A Maori language lecturer says some banks are pushing their staff to learn the language so they can court iwi settling treaty settlements.
Rapata Wiri of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi provides tuition in Te Reo to employees at Westpac and the Bank of New Zealand.
Dr Wiri says 99 percent of those workers are non-Maori, and genuinely want to learn Maori.
He says they are being encouraged by their employers in order to do business with tribes' settling treaty claims.
Dr Wiri suspects the initiative would contribute to the survival of the language, and says ultimately tangata whenua need to protect Te Reo, although he encourages everyone to take responsibility for it.
