{"id":1060377,"date":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=89087"},"modified":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","slug":"slow-down-simeon-brown-nz-bilingual-traffic-signs-arent-an-accident-waiting-to-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/05\/30\/slow-down-simeon-brown-nz-bilingual-traffic-signs-arent-an-accident-waiting-to-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow down Simeon Brown \u2013 NZ bilingual traffic signs aren\u2019t an accident waiting to\u00a0happen"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANALYSIS:<\/strong> By Richard Shaw<\/a>, Massey University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When New Zealand’s opposition National Party\u2019s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, questioned the logic<\/a> of bilingual traffic signs, he seemed to echo his leader Christopher Luxon\u2019s earlier misgivings<\/a> about the now prevalent use of te reo M\u0101ori in government departments.<\/p>\n

Genuine concern or political signalling in an election year? After all, Luxon himself has expressed interest in learning te reo<\/a>, and also encouraged its use<\/a> when he was CEO of Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n

He even sought to trademark <\/a> \u201cKia Ora\u201d<\/em> as the title of the airline\u2019s in-flight magazine.<\/p>\n