Only 17% of Māori knew how to speak te reo, only 5% of our children in schools could speak te reo, and furthermore, there were people of that time who declared there was no benefit in teaching te reo and no benefit in the continued survival of te reo Māori.
Tuia kite rangi Tuia kite whenua Tuia kite moana Tuia te here tāngata E rongo te pō, e rongo teao
Tuia i te muka tangata i takea mai i Hawaiki Nui i Hawaiki Roa i Hawaiki Pāmamao
Te hono ā-wairua Ka puta mai kite whai aoKiteao mārama Tihei mauri ora
E ngā iwi o te motu, rarau mai rā kiTe Kooti Whenua Māori e tawharau nei i te...
Nō reira, i toko ake te whakaaro kia
whakaritea tētahi kuputaka mō aua kupu hou rā e
hāngai pū nei kiteao o te ture, ka mutu, kiteao
o te Kooti Whenua Māori.
Ko tētahi haepapa nui i ō mātou mahi
katoa, waihoki, ko te taura matua pea e herehere
nei te Kooti Whenua Māori kiTe Puni Kōkiri,
kite Tumu Paeroa, kite Roopu Wakamana i te
Tiriti o Waitangi anō hoki, ko ā tātou mahi kite
whakahoki i te whenua, kite manaaki i te whenua
hei kāinga mō te iwi Māori.
Nā te Atua, nā te Atua, nā te Atua Tihei Mauri Ora Ko te mea tuatahi, ka nui temihiki tō tātau Matua i runga rawa, ki tana tamaiti, ki a Ihu Karaiti, ā, kite Wairua Tapu.
Kei ngā maunga whakahī, kei ngā wai tuku kiri, kei ngā mātāwaka o te motu, nei rā temihiki a koutou. Ka tika me mihikite hunga kua riro atu kite pō, ki ngā mate o tēnā iwi o tēnā iwi, e kore te aroha o rātou mā e waikuratia.
Nō reira, i toko ake te whakaaro kia
whakaritea tētahi kuputaka mō aua kupu hou rā e
hāngai pū nei kiteao o te ture, ka mutu, kiteao
o te Kooti Whenua Māori.