This article first appeared on Stuff.
The government’s English names edict has run into further trouble, with staff at Whaikaha pushing back against requests to rename their ministry.
Whaikaha is the Ministry of Disabled People, and it also has an official NZ Sign Language name.
In her first meeting with Whaikaha’s leadership in November, then disabilities minister Penny Simmonds brought up the government’s directive to give English names prominence.
But the Whaikaha name continues as staff have rallied to protect it, while chief executive Paula Tesoriero has stressed the “unique whakapapa” of the name.
Why it matters
When the coalition Government came to power, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his deputy, Winston Peters, talked up a policy of rebranding government department names that were in te reo Māori.
The rebranding exercise kicked off with Te Whatu Ora and Waka Kotahi’s communications teams looking to scrub references to the reo Māori names at Health NZ and NZTA. This included buying new signs and personal protective equipment without the reo Māori brands, when the agencies were hosting ministers.
But the plan ran into trouble, when Housing Minister Chris Bishop pointed out Kāinga Ora was best known as Kāinga Ora - and the policy’s justification had been that English names would be easier to identify.
Changing the name Kāinga Ora would also lead to legal complexities, as that is the department’s legal name.
According to information released under the Official Information Act to Stuff, the English names policy has run into similar trouble at Whaikaha.
The breakdown
In Simmonds’ first meeting with officials as disabilities minister, she asked if they could move to increase the prominence of the English name “The Ministry of Disabled People” instead of “Whaikaha”.
While her point was noted in meeting documents seen by Stuff, the only action appeared to be from officials who pushed against any rebrand.
At the time, the ministry was facing a major cost blowout - which saw it blindside families in March when it suddenly cut back on respite care funding.
Simmonds’ handling of that funding announcement ultimately saw her lose the role as disabilities minister in April.
After that meeting, officials talked amongst themselves about the importance of the Whaikaha name. It had been the ministry’s legal name ever since it was formed in 2022, and one communications advisor noted: “Many people in the disability community claim the enabling word ‘whaikaha’ to describe themselves.”
After the meeting with Simmonds, Tesoriero emailed all staff to say: “Please continue to use our full name when referring to us, Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People, and of course where possible, include the QR code for our NZSL name.”
Key players
Social Development Minister Louise Upston replaced Simmonds as disabilities minister.
The decision to English-first edict came from NZ First’s coalition agreement with National. Peters has said it should be actioned for all ministries, unless they are primarily focused on Māori communities. There should be no exception, he said last year, even for a department such as Kāinga Ora - best known by its te reo name.
- Stuff