New Zealand coalition votes to make English an official language as critics slam ‘cynical’ bill

Push to give English same status as Mori and NZ sign languages sparks backlash from opposition parties and linguistic experts

A bill to recognise English as an official language of New Zealand has cleared its first hurdle in parliament amid ridicule from opposition parties and linguists who say it is unnecessary" and cynical".

The bill seeks to give English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Mori (Mori language) and New Zealand sign language. The bill said the status and use of the existing official languages would not be affected.