Te Mātāwai was established as an independent statutory entity as required by Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 (Māori Language Act 2016).

Purpose

Te Mātāwai exists to act on behalf of 109-plus iwi Māori as partners with the Crown to protect, promote and support the revitalisation of te reo Māori through:

• partnership
• leadership
• influence
• investment.

Model

In addition to a small head office, Te Mātāwai also has regional spread through Pae Motuhake — regional boards made up of reo experts.

This unique model gives Māori communities the power to decide how they invest in reo Māori revitalisation initiatives in their respective Kāhui — regional clusters.

The Board engages with ministers to establish a good partnership model to collectively return te reo Māori to a state of vitality in the home, ‘kia ūkaipō anō te reo’, and across the nation ‘kia mauriora te reo’.