A Wellington man has started a petition asking for a change to New Zealand's official name.
Danny Tahau Jobe wants a referendum held on officially changing the nation's name to include Aotearoa - either as New Zealand Aotearoa or Aotearoa New Zealand.
"If you look at our documents of national identity, they all have Aotearoa and New Zealand on them. Our passports, citizenships, birth certificates ... but also, there's our national anthem, our paper money - they all say who we are now and it's been this way for quite a while," Mr Tahau Jobe said on TVNZ1's Breakfast.
"If we want to say specifically that we are unique in the world, having a name like Aotearoa with New Zealand - it connects us as a nation.
"I believe that as a country, as a nation, this is who we are."
Mr Tahau Jobe said there had been some backlash to his proposal, but he wanted to start the conversation.
"I am asking for a referendum because I believe that New Zealanders ultimately should have the choice."
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