Waka Kotahi to use its English name first after pressure from government

Waka Kotahi will begin referring to itself using its English name first after pressure from parties in the coalition government.

NZ First Leader Winston Peters ran an election campaign with a policy of abolishing Māori first names for government agencies.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said he met many people on the campaign trail who could not differentiate between government agency names.

Now calling itself the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, it says it is taking appropriate steps to put the policy into effect, starting with changing the way it refers to itself, and using a new logo.