A bill to write English into law as an official language of New Zealand has cleared its first major hurdle in Parliament without a single change, even though most people who made submissions told MPs they did not want it.
The Justice Select Committee reported back on the English Language Bill on Sunday and recommended that it pass exactly as it was introduced. The committee said it had received 1601 written submissions and heard from 22 people and groups in person. Nearly two thirds of those submitters opposed the bill, arguing it was a waste of parliamentary time, that it undermined te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, and that it risked stoking division. Supporters told the committee the opposite, saying the bill caused little harm, cleared up confusion and simply gave English the same formal recognition the other two languages already enjoy.
Faced with that split, the committee sided with the bill. Its chair, National MP Andrew Bayly, rejected the idea that giving English official status would weaken the standing of the country’s two existing official languages. “Those other official languages already have bespoke legislation and there was no way that this was an attempt to undermine them,” he said. “It was just recognising that English is commonly used in New Zealand, it’s a common language of the government and that’s why the committee agreed to leave the bill as it was introduced.”
The legislation is short, running to barely two pages, and its practical effect is narrow. English has always been the working language of government, the courts and Parliament, but it has never actually been named as an official language in any New Zealand statute. Te reo Māori was made official in 1987 and New Zealand Sign Language followed in 2006, each through its own dedicated law. The English Language Bill would close that gap by formally recognising English alongside them. It does not change the status of te reo Māori or sign language, and it does not require any agency to use English in a way it does not already.
The bill exists because New Zealand First wanted it. Recognising English as an official language was written into the party’s coalition agreement with National after the 2023 election, and Winston Peters has been its loudest champion. Leading the first reading debate earlier this year, Peters framed the change as a matter of common sense. “This bill won’t solve the push of this virtue signalling narrative completely,” he told the House. “But it is the first step towards ensuring logic and common sense prevails when the vast majority of New Zealanders communicate in English.” Peters argued that the growing use of te reo Māori in official communications and signage had caused confusion, and claimed that fewer than five percent of New Zealanders can read, write or speak the language.
That framing has been the heart of the fight. Opponents see the bill as an answer to a problem that does not exist, dressed up as practicality. Labour told the committee the measure changed nothing in practice and described it as offensive to the generations who fought to keep te reo Māori alive after it was driven to the edge of survival. The Green Party warned that official language status is a tool used around the world to protect languages that are under threat, not languages that already dominate, and cautioned about unintended consequences including a risk to social cohesion.
Even inside the government the enthusiasm has been patchy. The bill is technically sponsored by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who has been notably cool about it. “It’s something that was in the coalition,” Goldsmith said when the bill was introduced. “It wouldn’t be the top priority for us, absolutely not.” That lukewarm tone from the responsible minister has fed the argument from critics that the bill is a symbolic concession to a coalition partner rather than a response to any genuine demand from the public or from officials.
The bill passed its first reading in early March and now returns to the House for its second reading, where the same arguments are likely to be aired again before a committee of the whole House stage and a final vote. With the support of National, New Zealand First and ACT, the numbers point clearly towards the bill becoming law before the current Parliament rises ahead of the November election. The volume of public submissions, and the lopsided balance against the bill within them, guarantees the debate will stay heated even if the result looks settled.
For voters, the row is a small but telling example of how a coalition government juggles the priorities of its parts. A change that the Justice Minister admits is not a priority, and that most submitters opposed, is heading for the statute book because a coalition partner asked for it and the votes are there. Whether that counts as keeping a promise or wasting Parliament’s time is exactly the kind of judgement the coming campaign will turn on. If you want to see where the parties stand on this and the issues that matter to you ahead of the vote, you can work through our voting tool.
What do you make of the move to make English an official language, a sensible tidy up or a needless distraction? Have your say in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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