The Kia Ora Incident is an incident that took place in 1984, at a time when the use of Māori phrases was uncommon in New Zealand. An Auckland telephone operator, Naida Glavish (then known as Naida Povey), was instructed to stop using " kia ora" when greeting callers after the post office had received a complaint. At the time, the Post Office had a rule book stating that the standard greeting to be used was "Tolls here. Number please", as this was considered most efficient at peak times. [1] Glavish refused to stop using "kia ora" and was stood down, with the whole affair attracting much public interest. She was later given back her original job. [2] The Postmaster-General, Rob Talbot, initially supported the kia ora ban, [3] but then changed his mind and convinced the Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, to overturn the prohibition on kia ora. [4]
This event is considered key in the movement to revitalise the Māori language. [4] A similar event took place in 2014 when KiwiYo Whangārei employees were banned from using the term " kia ora". [5] [2]
References
- ^ "'Kia ora' now acceptable". Press. 26 May 1984 – via Papers Past.
- ^ a b Curtis, Makyla (2016). "The Poetics of Bilanguaging: an Unfurling Literacy Ngā Toikupu o Ngā Reo Taharua: e Tākiri ana te Aroā Pānui" (PDF). Ka Mate Ka Ora: A New Zealand Journal of Poetry and Poetics. 14 (1).
- ^ "Other languages encouraged". Press. 24 May 1984 – via Papers Past.
- ^ a b Crean, Mike (22 December 2012). "Rob Talbot dies, top advocate for Sth Canty". The Timaru Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ Te Karere TVNZ (21 August 2014), Political backlash over Kia Ora incident, retrieved 13 October 2018
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