Parliament is reviewing legislation that would make English an official language alongside te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
The English Language Bill was introduced as part of New Zealand First's coalition agreement with National and ACT. English is spoken by more than 96% of New Zealanders, but unlike te reo Māori, which gained official status in 1987, and New Zealand Sign Language, which followed in 2006, English has no formal legislative recognition.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters called the bill a common sense measure addressing an inconsistency where the nation's most widely used language lacks formal recognition. "The bill does not diminish the status of other official languages, te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, but rather complements them, acknowledging the linguistic reality of our nation," he said.
Dr Sidney Wong, a computational linguist at the University of Otago, told the select committee that English already operates as the country's primary language without legal backing. "English is already the de facto language, it's already the dominant language," he said. Countries including Australia and the United Kingdom use English as their national language without statutory declaration.
Wong said official status had typically been granted to languages requiring support or revival, and questioned what practical problem the bill addresses. "But also, they have not identified what needs protecting," he said, describing the measure as largely symbolic.
Dr Vincent Olsen-Reeder, managing director of ReoPol, told the committee it was uncommon for English-speaking nations to legislate English as an official language. "It's very unusual for an English-speaking country like New Zealand to have English as an official language, because there's no reason to do it," he said. "It's empty legislation. So legally, it won't do anything."
Olsen-Reeder raised concerns that symbolic legislation on language could influence public sentiment toward te reo Māori. "That will definitely bolster opinions from outlier opinions in society about prohibition and banning of te reo Māori for sure," he said.
Peters argued increased use of te reo Māori had led to misunderstanding and confusion, claiming first responders had encountered difficulty reaching locations due to Māori names. Wong disputed that increased visibility of te reo Māori was creating widespread confusion. "There's no evidence to suggest people are confused," he said.
Waiting lists for kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori remain long, and demand for Māori language courses continues to grow across the country.