The reason for this petition is to express interest and demand for dialect-specific Te Reo classes at the undergraduate level to provide a richer and novel experience and curriculum that would attract more students.

The present and future students of UoA who have signed this wish to ensure that the Māori studies and Māori language provided by the university are culturally competent and are better representative of the communities they come from; furthermore they wish to prevent the extinction of iwi or region-specific dialects. Providing this will help the university uphold its responsibilities to Tiriti and its relationship with iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau.

With respect and understanding of the necessity of standardising Te Reo into one language, there is a false pretence that the language is alive and well. Te Reo is a taonga and must be protected even at the tribal language level, and when students who have studied Te Reo struggle to understand their own dialect, we know that taonga has not been protected. We cannot stop the revitalisation here.