Taonga, rights and interests: Some observations on WAI 262 and the framework of protections for the Maori language

In October 2010 the Waitangi Tribunal released the first chapter of its long-awaited report of the WAI 262 enquiry into indigenous flora and fauna and Maori intellectual property. This chapter focuses on aspects of the claim relating to the Maori language and critiques the development of Maori and Crown generated initiatives to protect and revitalise te reo Maori, including the Maori Language Strategy (Te Rautaki Reo Maori). The Tribunal argues that the Crown must ultimately become Maori speaking. Consideration of this report and the legal protections in place for the Maori language reveals a framework that is incoherent, and largely incapable of achieving the Tribunal's goal, or even of fully protecting what the Tribunal described as 'a taonga of quite transcendent importance'.