Who's afraid of Aotearoa
In Parliament, lawmakers are pushing a growing number of policies that critics say erode Māori culture and put New Zealand at risk of losing its cultural identity.
Among the policies, cuts to te reo Māori teacher training, mandating English first in public service naming and communication, the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority), reversal of co-governance reforms, and undermining local Māori representation.
The coalition also supported the Treaty Principles Bill, pushed by Act, which aimed to enshrine fixed principles of the Treaty and extend these to all New Zealanders, effectively diluting Māori-specific rights. The bill was ultimately rejected by Parliament.
Just last week, it was revealed that Education Minister Erica Stanford stopped the printing of new editions of a series of books designed to teach Year 1s how to read, which included te reo words, while last month in Parliament, Foreign Minister Winston Peters refused to call New Zealand 'Aotearoa'.
Together, these measures signal a retreat from decades of progress toward biculturalism, says associate professor Awanui Te Huia, who teaches Māori studies at Victoria University.
'The issue that these policies have created is it emboldens those [racist] positions and it treats the irrational as rational,' she tells The Detail.
'When we're hearing these anti-Tiriti or Waitangi statements, when we hear these anti-Māori, anti-te reo Māori statements, and they are being put forward as rational and considered arguments, this is when we have some of the trouble … it platforms particular perspectives that are harmful for our community, harmful for cohesion.'
She says the revival of te reo is one of our greatest national achievements – proof of a country willing to confront its past and weave its two founding cultures together.
But she worries the Government's policies will stall momentum.
'It's not a zero-sum game. If te reo Māori is doing well, that does not take anything away from another person; it's additive.'
And she says the cost of the rollback of Māori rights and culture is damaging.
'There is considerable racism that happens in our communities, and that has multiple implications across the spectrum – on economics … on our socio-political spectrums.'
Māori journalist Ella Stewart has been covering the policy changes for RNZ's in-depth department. She tells The Detail that the Māori community is hurting, but also pushing back.
'I have spoken to a raft of people, in my personal life but also just in reporting … I remember speaking to Tureiti Moxon a couple of weeks ago, and she said that this partnership that's been forged many years ago, over decades and decades, to get to a point where Māori are actually at the decision-making table – she said that's all been taken away.
'You have also got Māori legal scholars, Te Tiriti/Treaty experts, like Carwyn Jones, who said to me, 'We are seeing that this Government has a clear strategy of removing Māori rights and removing the ability of Te Tiriti to have any impact in our law.'
She says, from her conversations, people would prefer if the Government focused on big-picture issues, rather than stripping te reo Māori from agency names and books.
'I think they are mainly upset because there are some issues that are being focused on that arguably the Government could be spending time doing something more important … on more pressing issues for our people rather than 'Should the name of New Zealand be New Zealand or Aotearoa', maybe focus on how you can further our people.'
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