This member's bill would have enabled the Governor-General, by Order in Council, to establish Māori names for Crown entities in addition to or instead of the names in their empowering Acts. The bill was defeated.
A member's bill creating a simple legal process for Crown entities — public bodies such as agencies, boards and commissions set up by their own founding Acts — to take on a Māori (te reo Māori) name. Normally an entity's name is fixed by the Act that establishes it, so changing it needs a full law change. The bill would let the Governor-General, by Order in Council, give a Crown entity a Māori name to be used in addition to, or instead of, its existing English name, without having to amend each empowering Act separately.
Origin: a private member's bill from Labour MP Shanan Halbert, intended to make it easier to recognise te reo Māori in the names of public institutions. Argument for: it is a low-cost, practical way to support revitalisation of te reo Māori and reflect New Zealand's bicultural identity, avoiding repeated individual law changes. Argument against: critics worry entities might use only the Māori name and cause confusion, and some see it as unnecessary or a matter Parliament should decide body by body.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.