The leaders of the Maori’s indigenous residents party began collecting signatures under the petition with the requirement to rename the country in Aotearoa. It is reported by Radio RNZ.
Politicians also demanded to assign all cities by Maori names by 2026. The co-chairs of the Raviri Weiti party and Debbie Ngarev-Packer said that the country’s authorities ignore and distort the original toponyms. “In the past, Maori’s language received the status of the first and official language in this country. We are a Polynesian country, we are Aotearoa,” Vaititi emphasized.
According to Ngarev-Packer, the change of traditional names to English in the colonial era led to a decrease in the prevalence of the Maori language among the indigenous people of New Zealand. “In just 40 years, colonizers were able to successfully deprive us of the language. And we still feel the impact of this today,” the politician concluded.
At the same time, Prime Minister of New Zealand Jasind Ardern did not support the proposal of Maori representatives. Alternatively, she proposed to use Maori toponyms as an additional interchangeable. According to politics, such practices are planning to expand in the future.
May 12 reported that Vaititi was angry with other politicians at a parliament meeting and expressed this traditional Maori for Aborigines: sang and performed movements from the ritual dance of Khaka. After that, he was asked to leave the hall. Politician was angry during the discussion of the project of preferential health for the indigenous population.