A Tauranga Moana iwi leader says the “crippling costs” associated with lodging claims with the Waitangi Tribunal are limiting access to justice and “holding Māori to ransom”.

Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley says it's not right that small tribes have to pay to fight to protect their rights and language.

In December, Ngāi Te Rangi Settlements Trust filed a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, alleging the coalition Government was breaching the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to protect te reo Māori.

This included introducing policies ensuring public service departments had their primary name in English and requiring public service departments and Crown entities to communicate primarily in English, except for entities specifically related to Māori.

In March, RNZ reported the Waitangi Tribunal had approved an application for an urgent inquiry into coalition Government policies impacting te reo Māori.

The tribunal heard Ngāi Te Rangi’s application in June.

‘Irreversible harm to te reo Māori’

A Ngāi Te Rangi statement claims the Government prioritising English will cause “irreversible harm to te reo Māori” and breaches Treaty of Waitangi principles.

Paora estimates the tribe has spent almost $100,000 on legal bills preparing the claim and additional costs associated with the process could see total spending reach $300,000.

The iwi has also lodged a claim to recover costs from the tribunal.

Paora says Ngāi Te Rangi’s “money is urgently needed elsewhere”.

“It could be used for our employment programmes and housing social and health initiatives.”

However, he says: “Fighting for your language is a good fight”.

As soon as the urgent case was granted, the iwi achieved its goal of slowing the Government down and allowing other iwi to follow suit, he said.

Māori imagery, the Olympics and ‘Kiwitanga’

Ngāi Te Rangi chairman Charlie Tawhiao – who lodged the iwi’s initial claim – says te reo Māori is important as it's not just about Māoritanga but “Kiwitanga”.

He says the Government prioritising English also appears to contradict the celebration of Māori culture by the New Zealand team at the Olympics by many athletes who may or may not be Māori.

“When I watched the Olympics, I saw how much Māori imagery in the culture was reflected. The most common theme amongst them all was their relationship to this place — whether it was a greenstone taonga or korowai they wore, or a Māori greeting they used, or the haka.”

The statement says Ngāi Te Rangi has already had funding cuts to some of its kaupapa Māori initiatives, having a “detrimental” effect on its effort to revitalise te reo — which remained “fragile”.

RNZ reported counsel for the Crown advised the tribunal in May the Government is committed to upholding its legal obligations under the Māori Language Act and recognised te reo Māori as a “taonga of iwi and Māori”.

The tribunal wi expected to release its findings in the coming months.

The offices of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka were approached for comment.

-Bay of Plenty Times.