New Zealand Makes English an Official Language
Is this a common-sense move or an attack on te reo Māori?
Above: Multi-language bins in English, Māori and Chinese in Wellington in September 2018. Image credit: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
Making English an official language in New Zealand is a pointless move that only undermines decades of hard-won recognition for te reo Māori. English already dominates every corner of society and needs zero legal protection — unlike Māori, which was systematically beaten out of its own speakers. This bill signals hostility toward Indigenous identity.
Right narrative
New Zealand finally did the obvious and made English an official language alongside te reo Māori and sign language — a completely reasonable move for a Commonwealth nation. The outrage machine cranked up immediately, but acknowledging the language that virtually every New Zealander speaks daily is just common sense. Opposing this is performative politics in the name of Indigenous solidarity.