David Farrar: Which language should be used first?

I am a fan of agencies having both English and te reo names. I am not a fan of agencies only using their te reo name as happened under the last Government.

If an agency (or their website) uses both English and te reo, which should be the primary language? Well, let’s look at the census data:

• 95.7% of NZers speak English, but not te reo
• 4.1% of NZers speak English and te reo
• 0.2% of NZers speak te reo but not English

If your job is to serve the public, you shouldn’t need a ministerial directive to work out which language you use first.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders