunga Nui
A Matariki campaign designed to bring people together using te reo Māori as well as the ancestral languages of all New Zealanders has already engaged with thousands of New Zealanders.

June 2021

Māori Language Moment wins top international awards
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and digital strategy company, For Purpose were announced as winners of the Overall Best International Campaign (National) and Best International Website in Washington DC earlier this morning.

May 2021

Commission thanks students: Kia kaha Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito
The Māori Language Commission has paid tribute to students from Te Wharekura o te Rito who formally complained after they were abused for performing at the local council…

March 2021

Māori Language Week dates for 2021 announced
Commissioner Higgins confirmed the dates for this year’s Māori Language Week would be from the 13th to the 19th September 2021.

March 2021

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori welcomes Matariki 2022 Announcement
The Māori Language Commission has welcomed the announcement that Matariki will be marked as a public holiday next year.

February 2021

The future of te reo begins today: with all of us.
More New Zealanders are embracing our language than ever before.

February 2021

Māori Language Awards 2020 shared by more than 1 million
Every person who took part in this year’s historic Māori Language Moment is a joint winner of the Supreme 2020 Māori Language Award.

November 2020

Betty Hauraki receives Lifetime Achievement Award for te reo Māori revitalisation efforts

November 2020

Over 1 million celebrate te reo Māori for the Māori Language Moment
More than one million New Zealanders made history today by coming together to celebrate te reo Māori at the same time.

September 2020

Māori Language Moment: Be the 1 in a million
The Maori Language Commission has redesigned Māori Language Week so that this year, whether we are in lockdown or not: New Zealanders can come together to celebrate te reo Māori.

August 2020

Tohu Manukura i te Reo Māori: Race Unity Speech Awards 2020
We are proud to announce the inaugural Tohu Manukura i te Reo winner is Jen Marsh from Otago Girls’ High School.

May 2020

Māori terminology for Covid-19 released
The Māori Language Commission has released a list of words to support translators and others who are fighting COVID-19 and communicating in te reo Māori.

April 2020

An open letter to Aotearoa from the Māori Language Commission
Our tikanga changed forever this week.

March 2020

Iconic speech by Christchurch survivor translated into Māori
The Māori Language Commission has translated the iconic speech delivered by survivor and widower, Farid Ahmed at the National Remembrance Service.

February 2020

Ngā Toa Reo Māori 2019
A couple who have dedicated their lives to the revitalisation of the Māori language and a music icon whose actions led to New Zealanders now singing the national anthem in te reo and English received top honours at the 16th Ngā Tohu Reo Māori...

December 2019

Raranga.Tahi Summit 2019
The first Māori language summit for young New Zealanders from across Aotearoa opened on Wednesday in Manukau.

December 2019

Finalists - Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2019
Finalists in the 16th Ngā Tohu Reo Māori have been announced.

December 2019

Māori Language Awards 2019 open
Nominations are open for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori, the annual Māori Language Awards.

October 2019

Seven steps to te reo success
A year-long research project has identified seven key success indicators for a range of private sector companies, schools and local authorities.

October 2019

Tribute to wāhine toa who help keep te reo Māori strong
The Māori Language Commissioner has spoken out in support of a young Ngāpuhi woman who was mocked by a diner she was serving last week.

September 2019

He aituā
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori sadly acknowledges the passing of one of our leaders Pita Paraone.

August 2019

Don’t know your ‘kia’ from your ‘ora’?
Māori Language Week 2019 9-15 September seems likely to have record numbers of people taking part around the country.

August 2019

Governor-General launches countdown to Māori Language Week
With just 40 days to go, Māori Language Week 2019 was formally launched today by the Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.

August 2019

There’s a whole lot of great te reo teaching going on: we need more!
That’s the principal finding of Whakanuia te Reo Kia Ora, an evaluation of te reo Māori in English-medium schools by research firm Haemata.

July 2019

Good for te reo, good for business!
New research has shown the benefits enterprises see in taking part in the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

June 2019

Time out! Talk to us! – Māori Language Commissioner
The Māori Language Commissioner Professor Rawinia Higgins says anyone with a problem about netball players speaking Māori shouldn’t take it out on the players.

June 2019

There are just 90 days to go until Māori Language Week 2019
There are just 90 days to go until Māori Language Week 2019, 9-15 September.

June 2019

A strategic revitalisation budget for te reo Māori
The Māori Language Commission has welcomed budget moves to provide on-going support for language planning and to increase the number of certified translators and interpreters.

May 2019

Maihi Karauna: the Crown’s Māori Language Strategy
On Waitangi Day 6 February 2019 the Minister of Māori Development announced the Maihi Karauna: the Crown’s Māori Language Strategy

February 2019

Māori language champions celebrated at National Awards
Spark and the Te Aka Māori Dictionary have won the 2018 Supreme Māori Language Award.

December 2018

Finalists - Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2018
Finalists in the Māori Language Commission’s 15th Ngā Tohu Reo Māori, the National Māori Language Awards, have been announced.

December 2018

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2018: Mīharo kē!
New Zealanders from all cultures stepped out in hīkoi whakanui – parades – around the country to celebrate our nation’s language.

September 2018

New Māori language comedy ad
A new comedy video ad addresses worries that people face when trying to use te reo Māori.

September 2018

Māori Language Week Ambassadors 2018
Three te reo Māori ambassadors lead promotion of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2018.

September 2018

Vodafone and Māori Language Commission join forces to give kaha to te reo
Vodafone NZ is the first international company to have a strategic partnership of this kind with the commission.

September 2018

"Kia Kaha te Reo Taiao" a new learning resource in partnership with the Department of Conservation
This is the first partnership of its kind between the two Crown agencies...

September 2018

Mahuru Māori 2018
Do you know the Māori word for screenshot’?  How about ‘selfie’ or ‘profile picture’?

August 2018

Six parades! September 10-16
This year six parades or related events are planned – in Gisborne, Manukau, Auckland CBD, North Shore, Wellington and Rotorua.

August 2018

A working partnership for Māori Language Revitalisation
The Māori Language Commission has welcomed the release, for consultation, of the first Crown Māori Language Strategy under the Māori Language Act 2016.

August 2018

Working together with our te reo Māori Heritage
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori have joined in a Mahi Tahi (working together) agreement.

June 2018

Hon Koro Wētere
Former Māori Affairs Minister Koro Wētere who died this week will always be remembered for ushering in watershed initiatives for Māori language revitalisation.

June 2018

New Chair for Māori Language Commission
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori welcomes Professor Rawinia Higgins as the new chair of its Board of Commissioners.

June 2018

He Pātaka Kupu now available as an app
24,000 Māori words defined in te reo Māori: there’s an app for that.

May 2018

This year, choose te reo Māori
That’s the message from the Māori Language Commission to young people and parents making education choices at the start of a school year.

February 2018

Revitalisation efforts have been celebrated at the National Māori Language Awards
Corporate and business supporters of the revitalisation of te reo Māori have dominated the 14th Māori Language Awards attended by more than 400 people at Te Papa this evening.

November 2017

Māori language champions to be celebrated at national awards
Finalists in the Māori Language Commission’s 14th Ngā Tohu Reo Māori, the National Māori Language Awards, have been announced.

November 2017

New stamps, new Māori words
The stamps are on sale from today at PostShops everywhere and online.

September 2017

Māori Language Parade 2017
In Wellington City – a parade even bigger than last year’s hugely successful celebration of te reo Māori.

August 2017

Open day celebrates 30 years official Māori language status
Hundreds of people joined with Māori Language Commission staff at its office in Wellington today to celebrate 30 years of official status for Māori language.

August 2017

30 Year Anniversary Celebration
It will have been 30 years on August 1 since the Māori Language Commission was created as a result of the Māori Language Act 1987.

July 2017

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2016 ko ngā whiringa toa
Finalists in 13 contestable categories of the Māori Language Commission’s annual Ngā Tohu Reo Māori, the National Māori Language Awards, have been announced.

June 2017

Kaua e whiua, whanaia!
The latest guide to te reo Māori and sport – especially rugby.

May 2017

Te Ahu o te Reo: Te reo Māori in homes and communities
New research provides a detailed insight into the revitalisation of te reo Māori in several communities.

May 2017

Kia ora te reo - Māori Language Week theme announced
Next year’s Māori Language Week will have the theme of ‘Kia ora te reo’

December 2016

Kua piki te pakari o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori nā tōna kawenga hou me te kopounga o ētahi mema hou
Kua tū pakari anō te Poari o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori nā runga i te kopounga o ngā mema hou e rua, mō te toru tau te roa.

November 2016

Search begins for Māori language champions
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is calling for entries for the 2016 Ngā Tohu Reo Māori – New Zealand’s most prestigious Māori language awards.

August 2016

Kua rāhiritia e te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori he mema hou ki te poari
Charlie Tepana was welcomed as the newest Board member of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori today.

August 2016

Ka tuwhera te tono pūtea mā te reo mō ngā tau 2016
E tono ana Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i ngā tono mō te Pūtea Mā Te Reo.

July 2016

Hononga

Quick Links