to Aotearoa
Te Pāti Māori has launched a petition to change the official name of New Zealand to Aotearoa.
Māori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer today launched the petition which aims to change the name to Aotearoa and use te reo Māori names for all towns, cities and places by 2026.
"It's well past time that te reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country. We are a Polynesian country, we are Aotearoa," Waititi said.
"Our petition calls on Parliament to change New Zealand to Aotearoa and begin a process, alongside whānau, hapū and iwi, to identify and officially restore the original te reo Māori names for all towns, cities and places right across the country by 2026.
"Tangata whenua are sick to death of our ancestral names being mangled, bastardised, and ignored. It's the 21st Century, this must change.
Link to article: Petition aims to change official name to Aotearoa (msn.com)
