Plain Language Act 2022
Grace Haden made this Official Information request to Public Service Commission
The request was partially successful.
From: Grace Haden
Dear Public Service Commission,
I note that the commissioner has oversight of the plain language act
Section 3 provides that the intention of the act is "The purpose of this Act is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of public service agencies and Crown agents, and to improve the accessibility of certain documents that they make available to the public, by providing for those documents to use language that is—
(a)appropriate to the intended audience; and
(b)clear, concise, and well organised."
section 5 defines plain language as "In this Act, plain language means language that is—
(a)appropriate to the intended audience; and
(b)clear, concise, and well organised.
section 6 refers to the requirements if the document is in english but includes paragraph 3 which states " Nothing in this Act prevents or restricts a reporting agency from including te reo Māori in any relevant document."
According to official statistics 97% of the population of New Zealand do not speak maori
there appear to be various versions of Maori and many words have multiple meanings and often the meaning is extrapolated to infer a meaning (e,g, waka kotahi )
In Public documents where Maori is used the translation and/or intended meaning is seldom or ever referenced and the meaning is often unclear or ambiguous
Take Waka Kotahi for example
On the google translate it comes back as single vehicle
In the maori dictionary waka = canoe, vehicle, conveyance, spirit medium, medium
Kotahi = be one, single, alone, 1.
On the Waka Kotahi web site https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/about-... it is given the meaning ‘Waka’ means ‘vessel’ and ‘kotahi’ means ‘one’They state " so our Māori name conveys the concept of ‘travelling together as one’ and embraces integration, affordability, safety, responsiveness and sustainability."
Taken literally this would mean one vehicle
Neither meaning would be obvious to any english speaker as the Statutory body Nz transport agency which according to google translate translates to
tari kawe waka o aotearoa
It can be easily seen that by using a language which does not have an official, consistent or recognised translations back to english that the use of te reo in official documents will bring about confusion and the use of it undermines the intention of the Plain Language legislation
Waka Kotahi is not defined any where as being synonomous witht he NZ transport agency and it is not surprising that so many scam emails have emerged trading on this unofficial name and causing confusion to the general public
By way of OIA please advise
1.the policy with regards the use of Te Reo Maori in documents which are intended for non maori speakers ie the general propulation of New Zealanders , to what degree can te reo be used , and is it relevant when the majority of the population do not speak the language ie it is not concise,clear or appropriate for the intended audience
2. Is there an official dictionary where non maori speakers can research the words to obtain the same meaning as intended in documentation ... what I am looking for is there an equivalent "oxford dictonary" for Maori which all users of the language use /can refere to to get the same meaning
3. The vast majority which is near 100% of the population speak english and the use of english will prevent miscommunications unless it is a place name or an article identified only as Maori, please advise why htere is a need to use Maori for such things as family, work days of the week etc wors whihc have perfectly well known and acceptable meaning of all New Zealanders
4. and why have the Government departments been given names which are not a direct translation but an assigned Maori name , why are these names not recognised officially and refered to in statute
5 is there a rule for using te Reo when there is a concise accurate and well understood English word which can be interpreted by the majority of the intended readers
6. the requirement to use foot notes or cross refences to indicated the intended interpretation of the maori words used
Yours faithfully,
Grace Haden
From: Enquiries
Public Service Commission
Dear Grace
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your OIA request below.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so
that these can be considered.
Our letter notifying you of our decision on your request will confirm if we intend to publish the
letter (with your personal details removed) and any related documents on the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission’s website.
Enquiries Team
îmçra: [email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/ | http://www.govt.nz/
-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Haden <[FOI #23804 email]>
Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2023 5:29 PM
To: Enquiries <[PSC request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Plain Language Act 2022
COMMISSION
This email was sent from someone outside of Te Kawa Mataaho. Please take extra care.
Dear Public Service Commission,
I note that the commissioner has oversight of the plain language act
Section 3 provides that the intention of the act is "The purpose of this Act is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of public service agencies and Crown agents, and to improve the accessibility of certain documents that they make available to the public, by providing for those documents to use language that is—
(a)appropriate to the intended audience; and (b)clear, concise, and well organised."
section 5 defines plain language as "In this Act, plain language means language that is— (a)appropriate to the intended audience; and (b)clear, concise, and well organised.
section 6 refers to the requirements if the document is in english but includes paragraph 3 which states " Nothing in this Act prevents or restricts a reporting agency from including te reo Mâori in any relevant document."
According to official statistics 97% of the population of New Zealand do not speak maori
there appear to be various versions of Maori and many words have multiple meanings and often the meaning is extrapolated to infer a meaning (e,g, waka kotahi )
In Public documents where Maori is used the translation and/or intended meaning is seldom or ever referenced and the meaning is often unclear or ambiguous
Take Waka Kotahi for example
On the google translate it comes back as single vehicle In the maori dictionary waka = canoe, vehicle, conveyance, spirit medium, medium Kotahi = be one, single, alone, 1.
On the Waka Kotahi web site https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/about-... it is given the meaning ‘Waka’ means ‘vessel’ and ‘kotahi’ means ‘one’They state " so our Mâori name conveys the concept of ‘travelling together as one’ and embraces integration, affordability, safety, responsiveness and sustainability."
Taken literally this would mean one vehicle
Neither meaning would be obvious to any english speaker as the Statutory body Nz transport agency which according to google translate translates to
tari kawe waka o aotearoa
It can be easily seen that by using a language which does not have an official, consistent or recognised translations back to english that the use of te reo in official documents will bring about confusion and the use of it undermines the intention of the Plain Language legislation
Waka Kotahi is not defined any where as being synonomous witht he NZ transport agency and it is not surprising that so many scam emails have emerged trading on this unofficial name and causing confusion to the general public
By way of OIA please advise
1.the policy with regards the use of Te Reo Maori in documents which are intended for non maori speakers ie the general propulation of New Zealanders , to what degree can te reo be used , and is it relevant when the majority of the population do not speak the language ie it is not concise,clear or appropriate for the intended audience
2. Is there an official dictionary where non maori speakers can research the words to obtain the same meaning as intended in documentation ... what I am looking for is there an equivalent "oxford dictonary" for Maori which all users of the language use /can refere to to get the same meaning
3. The vast majority which is near 100% of the population speak english and the use of english will prevent miscommunications unless it is a place name or an article identified only as Maori, please advise why htere is a need to use Maori for such things as family, work days of the week etc wors whihc have perfectly well known and acceptable meaning of all New Zealanders
4. and why have the Government departments been given names which are not a direct translation but an assigned Maori name , why are these names not recognised officially and refered to in statute
5 is there a rule for using te Reo when there is a concise accurate and well understood English word which can be interpreted by the majority of the intended readers
6. the requirement to use foot notes or cross refences to indicated the intended interpretation of the maori words used
Yours faithfully,
Grace Haden
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #23804 email]
Is [PSC request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Public Service Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
..........................................................................................................................................
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From: Enquiries
Public Service Commission
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Kia ora Grace
Please find attached our response to your below OIA request.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [1][email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission [4]Facebook logo[5]Twitter
logo[6]LinkedIn logo[7]Rainbow
[2]www.publicservice.govt.nz | Tick certified logo
[3]www.govt.nz
-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Haden <[FOI #23804 email]>
Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2023 5:29 PM
To: Enquiries <[PSC request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Plain Language Act 2022
COMMISSION
This email was sent from someone outside of Te Kawa Mataaho. Please take
extra care.
Dear Public Service Commission,
I note that the commissioner has oversight of the plain language act
Section 3 provides that the intention of the act is "The purpose of
this Act is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of public
service agencies and Crown agents, and to improve the accessibility of
certain documents that they make available to the public, by providing for
those documents to use language that is—
(a)appropriate to the intended audience; and (b)clear, concise, and well
organised."
section 5 defines plain language as "In this Act, plain language means
language that is— (a)appropriate to the intended audience; and (b)clear,
concise, and well organised.
section 6 refers to the requirements if the document is in english but
includes paragraph 3 which states " Nothing in this Act prevents or
restricts a reporting agency from including te reo Māori in any relevant
document."
According to official statistics 97% of the population of New Zealand do
not speak maori
there appear to be various versions of Maori and many words have
multiple meanings and often the meaning is extrapolated to infer a
meaning (e,g, waka kotahi )
In Public documents where Maori is used the translation and/or intended
meaning is seldom or ever referenced and the meaning is often unclear
or ambiguous
Take Waka Kotahi for example
On the google translate it comes back as single vehicle In the maori
dictionary waka = canoe, vehicle, conveyance, spirit medium, medium
Kotahi = be one, single, alone, 1.
On the Waka Kotahi web site
[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
it is given the meaning ‘Waka’ means ‘vessel’ and ‘kotahi’ means
‘one’They state " so our Māori name conveys the concept of ‘travelling
together as one’ and embraces integration, affordability, safety,
responsiveness and sustainability."
Taken literally this would mean one vehicle
Neither meaning would be obvious to any english speaker as the
Statutory body Nz transport agency which according to google
translate translates to
tari kawe waka o aotearoa
It can be easily seen that by using a language which does not have an
official, consistent or recognised translations back to english that
the use of te reo in official documents will bring about confusion
and the use of it undermines the intention of the Plain Language
legislation
Waka Kotahi is not defined any where as being synonomous witht he NZ
transport agency and it is not surprising that so many scam emails have
emerged trading on this unofficial name and causing confusion to the
general public
By way of OIA please advise
1.the policy with regards the use of Te Reo Maori in documents which
are intended for non maori speakers ie the general propulation of New
Zealanders , to what degree can te reo be used , and is it relevant
when the majority of the population do not speak the language ie it is
not concise,clear or appropriate for the intended audience
2. Is there an official dictionary where non maori speakers can
research the words to obtain the same meaning as intended in
documentation ... what I am looking for is there an equivalent "oxford
dictonary" for Maori which all users of the language use /can refere
to to get the same meaning
3. The vast majority which is near 100% of the population speak
english and the use of english will prevent miscommunications
unless it is a place name or an article identified only as Maori, please
advise why htere is a need to use Maori for such things as family,
work days of the week etc wors whihc have perfectly well known and
acceptable meaning of all New Zealanders
4. and why have the Government departments been given names which
are not a direct translation but an assigned Maori name , why are these
names not recognised officially and refered to in statute
5 is there a rule for using te Reo when there is a concise accurate and
well understood English word which can be interpreted by the majority of
the intended readers
6. the requirement to use foot notes or cross refences to indicated the
intended interpretation of the maori words used
Yours faithfully,
Grace Haden
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[9][FOI #23804 email]
Is [10][PSC request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Public Service Commission? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[12]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
..........................................................................................................................................
Confidentiality notice: This email may be confidential or legally
privileged. If you have received it by mistake, please tell the sender
immediately by reply, remove this email and the reply from your system,
and don’t act on it in any other way. Ngā mihi.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/
3. http://www.govt.nz/
4. https://www.facebook.com/SSCNZ/
5. https://twitter.com/StateServicesNZ
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/state-s...
7. https://www.rainbowtick.nz/
8. https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/about-...
9. mailto:[FOI #23804 email]
10. mailto:[PSC request email]
11. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
12. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
hide quoted sections
From: Grace Haden
Dear Enquiries,
with regards to trading names Please clarify your statement "Departments are able to use trading names other than their legal name," there is no provision in law that enables a trading name to be used in place of a legal name.
this opens the door to fraud and we are already being targeted for fraud and the use of non official un defined names and some persons interpretation of a translation becomes a false name for a legl entity e.g Waka Kotahi One vessel is not a translation for New Zealand transport agency it is merely n assigned false name and undermines the rule of law.
the words waka kotahi are not a trading name and is not registerd as a trading name the same is true for other adopted names
many people are confused and get demand for payments in Maori names and get scammed
please provide the legal statutry basis on which an unregisterd trading names can be considered are legal names or even where a trade marked name is a legal name it appears that by allowing govt dept to substitute BS names for statutory entities the rule of law and the requirement fortransparency are being disregarded
There is nothing wrong with maori enhancing theirh language but this should not be at the expense of our first language English whihc we were taught in our schools
Yours sincerely,
Grace Haden
Jennifer clark left an annotation ()
The PSC have replied stating there is no policy for them to follow. This issue is not about policy it is about the fact that departments are breaking the LAW that is the 'Plain Language Act 2022' was put in place for. The LAW is very specific and does not require a policy to interpret it.
From: Enquiries
Public Service Commission
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Kia ora Grace
Trading names are not official registered names and are simply a name that
an organisation may be better known as. As outlined in our earlier
response to you, departments are able to use a trading name other than
their legal name, whether for particular business units or for all of the
organisation. After Parliament agreed in the Māori Language Act 1987 to
recognise te reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand,
most departments and other agencies acquired a Māori name to use alongside
their English name. The use of te reo in the names of government
departments, either alone or alongside English naming, is an important
step in the Crown’s recognitions of its partnership obligations to Māori.
Information regarding Maori-English Bilingual signage can be found on
TPK's website here: [1]Māori-English Bilingual Signage (tpk.govt.nz) which
provides information on how and why the guide was developed.
If you are concerned about scams, the Department of Internal Affairs and
the New Zealand Police have some information on their websites that you
may find helpful:
o [2]Spam-How-to-Report-Scams - dia.govt.nz.
o [3]Online scams | New Zealand Police
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [4][email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission [7]Facebook logo[8]Twitter
logo[9]LinkedIn logo[10]Rainbow
[5]www.publicservice.govt.nz | Tick certified logo
[6]www.govt.nz
-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Haden <[FOI #23804 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2023 3:51 PM
To: Enquiries <[email address]>
Subject: Re: OIA 2023-0169 - REPLY - Grace Haden
This email was sent from someone outside of Te Kawa Mataaho. Please take
extra care.
Dear Enquiries,
with regards to trading names Please clarify your statement "Departments
are able to use trading names other than their legal name," there is no
provision in law that enables a trading name to be used in place of a
legal name.
this opens the door to fraud and we are already being targeted for
fraud and the use of non official un defined names and some persons
interpretation of a translation becomes a false name for a legl
entity e.g Waka Kotahi One vessel is not a translation for New
Zealand transport agency it is merely n assigned false name and
undermines the rule of law.
the words waka kotahi are not a trading name and is not registerd as a
trading name the same is true for other adopted names
many people are confused and get demand for payments in Maori names
and get scammed
please provide the legal statutry basis on which an unregisterd trading
names can be considered are legal names or even where a trade marked
name is a legal name it appears that by allowing govt dept to substitute
BS names for statutory entities the rule of law and the requirement
fortransparency are being disregarded
There is nothing wrong with maori enhancing theirh language but
this should not be at the expense of our first language English whihc
we were taught in our schools
Yours sincerely,
Grace Haden
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Grace
Please find attached our response to your below OIA request.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [1][email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission [4]Facebook logo[5]Twitter
logo[6]LinkedIn logo[7]Rainbow
[2][11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
| Tick certified logo
[3][12]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[13][FOI #23804 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[14]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
..........................................................................................................................................
Confidentiality notice: This email may be confidential or legally
privileged. If you have received it by mistake, please tell the sender
immediately by reply, remove this email and the reply from your system,
and don’t act on it in any other way. Ngā mihi.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/nga-putea-me-...
2. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam-How-to-Repo...
3. https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/email-...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/
6. http://www.govt.nz/
7. https://www.facebook.com/SSCNZ/
8. https://twitter.com/StateServicesNZ
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/state-s...
10. https://www.rainbowtick.nz/
11. http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/
12. http://www.govt.nz/
13. mailto:[FOI #23804 email]
14. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
hide quoted sections
From: Grace Haden
Dear Enquiries,
thank you for your response
It appears that the anonomous author of the reply has no concept of accountability to the rule of law and legal names
if this is indeed your policy then it is open to each and every new zealander to adotpt a maori name and claim it as the maori translation .
government agencies are creatures of statute and companies are registerd with a legal name . we each have a legal name on our birth certificate
Trading names are not and have never been legal names . each government agency has an obligation to minimise the potential for fraud and using only legal names is in the interest of the public and accountability to the rule of law
I will be taking this matter to the ombudsman as it appears that the public service commission has no concept of the definition of plain language there is probably not one person in New Zealand who speaks only maori ( except by choice ) , we were all taught English in school and it is the language which we all speak not pigeon english .
You state "departments are able to use a trading name other than
their legal name" could you please by way of oia advise of the statutory basis for this statemnt As it was writen by an anonomous person with no accountability it appears that it is a totally BS statement as much as many of the so called translations are fictional as well e.g. how can waka Kotahi posibbly translate to the new zealand transport agency One vehicle is the translation I have one vehicle I must be the the NZ transport agency then .
The Public service has an obligation to comply with the rule of law .
The New Zealand parliament which makes our laws was set up in 1852 "New Zealand Constitution Act 1852" there is no refence to Aotearoa , this became an adopted name after was used in an anthem in 1878 by an irish man who arrived in New Zealand in 1869 .pre-European era, Māori did not have one name for the country as a whole
there appears to be no legislative definition or official translation that supports Aotearoa as the Maori name for New Zealand please provide the legislative evidence on which you rely which allows for the subsitution of a legal name for a trading name either registerd or un registerd based on an allegation that it is a " maori name "
Yours sincerely,
Grace Haden
From: Enquiries
Public Service Commission
Dear Grace
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your OIA request below.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 20 working days
after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so
that these can be taken into account.
Our letter notifying you of our decision on your request will confirm if we intend to publish the letter (with your personal details removed) and any related documents on the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission’s website.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/ | http://www.govt.nz/
-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Haden <[FOI #23804 email]>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2023 2:05 PM
To: Enquiries <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OIA 2023-0169 - REPLY - Grace Haden
This email was sent from someone outside of Te Kawa Mataaho. Please take extra care.
Dear Enquiries,
thank you for your response
It appears that the anonomous author of the reply has no concept of accountability to the rule of law and legal names
if this is indeed your policy then it is open to each and every new zealander to adotpt a maori name and claim it as the maori translation .
government agencies are creatures of statute and companies are registerd with a legal name . we each have a legal name on our birth certificate
Trading names are not and have never been legal names . each government agency has an obligation to minimise the potential for fraud and using only legal names is in the interest of the public and accountability to the rule of law
I will be taking this matter to the ombudsman as it appears that the public service commission has no concept of the definition of plain language there is probably not one person in New Zealand who speaks only maori ( except by choice ) , we were all taught English in school and it is the language which we all speak not pigeon english .
You state "departments are able to use a trading name other than
their legal name" could you please by way of oia advise of the statutory basis for this statemnt As it was writen by an anonomous person with no accountability it appears that it is a totally BS statement as much as many of the so called translations are fictional as well e.g. how can waka Kotahi posibbly translate to the new zealand transport agency One vehicle is the translation I have one vehicle I must be the the NZ transport agency then .
The Public service has an obligation to comply with the rule of law .
The New Zealand parliament which makes our laws was set up in 1852 "New Zealand Constitution Act 1852" there is no refence to Aotearoa , this became an adopted name after was used in an anthem in 1878 by an irish man who arrived in New Zealand in 1869 .pre-European era, Māori did not have one name for the country as a whole
there appears to be no legislative definition or official translation that supports Aotearoa as the Maori name for New Zealand please provide the legislative evidence on which you rely which allows for the subsitution of a legal name for a trading name either registerd or un registerd based on an allegation that it is a " maori name "
Yours sincerely,
Grace Haden
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Grace
Trading names are not official registered names and are simply a name that an organisation may be better known as. As outlined in our earlier response to you, departments are able to use a trading name other than their legal name, whether for particular business units or for all of the organisation. After Parliament agreed in the Māori Language Act 1987 to recognise te reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand, most departments and other agencies acquired a Māori name to use alongside their English name. The use of te reo in the names of government departments, either alone or alongside English naming, is an important step in the Crown’s recognitions of its partnership obligations to Māori.
Information regarding Maori-English Bilingual signage can be found on TPK's website here: [1]Māori-English Bilingual Signage (tpk.govt.nz) which provides information on how and why the guide was developed.
If you are concerned about scams, the Department of Internal Affairs and the New Zealand Police have some information on their websites that you may find helpful:
o [2]Spam-How-to-Report-Scams - dia.govt.nz.
o [3]Online scams | New Zealand Police
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [4][email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission [7]Facebook logo[8]Twitter logo[9]LinkedIn logo[10]Rainbow
[5]http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/ | Tick certified logo
[6]http://www.govt.nz/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #23804 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
..........................................................................................................................................
Confidentiality notice: This email may be confidential or legally privileged. If you have received it by mistake, please tell the sender immediately by reply, remove this email and the reply from your system, and don’t act on it in any other way. Ngā mihi.
hide quoted sections
From: Enquiries
Public Service Commission
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OIA 2023 0228 REPLY Grace Haddon.pdf
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Kia ora Grace
Please find attached our response to your below OIA request.
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [1][email address]
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission [4]Facebook logo[5]Twitter
logo[6]LinkedIn logo[7]Rainbow
[2]www.publicservice.govt.nz | Tick certified logo
[3]www.govt.nz
-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Haden <[FOI #23804 email]>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2023 2:05 PM
To: Enquiries <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OIA 2023-0169 - REPLY - Grace Haden
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Dear Enquiries,
thank you for your response
It appears that the anonomous author of the reply has no concept of
accountability to the rule of law and legal names
if this is indeed your policy then it is open to each and every new
zealander to adotpt a maori name and claim it as the maori
translation .
government agencies are creatures of statute and companies are
registerd with a legal name . we each have a legal name on our birth
certificate
Trading names are not and have never been legal names . each government
agency has an obligation to minimise the potential for fraud and using
only legal names is in the interest of the public and accountability to
the rule of law
I will be taking this matter to the ombudsman as it appears that the
public service commission has no concept of the definition of plain
language there is probably not one person in New Zealand who speaks
only maori ( except by choice ) , we were all taught English in school
and it is the language which we all speak not pigeon english .
You state "departments are able to use a trading name other than
their legal name" could you please by way of oia advise of the
statutory basis for this statemnt As it was writen by an anonomous
person with no accountability it appears that it is a totally BS
statement as much as many of the so called translations are fictional
as well e.g. how can waka Kotahi posibbly translate to the new
zealand transport agency One vehicle is the translation I have one
vehicle I must be the the NZ transport agency then .
The Public service has an obligation to comply with the rule of law .
The New Zealand parliament which makes our laws was set up in 1852 "New
Zealand Constitution Act 1852" there is no refence to Aotearoa , this
became an adopted name after was used in an anthem in 1878 by an irish
man who arrived in New Zealand in 1869 .pre-European era, Māori did not
have one name for the country as a whole
there appears to be no legislative definition or official translation
that supports Aotearoa as the Maori name for New Zealand please
provide the legislative evidence on which you rely which allows for
the subsitution of a legal name for a trading name either registerd
or un registerd based on an allegation that it is a " maori name "
Yours sincerely,
Grace Haden
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Grace
Trading names are not official registered names and are simply a name
that an organisation may be better known as. As outlined in our earlier
response to you, departments are able to use a trading name other than
their legal name, whether for particular business units or for all of the
organisation. After Parliament agreed in the Māori Language Act 1987 to
recognise te reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand,
most departments and other agencies acquired a Māori name to use
alongside their English name. The use of te reo in the names of
government departments, either alone or alongside English naming, is an
important step in the Crown’s recognitions of its partnership obligations
to Māori.
Information regarding Maori-English Bilingual signage can be found on
TPK's website here: [1]Māori-English Bilingual Signage (tpk.govt.nz)
which provides information on how and why the guide was developed.
If you are concerned about scams, the Department of Internal Affairs and
the New Zealand Police have some information on their websites that you
may find helpful:
o [2]Spam-How-to-Report-Scams - dia.govt.nz.
o [3]Online scams | New Zealand Police
Kind regards
Enquiries Team
īmēra: [4][email address]
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Jennifer clark left an annotation ()
Grace,
Can you please advise if you are taking this to the Ombudsman? I agree with you and do not think the response you have received is by any means acceptable.
Please contact me if you would like some assistance.
Jennifer Clark
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