New Zealand passes law making English an official language, sparking criticism

Legislation recognising English as an official language of New Zealand has been passed by parliament, prompting derision from linguists and legal experts and a now-viral broadside from a Māori MP who called it “pathetic”.

The English language bill became law on 30 July giving English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Māori (Māori language) and New Zealand sign language. However, experts say it is already considered an official language as a result of usage and custom.

The bill formed part of a coalition deal between the centre-right National party and the minor populist New Zealand First party, whose leader, Winston Peters, has long opposed affirmative initiatives for Māori. National needed to strike deals with New Zealand First and another minor party, Act, in order to govern.

Ministry of justice officials had recommended that lawmakers should not pass the bill, because there was “no evidence to support concerns about the use or status of English as an official language”. Te reo Māori and New Zealand sign language had become official to protect linguistic minorities, they said.

However, the coalition government and the major opposition Labour party voted in favour of the bill, with minor opposition parties the Greens and Te Pāti Māori against.

During the debate, Green MP Tamatha Paul said the bill was “a pathetic waste of the responsibility of this house”, in a speech that has generated millions of views online.

Paul said the coalition government were “snowflakes” who saw the word Aotearoa – the Māori name for New Zealand – and “shiver in their boots”.

Speaking on behalf of New Zealand First during the final reading, MP Casey Costello denied the law was trivial or unnecessary. “This is a practical measure. It aligns the statute book with longstanding practice, and provides a clear statement about the status of English within New Zealand’s official framework,” Costello told the house.

Peters, who is also the foreign affairs minister, has previously argued the bill was necessary because the use of Māori in public services was causing confusion.

Labour, meanwhile, has previously said it was against the law but had voted in its favour in order to move on from a “needless culture war”.

Dr Sidney Wong, a linguist and post-doctoral fellow at research centre Te Pūnaha Matatini, said official language status was given to languages in need of protection and services, but English was not under any threat.

“The main reason why this bill was put in place was based on ideology – there was this perception that English was under threat, that it doesn’t have the prestige, and it needs that sort of legislative protection. But it doesn’t need that,” he told the Guardian.

Wong said if the government was really interested in protecting English, it would be funding research into the way New Zealanders spoke English, but the law did not address this. “That’s where the money should be going. Not spending time on this 70-word legislation that’s not going to benefit anyone.”

Very few English-speaking countries had made English an official language, the officials said, and where they had, it generally coincided with protecting another language – for example in Canada, where law established both French and English are to be used official contexts.

Dr Dean Knight, a law professor at Victoria University of Wellington, said the legislation was “a pointless exercise” that made no difference legally or practically as English was already an official language by dint of custom and usage.

“All the act does is spell out that status in legislation so folk can read in in the statute book.

“Folk who got excited by this performative law-making will be disappointed to learn that, despite the dog-whistling and claims from its promoters within parliament, it does not mandate priority to the English language in government communications and elsewhere,” he said.

“Like before, Aotearoa New Zealand will continue to have three official languages.”