NZ First Bill: English set to become official
English set to become official
New Zealand First has submitted a member’s bill for English to be recognised as an official language of New Zealand. Te Reo Maori was recognised in 1987 and New Zealand Sign Language in 2006, yet there is no legislation that recognises English.
“The Bill is called the ‘English an Official
Language Bill’ and that will give English the same legal
status as Te Reo Maori and New Zealand Sign Language.”
Says New Zealand First List MP Clayton Mitchell
It’s
common sense to officially recognise the language that the
vast majority of New Zealanders use on a day to day basis.
English is the primary language that New Zealanders use,
whether that’s in business, at home, on the sports field
or in the media.
“A petition was presented to
Parliament last year with 6,258 signatures asking for
English to be recognised. I’ve travelled around the
country and everyone I’ve spoken to think it’s absurd
that this isn’t already the case.”
https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/52HOH_MEMBILL071_1/12fc2e0428181469c8ee9b9173c6e59cea5133d3