Green Party launches petition after electorate's Māori name removed
Photo:
RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The Green Party is demanding Māori names be reinstated to electorates in the capital.
It has launched a petition after the Rongotai electorate became Wellington Bays in boundary changes announced last week.
The Representation Commission confirmed
final boundary adjustments
ahead of next year's election.
"Rongotai means 'sound of the sea,' it has been the te reo name of our electorate for almost three decades and has been taken away with next to no consultation," MP Julie Anne Genter said.
"This was a decision based on the feedback of three people. This is not good enough and this must change," she said.
Genter and fellow Wellington-based Green MP Tamatha Paul are behind the petition.
"This is yet another attack on te reo, we have seen it with road signs,
passports
and now the name of an electorate," Paul said.
Boundary changes were largely in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch and the lower North Island.
The changes included having one fewer electorate in the lower North Island to account for seven percent population growth in the South Island which, by law, can only have 16 seats.
In Auckland, the Rānui electorate also became Henderson.
Julie Anne Genter said the Rongotai name in Wellington "accurately and beautifully captured the geography and spirit of our electorate".
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