25 Jul 2011

Kohanga reo trust to file Waitangi Tribunal claim

9:05 pm on 25 July 2011

New Zealand's kohanga reo movement says the Crown has breached the Treaty of Waitangi in the way it deals with the movement and it plans to appeal to the Waitangi Tribunal.

The movement's trust board says it will file the claim on Monday.

It says the Crown discriminates against kohanga reo if they do not operate in the same way as early childhood education centres and in doing so ignores the role of kaumatua, kuia, and other whanau in preparing a uniquely Maori approach to education.

The trust board says the Crown's behaviour threatens the sustainability of kohanga reo.