by Martin Warriner

I find it very amusing that New Zealand cannot trademark Mānuka honey.  So-called educated academics, both Maori and non-Maori, believe that the farcical macron they have inserted over the “a” in Manuka makes it a Māori word whereas Australians simply say their honey is Manuka and not the Maori Mānuka!

If more New Zealanders would take a look at how ridiculous the Maori language has become in recent years, they may begin to speak out and reject this macron nonsense.

We could start with the word Maori.  It is an anglicized noun in New Zealand, introduced after the arrival of Europeans to provide a collective name for the disparate Polynesian tribes who emigrated to these Islands from East Polynesia.

Of course, those of us who live on the Kapiti Coast know that it is not the Cabbage Coast (Maori spelling with a macron) which was illegally instigated in 2010 by the Kapiti Coast District Council under Mayor Rowan.

Hopefully, but I am not going to hold my breath, the new History curriculum will teach our children and grandchildren the truth of how New Zealand culture has evolved.  When will we become a united people rather than allowing academics and politicians tear us apart by declaring Maori mythology as fact by stealth?