A principal at a Maori School is sceptical the Government's proposal for a new Maori language strategy will deliver benefits.
Consultation hui on the proposal are under way, starting in Porirua on Monday followed by Rotorua on Tuesday.
Plans include supporting language learning in the home and giving iwi greater governance roles at state-run departments, such as Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori - the Maori Language Commission.
Susanne Simmons-Kopa, tumuaki [principal] of Hamilton's Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Whakawatea, says she's not sure if the strategy will work.
She believes officials end up consulting with people who talk the loudest, and they're not necessarily the people who are on the ground.
Meanwhile, national kapa haka competition founder and Maori language advocate Te Napi Tutewehiwehi Waaka says more people will speak Te Reo if they're involved in Maori performing arts.
Mr Waaka suggests kapa haka groups could teach their programmes to their communities, and says the Government should seek to teach people the language through the use of performing arts.
Two or three of those performers could teach the words, while another three teach the action song.
Mr Waaka says about 12 people from each team are unemployed but on stage they are second to none; performers can learn up to 9000 words as part of an entire kapa haka programme.
