Don't complain about use of New Zealand's Māori name, MPs told

The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament has stated that he will no longer entertain further complaints from members of parliament regarding the use of the country's Māori name in parliamentary proceedings. Speaker Gerry Brownlee made it clear in a parliamentary ruling on Tuesday that "Aotearoa" is already widely used as a name for New Zealand.

This follows Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters' request that Brownlee prohibit the use of the name "Aotearoa," suggesting that any use of the name in Parliament should require a referendum. While New Zealand is the country's legal name, amendable only by law, "Aotearoa" (meaning "land of the long white cloud") has long been used in the Māori language to refer to New Zealand.

Brownlee emphasized that the term "Aotearoa" appears on New Zealand passports and currency and is used in the Māori version of the national anthem, which is often played before the English version. He added, "If other members don't like certain words, they can choose not to use them. But this is not a matter of order, and I don't expect anyone to raise objections about this again." According to regulations, members of parliament can use the country's three official languages—English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language—when speaking in Parliament.

Peters' opposition stems from an incident last month when Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March used the term "Aotearoa" during a parliamentary session. Peters questioned, "Why is someone who only applied to come to this country in 2006 able to raise the issue in Parliament of changing the name of the country without a referendum and the approval of the New Zealand people?" Menéndez March is originally from Mexico but has become a New Zealand citizen, a requirement for all members of parliament. Another government minister, Shane Jones, a member of Peters' New Zealand First party, also questioned "whether it is appropriate for recent migrants to tell Māori what our country should be called."

Brownlee had previously encouraged members of parliament to use the name "Aotearoa New Zealand" to avoid any confusion, but he did not make it mandatory. Not all Māori people have the same affinity for the name "Aotearoa," which originally only described the North Island of New Zealand. However, out of respect for the indigenous population, non-Māori people also frequently use the name. According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Winston Peters stated on Tuesday that he disagrees with Brownlee's ruling. He added that he only objects to the use of "Aotearoa" in Parliament, not to the Māori language in general, and that he would not answer any questions from anyone who used the name to address him in the future.

In recent decades, the use of the Māori language in New Zealand public life has increased significantly, driven by advocacy from indigenous leaders. In 2022, the Māori Party (a formal political party) launched a petition calling for the country's name to be officially changed to "Aotearoa," which garnered over 70,000 signatures. Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said at the time, "New Zealand is a Dutch name; it has no connection to this land. How many people in Aotearoa can even point to where 'old' Zealand is on a map?" Since the current government took office in 2023, it has instructed government departments to prioritize the use of their English names and primarily communicate in English unless the departments' work is clearly related to the Māori language.

Another member of the coalition government, the ACT Party, is also seeking to redefine the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, a move that has been met with strong opposition.