Professor Higgins is a highly regarded Māori language expert who has been a Board member of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori since 2015. She chaired the review of the Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill for the former Minister of Māori Development, and has also been a member of the Waitangi Tribunal and a board member of Te Māngai Pāho–The Māori Language Broadcasting Funding Agency.
“I’m humbled to be the first woman to be appointed the Chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and excited by the challenge to give effect to the relatively new Māori Language legislation that I had a chance to work on,” she says.
“I have had the privilege for the past two years to work with Te Mātāwai on the Maihi Māori (the Māori language strategy for Māori communities), and now to be given the opportunity to work on the Maihi Karauna (Government Māori language strategy) helps realise the vision to establish Te Whare o Te Reo Mauriora, as described in the review report we wrote as the Māori Language Advisory Group in 2015.”
The Māori Language Commission was set up in 1987 to promote the use of te reo Māori as a living language. The Commission has a unique and critical role as a national point of reference to support Māori language revitalisation and regeneration efforts that are happening around New Zealand.