At the time, the Post Office had a rule book stating that the standard greeting to be used was "Tolls here.
[1] Glavish refused to stop using "kia ora" and was stood down, with the whole affair attracting much public interest.
[2] The Postmaster-General, Rob Talbot, initially supported the kia ora ban,[3] but then changed his mind and convinced the Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, to overturn the prohibition on kia ora.
[4] This event is considered key in the movement to revitalise the Māori language.
[4] A similar event took place in 2014 when KiwiYo Whangārei employees were banned from using the term "kia ora".