The case for Aotearoa becoming New Zealand's official name

The Front Page is revisiting some of the major stories covered in 2022. 
 
In June, Te Pāti Māori launched a petition to officially rename New Zealand to Aotearoa.

It comes after years of growing acceptance of the Māori name for our islands, seeking to reverse a name assigned to the country by Dutch explorers 500 years ago.

The petition comes during a growing embracement of Māori culture in public life – but with that acceptance has come an unsurprising pushback from those happy with how things are.

So is it time for us to embrace this movement and make the change official?

In September, Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere joined us to explain the history of Aotearoa and share his view on why a name change could be good for the country.

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. New episodes return on January 9th.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills 

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