Ka pai te mahi o te tangata ra

Nice work, Maurice!
Proposing yesterday that the Council ups its use of te reo Maori was timely and well received - by me any way, and effective in that it was immediately implemented and looks to be set to grow, like nga aka, through the pakeha framework that is our everyday Council business. There was some reticence from etahi Councillors fearful that they'd be swamped by the unfamiliar, but all up, a successful rout by Councillor Rodway. I couldn't let the opportunity pass without a korero i roto i te reo tuturu and could see that some were uncomfortable with not being able to know what it was that I was saying, but hei aha :-)
The Southland Times printed the story this morning and here it is:

ES mulls greater use of te reo

Environment Southland will look at using more Maori language in its meetings, documents and signs.
  Cr Maurice Rodway made the recommendation at the council meeting yesterday, after councillors and staff met with iwi at the Murihiku Marae last month to discuss the water national policy statement.
  Using more of the language would help councillors understand it, as well as understand concepts such as rangatiratanga and tikanga, "many of which we only partly grasp, I suspect, Cr Rodway said.
  Bilingual headings in meeting agendas and using Maori words more as an everyday part of the council's formal activities would be a start, he said.
  Cr Robert Guyton, who responded in te reo Maori and English, said he had spoken to iwi this week and mentioned Cr Rodway would be raising the idea at yesterday's meeting, and they were "quite excited".
  Several councillors suggested instead of the word "investigate" in the recommendation, they use "endeavour" or "initiate".
  Chairman Ali Timms said some of the changes would happen straight away and others over time.