Ultimately, local populations are not represented even in the name of their country, which draws its origins from its colonial past. “‘Aotearoa‘ indigenously reflects who we are in the Peacefulthat we are, in fact, one island nation and that we are in no way linked to the origins of New Zealand,” Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told NPR (August 5, 2022).
The New Zealand government remains attentive in the use of this term. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told the Guardian that she intends to use these terms in a way “interchangeable” without committing in an official change.
And survey conducted in September 2021 shows that 58% of respondents said they wanted to stick with the status quo compared to 41% who wanted “Aotearoa” to appear alongside New Zealand.
A first call to legislate name changes was attempted in 2019, “welcomed with sympathy” and without much success, writes the New York Times (August 23, 2022). Yet, according to the co-leader of the Māori party, it’s just a matter of time before the younger generations take up these questions.