Minister removed Māori greetings from official Matariki invitations | 1News Exclusive on TVNZ+

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith personally intervened to remove te reo Māori greetings and references to "Aotearoa New Zealand" in official invitations to the formal Matariki celebration this year.
Critics say the action is "shameful" and "contrary" to celebrating the indigenous language.
Documents obtained by 1News show Ministry for Culture and Heritage staff drafted a letter to Goldsmith's Australian counterpart, Tony Burke, using the salutations "tēnā koe" and "nāku noa nā", as well as "Aotearoa New Zealand".
Goldsmith told 1News he removed the words as the draft was for an Australian politician "and I didn't think he needed a lot of te reo in his invitation, because he's an Australian".
He said it may have been applied to other official invitations from him but "it wasn't my instruction".
Asked if he thought an Australian wouldn't understand what "Aotearoa" was, Goldsmith said: "Yeah."
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