New Zealand considers official name change

Wellington, Jul 28 (Prensa Latina) New Zealand may be getting an official name change in our lifetime. The New Zealand Parliament might change the country’s name to Aotearoa, which is Māori for “long white cloud,” and restore cities and towns to their original Māori names.

July 28, 2022
19:08

The petition has collected over 70,000 signatures and will be considered by a parliamentary committee that could recommend a vote in Parliament, put it to a nationwide referendum or not take action.

The Maori name proposal is: Aotearoa, which refers to the clouds, which, according to indigenous history, were help for the Polynesian navigators who arrived in that country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Using Aotearoa as a name really reflects our history and acknowledges our past, but also how we can move forward together,” Ralph Zambrano, president of the Victoria University of Wellington student association, told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

This name can already be found on government documents, passports and even on tickets, however, this new change convince no many even in that country.

According to recent polls by the Colmar Brunton company, the names Aotearoa or Aotearoa New Zealand, the latter a combined option, barely have 40% favorability, therefore, in the event of a plebiscite, the change could not take place.

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