The government’s bill to make English an official language of New Zealand has passed its first reading in Parliament, clearing its initial hurdle after heated debate.
The legislation would formally recognise English alongside te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language as an official language.
Just two pages long, the bill states that English has long been a de facto official language, but that status has never been set out in legislation.
The bill is in the name of Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who has consistently framed it as a coalition obligation rather than a flagship reform.
“It’s something that was in the coalition. It wouldn’t be the top priority for us, absolutely not. But it’s something in the coalition, and it’s getting done,” he said.
Goldsmith again emphasised its origins in the National–New Zealand First agreement.
“Well, look, it’s just a coalition agreement with New Zealand First, it’s something that they’re particularly enthusiastic about, and we just wanna got lots of things to get through the house, and so he’s done that. We’re moving on,” he said.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters led the charge in support of the bill when it was first introduced before Parliament went into recess.
“This bill won’t solve the push of this virtue signalling narrative completely. But it is the first step towards ensuring logic and common sense prevails when the vast majority of New Zealanders communicate in English, and understand English, in a country that should use English as its primary and official language,” he said.
Peters previously argued that the growing visibility of te reo Māori in public services had led to confusion and, in some cases, safety concerns.
Opposition: “Wīhara Kurī”
Opposition MPs ridiculed the legislation, questioning why Parliament was devoting time to a measure they described as symbolic and unnecessary.
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty told the House the government’s priorities were misplaced.
“Every week since becoming Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has proven that he’s out of touch and not up to the job, and here we are at a time where cost of living is the biggest issue facing this country, where people are out of work, where we have communities ravaged by severe weather, where we have international issues facing this country that are as significant as any that we have seen in living memory, and this is what the Government wants to put through Parliament.
“I think it’s disgraceful, Madam Speaker. This is unnecessary. This is not needed. All it is is to give New Zealand First a platform to try and get re-elected.” McAnulty told the House just before it passed its first reading.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick reiterated that view during her speech when it was introduced, labelling the bill as “bullshit.”
“The point that we were making is that this is such a transparent culture war bathing, and we attempted to spell out precisely what those tactics are and how they mirror their approach taken in Trump’s America. Stuff that seems innocuous has a very intentional dog sitting underneath it,” she said. Earlier, she told the House the English language was not under threat.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi dismissed the bill as unnecessary and a waste of time.
“Ka aroha, ki te motu whānui, nō te mea, kei te moumou tāima, kei te moumou moni noa iho i tērā... tēnei tūāhuatanga. Kāore e kite i te memehatanga o te... o te reo Pākehā ki tēnei whenua.
“Ko tērā mea he mea wīhara kurī noa iho tērā tūāhuatanga ture mō ōna kaipōti kei te kōrero au mō Winston Peters, mōna kaipōti, he pakeke, he Pākehā. Nō reira, koinā hoki tāna e whakamataku i a rātou kia pōti rātou mōna ake. Koinā hoki tana mahi i ngā wā o mua noa atu, kei te wīhara kurī.” Waititi said.
Language advocate challenges purpose of bill
Dr Vincent Ieni Olsen-Reeder, Language advocate and academic, described the legislation as one of the “strangest and shortest” bills he had encountered.
Olsen-Reeder said officialising a language in law typically happens for one of three reasons: to prevent state-led obliteration of a language, to release resources to support it, or to do both.
“The Bill does not address a concern for the State’s annihilation of English, nor does it say what resourcing English needs beyond the billions pumped into it every year,” he said.
He also challenged comparisons made by Winston Peters to overseas jurisdictions, arguing that countries such as Canada, Wales and Ireland enacted language laws to promote bilingualism or protect minority languages, not to entrench a dominant one.
“The English Language Bill claims it ‘will not affect the status or use of te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language,’ but the tiny exploratory statement means little without being a specific provision in the Bill itself,
“If this Bill passes into law it will not, in itself, do anything for the benefit of the English language.” he added.
With the first reading now complete, the bill will be referred to a select committee, where the public will have the opportunity to make submissions before it returns to the House for its second reading.
