New Zealand is already multiple in language, culture and identity, and has been for generations. But even on its own terms, the historical claim deserves scrutiny. The Herald’s assertion that “Aotearoa predates the state by centuries” is itself debatable. There appears to be no documentary evidence that Māori used “Aotearoa” as a name for the whole country before 1840, and the Treaty of Waitangi itself refers instead to “Nu Tirani”.