The mayor of Hamilton is suggesting that the city council there changes its name to Kirikiriroa City Council - the Maori version of the city's name.
Speaking this morning to TVNZ 1's Breakfast programme, Mayor Andrew King said if councillors agree to the idea on Thursday he has asked for his staff to report on what's involved in the name change.
"We need to listen to what the people are saying ... a lot of people would have very strong opinions either way on this and we need to listen, and that's what this is about - we're asking for a staff report on how we go about it, and go to public consultation, if the councillors decide on Thursday that they want to go to the next step," Mr King said.
Mr King said King Tuheitia, who he had spoken to about it, was "quite enthusiastic" about changing the name, but also wanted to explore it further.
"It's not a done deal here, this is about talking about the subject."
Mr King said the name Hamilton came from a British armed forces captain who died about 150 years ago in Tauranga - having never visited the area of present-day Hamilton.
He said the name Kirikiriroa, which means a fertile strip of land, "describes beautifully what Hamilton is about".
"It was built on farming, it was built on housing, light industry," Mr King said.
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