This article was first published by Te Hiku Media. It has been republished with permission.

Te Rarawa/Ngāti Kahu descendant and Northland's youngest councillor Moko Tepania is making a stand for te reo Māori, participating in last week's Far North District whole of council meeting solely in te reo Māori as a challenge for Mahuru Māori (Māori Language Month).

It's believed to be a first in New Zealand and the council has employed the services of a translator in order for everyone to understand Tepania in his effort to normalise te reo in the council space, an action which doesn't go against council standing orders.

Māori and Crown engagement often starts at local council level, however, there's a been a long-standing lack of Māori representation with only five per cent of elected local body members across New Zealand identifying as Māori last year, despite Māori making up 14 per cent of the countries population.

Tepania is a champion not only for te reo Māori, teaching at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe, but is also a member of Te Maruata, a committee made up of Māori councillors nation-wide, advocating better Crown/Māori engagement and stronger Māori representation in local government.

It's not the first time the Kaikohe Hokianga representative has asserted the place of te reo in council. Back in January, he was praised for being the first councillor to submit a bilingual report to council.

He believes that if local governments across Aotearoa don't embrace te reo Māori, they'll be left behind, especially considering the prospect of compulsory reo in schools as well as the Government target of 1 million speakers of basic reo by 2040.