Use of te reo ‘insult’

A councillor will take a complaint to the Race Relations Commissioner after his use of the Ma¯ ori language to perform a karakia at a Grey Power meeting was labelled an ‘‘insult’’.

O¯ po¯ tiki councillor Louis Rapihana said he was angry with comments in a newsletter circulated following the Whakata¯ne Grey Power meeting he spoke at late last year.

‘‘I will be taking it further . . . I will be sending a complaint to Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon,’’ Rapihana said.

In the newsletter, Grey Power member Siva Panadam apologised to attendees saying she ‘‘had no idea Louis Rapihana did not speak English’’.

She added she ‘‘would have got someone to interpret considering 90 per cent of attendees were non-Ma¯ oris’’ [sic].

The newsletter went on to say if Rapihana’s use of te reo was ‘‘deliberate’’, then it was ‘‘an insult’’ to two guest speakers at the event who were not Ma¯ ori.

Panadam told Local Democracy Reporting she did not believe her comments were racist and Rapihana should have translated his speech into English.

Rapihana became aware of the newsletter after a concerned Grey Power member sent it to the O¯ po¯ tiki District Council office anonymously.

‘‘They thought I should see what was written about myself as it was racist and they did not agree with it,’’ he said.

‘‘I was so p .... d off that I actually had to put it down, and then come back and make sure I was reading it right. To me, it is absolutely disgusting.

‘‘At the end of the day, it was only karakia. I was asked to open and close the meeting, which is natural to me, and of course I did that in my reo. I do not translate my prayers because it is not for the people to hear; it is only for the man above,’’ Rapihana said.

The article was not only ‘‘racist and offensive’’ but just plain bad manners and not the way an invited guest should be treated, he said.

At the time, no concerns were raised over his use of te reo at the meeting.

Since posting the comments to his Facebook page on Tuesday, Rapihana said he had received an incredible amount of support which he was grateful for.

He said he would never attend another Grey Power meeting and would now lodge the complaint with the Race Relations Office.

Panadam said she had no issue with Ma¯ori language and has taken te reo classes but felt because 90 per cent of people at the meeting were not te reo speakers, Rapihana should have translated his words.

Panadam claims many people have thanked her for highlighting the issue.

When asked why she did not raise the issue with Rapihana at the meeting, Panadam said it would be the Grey Power president’s place to request a translation and there was no time to raise it.

‘‘It was not done with malice or anything, it was just highlighting a point,’’ she said.

Whakata¯ne Ma¯ori rights activist Mawera Karetai said she was ‘‘disturbed’’ to read the newsletter but would welcome the opportunity to meet with Grey Power to educate them on the use of te reo.