The Aotearoa name change debate is back in the spotlight and AM hosts and guests have weighed in on the topic.
Throughout the show on Thursday, stand-in hosts Amanda Gillies and Patrick Gower both agreed New Zealand should change its name officially to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Māori academic Ella Henry told AM she's been a "big fan for many reasons" of Aotearoa New Zealand.
"My main reason is if we were Aotearoa New Zealand then we would come out before Australia before the Olympics," Henry joked.
Gower agreed.
"That's mine too, that's mine too, fantastic."
Criminal defence lawyer Marie Dyhrberg told AM she thinks New Zealand is due for a name change and would eventually like to see it become just Aotearoa.
"Now we accept we are a country that has a fabulous rich heritage," she said. "New Zealand is not a name we gave, it comes from I think a bad background."
Broadcaster turned real estate agent Rawdon Christie thinks ditching New Zealand entirely would be "far too much of a leap".
"To be honest what's happening at the moment is a softly, softly approach where it's being integrated as Aotearoa New Zealand more commonly and more often and maybe that will allow the passage of time."
Watch the full interviews above.
