News presenter Peter Williams describes Māori language week as tokenism towards a beautiful sounding language.

In an opinion piece for TV One, Peter says he applauded the efforts made by both Pākehā and Māori television and radio presenters for trying to get audiences involved in te reo Māori.

New presenter Peter Williams asks, should the national anthem be sung only in Māori? File.

'But at the end of another seven days of endless kia ora and morena and nau mai, and thankfully some other phrases as well, why do I feel as if it's just more tokenism towards this beautiful sounding official language of Aotearoa.”

Peter says after 41 years of Māori Language Week it was time to take two significant steps – make all motorway signs bilingual and to drop the English verse of the New Zealand national anthem.

The presenter admits it will be an expensive task but says it's been done overseas with success.

'If Wales, Ireland and Canada can have their main traffic signs in two languages, why can't we?

'A start could be made with the under construction Waikato Expressway. Inside five years, there'll be at least a four-lane highway from north of Auckland to south of Hamilton.

'There's still a whole lot to be completed but as there'll be many exits to signpost along the way, couldn't we at least make a start by displaying ara ki waho to indicate an exit?”

The news veteran says he would also like to see the national anthem sung in Māori only.

'If we leave the English verse off the New Zealand Anthem at high profile ceremonial occasions, like rugby tests, we'll encourage all New Zealanders to a) learn the Maori [sic] words and b) sing them often.”

Peter recalled the time musician Hinewehi Mohi sang the Māori version of the national anthem at the 1999 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham.

'It sent shockwaves around the thousands of All Black fans there, let alone the TV audience at home, who were just not expecting the bi-lingual version at such a game. There were, of course, howls of outrage around the country.

'As the ONE News reporter who covered the match and highlighted the first public performance of the Maori [sic] Language Version, I was chastised by both sides of the argument.

'One, for highlighting something that would obviously be a one-off and the other for not suggesting this is the way it should be.”

Eighteen years on and the anthem is now sung in both Māori and English at public occasions.

'It's been great, but now it's time to take the next step. I was at the All Blacks – Wales test in Dunedin a few weeks ago and in the pre match ceremonies it occurred to me just how long the two verse Te Reo – English version takes.

'Let alone of course, how the crowd pretty much mumbles Te Reo until the change in key after the last line Aotearoa,” says Peter.

'Before that had been the Welsh anthem, entirely in the Welsh language and with words that are unpronounceable and unintelligible to most of us, but still with such a strong melody and sung with pride by the Welsh supporters at the stadium that night.

'And I'd wager that for most of those supporters, the only time they ever speak or sing more than a word or short phrase of their national language is when they burst into some Mae henwlad fy nhadau yn annwyl I mi. So don't we have an identical situation here?”

Peter says a language only spoken in this country making a song with memorable, lilting lyrics and a familiar tune would be an experience unique for New Zealand at public ceremonies and sports events.

'Besides – do we really need to warble out lines anymore about ‘entreating our voices' and being guarded ‘from shafts of strife and war'?”