Petition to officially name country Aotearoa delivered to Parliament

Rawiri Waititi said the only way to restore te reo Māori was to make it visible in as many places as possible. Photo / George Novak

By Giles Dexter of RNZ

Te Pāti Māori has handed over its petition calling for the country to officially be named Aotearoa.

It collected 70,000 signatures backing the change.

It is on our passports, on our money, and in our national anthem. But Aotearoa is not our official name, yet.

The petition was delivered to Parliament this afternoon. It calls to change the country's official name to Aotearoa, and begin a process to restore te reo Māori names for all towns, cities, and places by 2026.

"Whether you're for or against, the thing is everyone knows that Aotearoa is a legitimate name given to this country by Kupe, not by Governor Grey or any written book, this is well before any of those things," Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said.

Te Reo fluency amongst Māori dropped from 90 per cent in 1910 to 26 per cent in 1950.

Today, just 20 per cent of the Māori population speak it. That's 3 per cent of the whole country.

Waititi said the only way to restore the language was to make it visible in as many places as possible.

"This is the pebble being dropped in the water, the initial pebble hitting the water. And what it'll do, from now for many years to come, is those ripples will continue to get bigger and bigger."

Chistopher Luxon said changing the name was a constitutional issue. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The petition now goes to a select committee, which will decide what to do next. Whether that was a bill or even a public referendum, it already succeeded, Waititi said.

"It's starting the dialogue, it's building awareness. It has started a wananga across the country."

National leader Christopher Luxon said changing the name was a constitutional issue.

"I think those are decisions for the New Zealand people, if there's widespread report it should go to referendum and it should be a decision that they get to make. It's not something the government makes," he said.

But just last week Luxon posted a tribute to kaumatua Joe Hawke in te reo Māori on social media, resulting in a tirade of anti-Māori comments from Facebook users.

Waititi brushed off any backlash the petition, and by extension he, received.

"If they're getting their undies in a twist, that's their undies, not my undies," he said.

Andrew Little said it was up to every New Zealander to be part of the debate. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Government ministers said it was time for a discussion over changing the name, but were not actually committing to one.

"These things evolve over time, but it's up to every New Zealander to be part of the debate," Minister of Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little said.

"I'm mindful that representatives from Ngāi Tahu have pointed out that Aotearoa tends to focus on the North Island, but that's a debate that can rightly happen," Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said.

Associate-Health Minister Ayesha Verrall admitted she had not given it any thought.

"But I'm very comfortable having the country referred to as Aotearoa-New Zealand," she said.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said it was not something the Labour caucus had discussed, while Transport Minister Michael Wood called for open-mindedness.

"I think any question like that needs to be worked through really carefully. It's the name of our country, the identity of our country," he said.

Ayesha Verrall said she was "very comfortable" with the hyphenated name Aotearoa-New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour's Māori caucus was somewhat divided on the issue.

"I think we should have a good conversation about it. I've personally got no problems with us using Aotearoa but it's a question for the whole country," Minister for Māori-Crown Relations Kelvin Davis said.

Minister of Māori Development Willie Jackson supported the use of Aotearoa, but said he had recently been travelling around the country, speaking to Māori communities, and changing the country's name never came up.

"We have other kaupapa more important right now," he said.

Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare believed the country was ready.

"I'm encouraging one and all to have a very mature debate over what I think is a pretty cool kaupapa," he said.

Artist Hohepa Thompson, also known as Hori, backed the petition.

Hori's Pledge is a response to billboards popping up around the country saying "New Zealand, not Aotearoa", funded by lobby group Hobson's Pledge.

Thompson had been driving across Te Ika a Maui, with his own billboard in tow, to call for change.

He believed a hyphenated 'Aotearoa-New Zealand' would not go far enough.

Hohepa Thompson has been driving across the North Island, Te Ika a Maui, with his own billboard in tow, to call for change.

"Māori have taken the backseat for many, many times. So when it comes to Aotearoa-New Zealand, let's have this. Aotearoa, boom."

The most positive conversations on his trip came from people who did not even know Pākehā history, he said.

"The only renaming that happened here was from that side. So we're not trying to create 'change', were just reinstating what was already here."

He pointed out a similar subject that took place recently.

Three years ago, some said a national holiday for Matariki would never happen. Later this month, it will be officially celebrated for the first time.