Taihoa, e hoa

Who says we must be Aotearoa? Photo / file

Human societies have always evolved, and ours is no exception. But the pace is quickening.

This, depending upon individual perception, can be a good or bad thing. Some change is relatively glacial - our collective attitude to social welfare has taken two generations to change beyond all recognition, and is demonstrably not a good thing. Over more recent times we have clearly become angrier, less tolerant. We are losing the resilience upon which we once prided ourselves, and we are drowning in statistics that show we are not the egalitarian, generally prosperous, happy and well-adjusted people that we used to be.

On the positive side, the Māori renaissance is, or should be seen as, a good thing. Some clearly want to see more, and without delay, but anyone who has lived in this country for any length of time cannot but be impressed by the extent to which Māori culture, not least te reo, has become an integral part of our collective culture, and no doubt will continue to do so.

The Māori Party's call for the banishing of all European place names is not helpful, however. Most of our major centres, and certainly the big five, have European names, but Māori names make up a huge chunk of our geography. And so they should. But to demand that every last European name should be expunged goes far too far.

The view that the Treaty of Waitangi represents a partnership, silly and unfounded as it has always been, seems to have taken hold, but this stunningly arrogant policy has nothing to do with partnership. It is a take-over, a coup, one that will hopefully be dismissed as just another foolish election campaign idea whose time has not come, and hopefully never will.

Election campaigns these days seem to provide an ideal environment for the inhabitants of Cloud Cuckoo Land to come out of hiding and to share their visions with the rest of us. This year has been an especially bad one. Some policies, like National and Labour's shared commitment to binning the Resource Management Act and Starting again, are brilliant. Others, like gifting every New Zealander a liveable income (supplied by whom, exactly?) are not. Then of course there are the candidates who have already spent time in government, yet only now have discovered that some very basic things, like roads and other infrastructure, for example, are not in great shape.

We shouldn't take some of the utterings from people who would struggle to run a raffle let alone a country too seriously. In some cases these people might well be seriously deluded, but often they are simply casting about for some point of difference, some means of grabbing attention, in the hope of somehow achieving a degree of relevance, but even those who will never grace the halls of Parliament are capable of sowing a seed. And an especially dangerous seed has been planted now.

The replacing of European place names with Māori ones will surely never fly, but it will have taken hold in some quarters. Even if it never happens, it has the potential to germinate to the point where it will contribute to the disharmony that is already becoming a seriously worrying part of life in New Zealand. We are becoming adept at manufacturing causes that divide us, and this one could be a cracker.

Hopefully lunacy like this won't derail the increasing acceptance of te ao Māori and tikanga, but there is a risk that it will.

Our society, like all societies, is fuelled by goodwill, between peoples, between religions, acceptance of all the nuances that make up our differences. Those differences can be melded into a powerful whole, but too many people seem intent on fashioning the various differences that make us who we are into wedges that divide us. They must be aware that goodwill, without which we risk descending into the bitterness and hatred that is on show in every edition of the evening news, that is so common elsewhere around this sad and troubled planet.

Even the most impatient should be aware that change is happening, that the welcome (and overdue) Māori renaissance is in no danger of puttering out, but turbo-charging the process could do great harm.

The strength of the goodwill that currently exists was very clearly displayed in the days leading up to this year's Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, when more than a million of us signed up to become actively engaged in taking the first steps (for many) towards learning the language. Many of those people might well have no problem with the campaign to banish European place names, or worse, the call from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to dispense with the name New Zealand, and to our home solely as Aotearoa.

Others will have a problem. And they are well entitled to do so. Even ignoring the widely-argued lack of provenance for the name Aotearoa, there can be few greater demonstrations of social engineering in its broadest sense than changing a country's name.

The very least we might have expected was some sort of discussion, but Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei clearly isn't interested. This is not a suggestion, it is a demand. If the aim is to divide the people of this country it could hardly have chosen a better method.

The common response is most likely to be to ignore this extraordinary display of arrogance and let it go away. But will it? Two powerful corporates, Vodafone and DDB Group, are reportedly so enamoured of the idea that they have adopted it. Whether others will rush to display similar enthusiasm for what one writer has described as appeasing of a small radical element remains to be seen, but there can be no doubt that a great many New Zealanders will take deep offence.

The same writer has suggested a boycott of companies that adopt the name Aotearoa. We don't do boycotts very well in this country, but that might change if others follow suit. Whatever happens, this is no way for a society to make such a momentous decision.

Those who are promoting this idea might also consider that cultural sensitivity is not a one-way street, although many, including Christians, could be forgiven for believing otherwise. It is incumbent upon everyone who lives in this country to show respect not only for Māori culture but for all cultures. Generally we seem to do that, although tolerance and understanding should never be taken for granted. Like democracy, tolerance needs to be nurtured. We should be grateful for what we have in this country, and resist jeopardising it in a bid to impose one culture upon all others.

There will be those who say that Europeans have been doing just that for 200 years and more, and not without justification. But change is happening. A balance is being found. The question is whether we want evolution or revolution. The former is working, while the latter could inflict wounds that will never heal.

Cultural bullying is an ugly phenomenon, whoever is responsible for it. It should be given the short shrift it deserves.

Spot the difference

Three German yachties arrive, unbidden, at Ōpua, after two months and 18 days at sea, and are deported. A superyacht from Malta, which charters for NZ$1.6 million a week, arrives in Auckland from Papeete, and is welcomed, the crew's nine days at sea counting as part of their 14-day Covid-19 isolation.

Superyacht crews can come here, we're told, providing they spend millions on refit and repair work in New Zealand.

Money has not lost its voice.