'This is New Zealand, get used to it': Dame Susan Devoy

Friday, 24 November 2017

Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy has objected to a Dunedin man's claims that supporters of te reo Māori are 'boring bigots'.

'Anyone who complains about te reo Māori being used and celebrated in this country need to get one thing straight: this is New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand – so get used to it,' Devoy said.

Dave Witherow wrote an opinion piece in the Otago Daily Times on Friday, in which he opined the fate of te reo Māori was far from New Zealand's most pressing problem.

'One morning, for example, a couple of Māori snowflakes were banging on about the terrible grief they were suffering from the mispronunciation of their names,' he wrote.

**READ MORE:

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* Devoy preaches free speech not hate speech on race relations**

Devoy said New Zealand had come a long way since 1987, when te reo Māori became an official language of the country.

'But it's clear that some of us have longer to go than others.'

Devoy supported her point by revealing that Witherow was born in Ireland, a country that also celebrates its indigenous language.

'Irish people have fought for years for the right to speak their own indigenous language. Like New Zealand, English predominates but Irish Gaelic is recognised as the national and first official language of the republic,' she said.

'Irish Gaelic is a compulsory subject in all public schools. Anyone wanting to study at an Irish university must be proficient in Irish Gaelic.'

While language had the potential to divide people, Devoy said it also had the potential to unite.

'Tonight I'll be at the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori Awards, sharing a table with Kiwis from Māori, Pakeha, Asian and Jewish backgrounds. We're not boring bigots. We're New Zealanders.'