新西兰议会于7月30日通过立法，将英语定为官方语言，与毛利语和新西兰手语并列 [1]。这项由执政联盟国家党与新西兰第一党推动的法案引发广泛质疑 [1]。
该法案遭到语言学家、法律专家和毛利党议员的抨击 [1]。绿党议员塔玛莎·保罗批评该法案是"对议会责任的可悲浪费" [1]。司法部官员在内部建议中指出，"没有证据支持对英语作为官方语言的使用或地位的任何担忧" [1]。语言学家悉德尼·王博士表示，"这项法案的主要原因是基于意识形态" [1]。法律专家迪恩·奈特则将其称为"毫无意义的努力" [1]。
新西兰95%的人口使用英语 [1]。
New Zealand's Parliament enacted legislation on July 30 designating English as an official language, placing it alongside Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language [1]. The measure, which emerged from a policy agreement between the governing coalition of the National Party and New Zealand First, faced significant opposition from language experts, legal professionals, and Māori Party lawmakers [1].
Critics characterized the legislation as misguided and unnecessary. Green MP Tamatha Paul called it "a pathetic waste of the responsibility of this house," while legal scholar Dr Dean Knight described it as "a pointless exercise" [1]. Dr Sidney Wong attributed the bill's passage to ideological rather than practical considerations, stating "The main reason why this bill was put in place was based on ideology" [1]. Justice Department officials had advised against passing the measure, noting "there was no evidence to support concerns about the use or status of English as an official language" [1]. The criticism underscores the contentious nature of the legislation in a country where approximately 95 percent of the population already speaks English [1].