Aotearoa: Who's afraid of the 'A' word?

Wednesday, 23 June 2021

Winston Peters warned overseas Kiwis in 2020 to return immediately or risk being stranded. (File photo).

OPINION: New Zealand is the land of the long white cloud and dinosaurs that never died out.

The use of our country’s other name – Aotearoa – has long been a way to flush the prehistoric beasties out: Whenever I use it in my writing – and I make a point of using it a lot – someone somewhere tells me not to.

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The messages are strikingly similar, all effectively boiling down to the same argument, which is that this country already has a perfectly good name thank-you-very-much, and people like me should learn to use it. When I’m being charitable I like to think ‘people like me’ means journalists, but I have my suspicions.

The word is like a Rorschach test for racists. While most people see nothing frightening in the term, others see Armageddon. Try it out, and you’ll see what I mean. Drop the word into conversation and watch your audience for that telltale flicker of the eye or twitch of the upper lip that gives them away.

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The number of people offended by ‘Aotearoa’ may be small, but they’re vocal, and Winston Peters knows it. In his first speech since he was booted out of parliament in the 2020 election, the NZ First founder demonstrated that in an ever-changing world, some things stay the same: humans who refuse to evolve.

Peters bleated to supporters about all that’s wrong in this country: a long list including every political party other than his, the media, and the increased use of reo Māori in public life – particularly “Aotearoa”.

While we can forgive him his disdain of politicians and journalists – nobody likes either group very much – the attack on reo Māori can’t be ignored, which is just what he wants.

“Who signed up to this plan to change New Zealand’s name? Who was asked? When were you asked?” he twinkled at the faithful.

He took particular offence that a recent Climate Change Commission report used the word “Aotearoa'' more than 1300 times but New Zealand just 161 times. I’ve been entertaining myself imagining him pouring myopically over the pages, counting each word and muttering under his breath how the country has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Hilariously, “cancel culture” also made the list of things he wanted to cancel. Its political correctness gone mad, I tell you.

I actually like Winston Peters. He’s a breath of old stale air to occasionally remind us how far we’ve come and how easily we could revert to what we used to be. A cautionary tale, if you will.

Also, most families have a Winston of their own: an older relative who stubbornly refuses to adapt so spends their latter years stumbling about in a world they no longer understand.

But a bit like the family dog who goes senile and lunges incontinently at the children, we keep them about because despite their increasingly unacceptable behaviour, we know they can’t help it. They’re scared and confused, but eventually we’ll be able to consign them to history and hope the younger generation will only remember their more admirable traits.

Peters peddles intolerance and fear all wrapped up in nationalism, and we can take comfort in the fact this latest outburst comes from the political exile he was banished to in 2020 after voters proved he was completely irrelevant to a modern world.

It’s funny how Peters says his party has no intention of putting “the name New Zealand on the endangered species list” but doesn’t realise it’s people like him and his followers who are endangered.