New Zealand’s Maori political party, which advocates the rights of indigenous people, has moved a petition to change the country’s official name to Aotearoa—the indigenous language name for the country.

“It’s well past time that Te Reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country,” Te Pāti Māori leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said&nbsp;in a statement launching the petition.

“We are a Polynesian country – we are Aotearoa.”

“Aotearoa is a name that will unify our country rather than divide it,” Waititi said.

“Others are trying to use it is a divisive tool, but this is an inclusive tool, where our ancestors consented to us all living on this whenua (land) together.”

The&nbsp;Maoris are the largest ethnic minority, representing 16.5 per cent of the population.

Te Reo Maori became the official language of New Zealand in 1987, alongside English.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/its-about-culture-mate-maori-mp-ejected-from-new-zealand-parliament-over-necktie-362429">It's about culture, mate: Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament over necktie</a>

The name New Zealand comes from the colonial era when cartographers from the Netherlands named it after the westernmost province Zeeland.

The petition also called for the national parliament to “identify and officially restore the original Te Reo Maori names for all towns, cities, and places right across the country by 2026.”

“It is the duty of the Crown to do all that it can to restore the status of our language. That means it needs to be accessible in the most obvious of places; on our televisions, on our radio stations, on road signs, maps and official advertising, and in our education system.” they said.

Watch

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/new-zealand-maori-party-mp-asked-to-leave-parliament-over-tie-362603/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;“The imposition of a colonial agenda in the education system had resulted in widespread language loss among Maori, with fluency dropping from 90% to 20% over the past 90 years,” the petition said

Over time, New Zealanders, including state officials, political leaders and companies have been using&nbsp;Aotearoa interchangeably with or alongside New Zealand – but the shift hasn’t been made official, reports local media.

Last year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said an official name change, was “not something we’ve explored,” but that she supported more people using the name.

“I hear more and more often the use of Aotearoa interchangeably with New Zealand and that is a positive thing,” she said.

“Whether or not we change it in law I don’t think changes the fact New Zealanders do increasingly refer to Aotearoa, and I think that’s a transition that has been welcomed.”

(With inputs from agencies)

New Zealand’s Maori political party, which advocates the rights of indigenous people, has moved a petition to change the country’s official name to Aotearoa—the indigenous language name for the country.

New Zealand’s Maori political party, which advocates the rights of indigenous people, has moved a petition to change the country’s official name to Aotearoa—the indigenous language name for the country. “It’s well past time that Te Reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country,” Te Pāti Māori leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said in a statement launching the petition. “We are a Polynesian country – we are Aotearoa.” “Aotearoa is a name that will unify our country rather than divide it,” Waititi said. “Others are trying to use it is a divisive tool, but this is an inclusive tool, where our ancestors consented to us all living on this whenua (land) together.” The Maoris are the largest ethnic minority, representing 16.5 per cent of the population. Te Reo Maori became the official language of New Zealand in 1987, alongside English. Also read | It's about culture, mate: Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament over necktie The name New Zealand comes from the colonial era when cartographers from the Netherlands named it after the westernmost province Zeeland. The petition also called for the national parliament to “identify and officially restore the original Te Reo Maori names for all towns, cities, and places right across the country by 2026.” “It is the duty of the Crown to do all that it can to restore the status of our language. That means it needs to be accessible in the most obvious of places; on our televisions, on our radio stations, on road signs, maps and official advertising, and in our education system.” they said. Watch “The imposition of a colonial agenda in the education system had resulted in widespread language loss among Maori, with fluency dropping from 90% to 20% over the past 90 years,” the petition said Over time, New Zealanders, including state officials, political leaders and companies have been using Aotearoa interchangeably with or alongside New Zealand – but the shift hasn’t been made official, reports local media. Last year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said an official name change, was “not something we’ve explored,” but that she supported more people using the name. “I hear more and more often the use of Aotearoa interchangeably with New Zealand and that is a positive thing,” she said. “Whether or not we change it in law I don’t think changes the fact New Zealanders do increasingly refer to Aotearoa, and I think that’s a transition that has been welcomed.” (With inputs from agencies)

New Zealand’s Maori party moves petition to change country’s 'colonial' name

New Zealand's Māori party co-leader was ejected by the Speaker in the parliament over a dispute about the dress code, or more precisely, a necktie.

Rawiri Waititi, the leader in news, decided to wear a different necktie than the one allowed and was thus ejected from the parliament's debating chamber.&nbsp;

The Speaker had said that since Waititi was not wearing a proper dress code — considering his tie was missing — he would not be allowed to speak. However, as the leader went ahead delivering his speech, the Speaker had to eject Waititi.

In the debating chambers of the parliament, every member is bound to dress as per the dressing code which is business/formal attire, with a tie for men. However, Waititi chose to wear "Māori business attire" which he said was cultural dress.

In this, he chose to wear a pounamu (greenstone) necklace instead of a necktie. This action was not appreciated by the Speaker, who then ejected the leader from the parliament on an immediate basis.
<img alt="Rawiri Waititi" data-caption="Rawiri Waititi. Picture credits: Twitter" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="04bc0c1f-3e3d-4c40-8d67-4906dfb02171" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Rawiri%20Waititi%20%281%29.jpg" />
"It's not about ties it's about cultural identity mate," Waititi told the Speaker before leading the chamber, as per the local media reports.

He further took to Twitter to talk about the issue. "Dissapointing the Speaker has set one precedent for some members of but not for everyone. Being told to leave the house because of my choice to wear hei-tiki as cultural business attire is absurd," he tweeted.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dissapointing the Speaker has set one precedent for some members of but not for everyone. Being told to leave the house because of my choice to wear hei-tiki as cultural business attire is absurd.
— Rawiri Waititi MP (@Rawiri_Waititi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rawiri_Waititi/status/1358968911551557633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

"My hei-tiki is my tie of choice. It ties me to my tīpuna, whenua, and people. We have made it known that this party will not be subjugated nor assimilated to dated colonial rules."

New Zealand's Māori party co-leader was ejected by the Speaker in the parliament over a dispute about the dress code, or more precisely, a necktie. Rawiri Waititi, the leader in news, decided to wear a different necktie than the one allowed and was thus ejected from the parliament's debating chamber.

New Zealand's Māori party co-leader was ejected by the Speaker in the parliament over a dispute about the dress code, or more precisely, a necktie. Rawiri Waititi, the leader in news, decided to wear a different necktie than the one allowed and was thus ejected from the parliament's debating chamber. The Speaker had said that since Waititi was not wearing a proper dress code — considering his tie was missing — he would not be allowed to speak. However, as the leader went ahead delivering his speech, the Speaker had to eject Waititi. In the debating chambers of the parliament, every member is bound to dress as per the dressing code which is business/formal attire, with a tie for men. However, Waititi chose to wear "Māori business attire" which he said was cultural dress. In this, he chose to wear a pounamu (greenstone) necklace instead of a necktie. This action was not appreciated by the Speaker, who then ejected the leader from the parliament on an immediate basis. "It's not about ties it's about cultural identity mate," Waititi told the Speaker before leading the chamber, as per the local media reports. He further took to Twitter to talk about the issue. "Dissapointing the Speaker has set one precedent for some members of but not for everyone. Being told to leave the house because of my choice to wear hei-tiki as cultural business attire is absurd," he tweeted. Dissapointing the Speaker has set one precedent for some members of but not for everyone. Being told to leave the house because of my choice to wear hei-tiki as cultural business attire is absurd. — Rawiri Waititi MP (@Rawiri_Waititi) February 9, 2021 × "My hei-tiki is my tie of choice. It ties me to my tīpuna, whenua, and people. We have made it known that this party will not be subjugated nor assimilated to dated colonial rules."

It's about culture, mate: Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament over necktie

A replica of the Captain James Cook's ship Endeavour sailed into Gisborne to mark the 250th anniversary of his arrival in New Zealand.

Protest marks anniversary of James Cook’s NZ arrival

maori-leaders

Maori Leaders, News on Maori Leaders, stories on Maori Leaders, articles on Maori Leaders, Maori Leaders stories at Wion, Maori Leaders news, Maori Leaders latest news

maori leaders

New Zealand’s Maori party moves petition to change country’s 'colonial' name

It's about culture, mate: Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament over necktie

Protest marks anniversary of James Cook’s NZ arrival