New Zealand

Kia ora!

In my last blog entry I would like to come back to the 100% Pure New Zealand image. It is the marketing campaign of New Zealand`s tourism. The tourism campaign was developed to communicate a special imagination of New Zealand. 100% Pure New Zealand is an image of the unique combination of landscapes, people and activities that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. There are always new terms that refer to the campaign: For example 100% pure adrenalin, 100% Middle-earth and 100% pure welcome.



The New Zealand actor Sam Neill recently said:
“When you put the landscapes, activities and people together you have a place that is unique in the world, a place where there is a wide range of things to see and do, and it’s all within easy reach. Every day you travel through New Zealand becomes a different journey.”

As I told you in my second blog entry, there are endless reasons why you should visit New Zealand at least once in your life.

I wish everyone of my readers that you get the possibility to travel to New Zealand and enjoy its 100% pureness. New Zealand is definitely one of the places to see before you die.

Have a good time, don`t forget my words and don`t stop dreaming of New Zealand! I am sure, one day you will get there! 100% of your dreams will come true! :)

Thank you (or ta!) for reading my blog!

Kia ora koutou katao!

It is an ongoing discussion in many countries: Same-sex marriage. In August 2013, New Zealand legalized it, being the 13th country in the world to do so. The parliament easily approved an amendment to the 1955 marriage laws and since then the country is the first in the Asia-Pacific region to allow gays and lesbians to marry. The bill which defines marriage as a “union between two people”, was sponsored by Louisa Wall of the country`s Labour party. In her speech she said that nothing could make her more proud to be a New Zealander than passing this bill. Certainly it is because she is lesbian herself.

If you are interested in her opinion about this topic, you can watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjW-dtO41Ac

This new amendment was supported by some political parties in the country, including Prime Minister John Key. But there was also public opposition that came from the Catholic Church in New Zealand, as well as from the Conservative Party.

In the year after the legalization, 926 same-sex marriages were registered in New Zealand, of which were 520 between female couples and 406 between male couples. In total, 3.9% of marriages registered in New Zealand were same-sex.

As you can see, New Zealand seems to be open-minded in reference to minority groups.

Today I want to write a little bit about the two Maori terms "tino rangatiratanga" and "taonga" which have a very important significance for the Maori people in New Zealand.



The expression “tino rangatiratanga” refers to the Treaty of Waitangi in Maori understanding. It refers to Maori control of all things (Maori sovereignty). The word “tino” is an intensive or superlative meaning `very`, `full`, `total`, `absolute`. The word “rangatiratanga” comes from the word “rangatira” which means `chief`. It refers to responsibility, control, authority, oversight and sovereignty. The term “tino rangatiratanga” was used in two very important documents of history: In the Declaration of Independence (1835) which called New Zealand to be an independent and sovereign nation “where power and authority rested with the rangatira”. And the second document in which the term was used is the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) which used “tino rangatiratanga” with the promise that it would be guaranteed to Maori to retain their power. The queen agreed to the rangatira and the kiwi retaining full chieftainship (tino rangatiratanga) of their lands, their villages and all their things includings the Maori way of life.


The term “taonga” means a treasure in Maori culture and could be anything from a word to a memory. The historical definition differs from the modern one: In history, “taonga” was defined as “property procured by the spear”. Generally all interpretations about the term “taonga” include things like land, natural resources, fisheries, riparian water rights, language and spiritual beliefs. The second article of the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed the Maori undisturbed possession of their taonga which meant in this context culture, tradition, lands, water, sites and other treasures (“taonga”).