This article was first published in July 2021.
Radio station ZM has garnered praise for its response to a listener who complained bitterly about the use of "useless" te reo Māori on air.
The pop music station shared a screenshot of a message received on its Facebook page from a disgruntled person whose name was photoshopped to read 'Sour Puss' to protect their identity.
"Stop ramming Māori language down our throat. I just listened to the 7am news and it was ridiculous [sic]. We are called New Zealand, fact," the message began.
"I love the announcers on your show and have been a loyal ZM listener for many many years. Unfortunately myself and many others will switch off if this bombardment of a useless language continues.
"Your channel may be under the thumb of Jacinda Ardern but fortunately we are not."
ZM replied: "Kia ora [name redacted], we LOVE ramming both official languages of Aotearoa New Zealand 'down our listener's throats'. If you don't like our whakaaro of the use of te reo Māori then please feel free to harae atu permanently," followed by a peace sign emoji.
"Excellent," the unknown complainant replied, using a middle finger emoji.
The post has gained traction online in the few hours since it was shared, amassing nearly 800 comments - including one from rival pop music radio station The Edge.
In response to ZM's caption: "Any other stations want them?" The Edge simply replied: "No thanks".
Over on Instagram, the same post from ZM prompted other radio stations to chime in. "NO THANKS," Flava wrote, followed by several skull emojis, while The Hits replied: "Ko tatou, tātou' - we're with you, ZM."
Other Facebook users shared their delight in ZM's comeback, with one commenter saying it prompted them to cry "tears of joy".
"Nga mihi nui ki a koe for standing up for our taonga ZM!" they wrote.
"[They] complain about the use of an official language of NZ but not a worry or complaint about how Māori people were beaten or caned for speaking Te Reo," said another.
"Perfect response. Tautoko that ZM," said a third. "People like this keep racism alive in Aotearoa New Zealand and it's sickening."
A fourth Facebook user summed up the station's response as "excellent trash removal".
At the time of writing, ZM's post had been liked over 7000 times.
