Te reo Māori names for the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting and the New Zealand Law Reports
Natalie Coates (Council member) spearheaded this consultation and sought the views of a number of te reo Māori and legal experts on the names. Te reo Māori academic Dr Karena Kelly proposed “Te Mātāture o Aotearoa” for the NZLR’s and “Te Pae Mātāture o Aotearoa” for the Council.
These names were supported by a number of senior te reo Māori speakers within the legal profession, including: Sir Justice Joe Williams, Judge Alana Thomas, Corin Merrick and Tai Ahu. Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa were consulted on the naming and wrote a letter of their support. Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) were also approached for consultation.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) were also approached for consultation.
“Both Justice Joe Williams and Karena Kelly are experts in te reo Māori, furthermore, the names they have created are both linguistically correct and creative.
Mātāture is a new word created for ‘Law Report’, stemming from mātārere (pamphlet), combined with ture (law). This is totally consistent with the orthographic and word coining conventions followed and promoted by the Commission.”
— The Māori Language Commission
