Te reo row sparks Hill radio Brash clash
EX-NATIONAL and ACT leader Don Brash has clashed with RNZ’s Kim Hill about te reo on the airwaves.
Last week Brash made a scathing statement about Morning Report host Guyon Espiner’s use of Ma¯ori greetings on the show, saying they were English-language broadcasts and should stay as such.
It was in support of an article written by Dave Witherow in the Otago Daily Times, in which he opined the fate of te reo Ma¯ori was far from New Zealand’s most pressing problem.
On Hill’s Saturday Morning show yesterday, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand claimed Espiner "spouting on" in Ma¯ori is pointless because "98 per cent of people can’t understand it" if it’s not translated.
"There are 21 Ma¯ori language stations around the country funded by taxes, part of which I pay for, I have no problem with that at all, and we have a Ma¯ori television channel," he said.
If they wanted to listen to te reo they should do it there, not on an English speaking radio station where it won’t be understood, he said.
Hill pointed out that his idea was advocating separatism, which seemed to be in conflict with his message that Ma¯ori should not receive political privilege because it caused separatism.
"I object to a political separatism, that they are give different political rights," he said.
Brash fronts the lobbying group Hobson’s Pledge which takes issue with the Treaty of Waitangi, among others.
Nearing the end of the 30 minute interview Brash conceded that some Ma¯ori words were better than their English equivalent, such as wha¯nau.
"I use the word frequently because family doesn’t quite cut it [and so] wha¯nau is a useful addition to the vocabulary, but do I want to know about the things Guyon says in the morning? I don’t know because I can’t understand it," he said.
Hill, reading texts from some of the listeners, said people enjoyed it just because it sounded nice, and it was considerate to Ma¯ori who were tangata whenua.
They’re not tangata whenua, he said.
"For heaven’s sake," said Hill. "If only Sir Michael King were here today."