Residents of New Zealand have signed a petition in favor of renaming the country to the Maori Aotearoa, and the Maori Indigenous Affairs Committee is ready to discuss the official change of the name of the republic, New Zealand Gerald reports.
“In the summer, a petition with 70,000 signatures of the country’s residents, who want to rename New Zealand to Aotearoa, came to Parliament. The Special Committee on Maori Affairs said it would discuss the official change of the country’s name at a meeting in parliament. Meanwhile, politicians are divided over the name change, but most of the public is ready to accept it.
According to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the issue of an official name change is not yet being considered, but she hopes for the active use of the Majorian synonym in everyday life.
“Regardless of whether we change it in the law, I don’t think it will change the fact that New Zealanders are talking more and more about Aotearoa. And this transition is welcome,” she said.
In turn, the co-leader of the Maori Party, Debbie Ngareva-Packer, rejected the idea of holding a referendum on renaming New Zealand, arguing that the country’s indigenous population is only 17%.
Aotearoa translates from the Maori language as “Land of the Long White Cloud”.
