New Zealand Day Bill

I move, That the New Zealand Day Bill be now read a first time. I indicate at the outset of my speech to the House that if this motion is subsequently adopted I will move that the bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for consideration. The one thing that a country ought to be able to be proud of is its national day. It is the one day each year when all New Zealanders, whatever their origins, their circumstances, or where they live, ought to be able to say this is the occasion for them to celebrate proudly all the things they uniquely bring to the national table of what makes them New Zealanders. It is a day to celebrate the differing strands that make up our nation. But sadly, for too many people, our national day as it now stands, Waitangi Day, 6 February, has become a day to do either one of two things: ignore it or, if the weather is fine, go to the beach. I do not believe that the country’s nationhood can be founded on such apathy, or can be celebrated with pride, when for most New Zealanders, 6 February has become a day on which to yawn and look forward to the next day.

The New Zealand Day Bill proposes very simply that 6 February be renamed New Zealand Day, and that New Zealand Day be celebrated on the Monday of the week during which 6 February occurs. The reason for that is this. I believe that the ability of people to get together to celebrate in the communities up and down New Zealand in their own way is greatly enhanced if the national day is regularised to occur on a particular occasion, without the disruption that we now have because it occurs sometimes on a weekend, sometimes mid-week, or sometimes over a long weekend. When I introduced a similar bill in 2000, I observed that it was something that the late Norman Kirk had introduced into this House over 30 years ago. I recalled some of the words that he used at the time to promote the nation’s national day as New Zealand Day. I think those words bear repetition this evening, because even though time has passed by, their wisdom still stands. He said New Zealand Day, 6th February, “is not just a day for the people of Northland”—and we should bear in mind that in those days it was not even a public holiday—“nor for Maori, but it is a day for all New Zealanders to celebrate the unique gift we possess by virtue of being New Zealanders.” That theme is what lies behind this bill.

Some people have said that I am trying to downplay the significance of Waitangi and of the Treaty of Waitangi. In fact, if one looks at the purpose clause of this bill, clause 3, one sees that it states: “The purpose of this Act is to make provision for the observance of 6 February in each year as a public holiday to commemorate both the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand’s national identity.” So that argument goes out of the window.Others have said that this bill is a knee-jerk reaction to unfortunate events that have occurred at previous Waitangi Day celebrations. I would say two things in response to that claim. Firstly, Waitangi Day sadly, over the last 10, 15, or maybe 20 years, has become a day marred by protests, dissent, and division. It has become a day that increasingly New Zealanders have felt alienated from. So it is not just a sudden occurrence.

Secondly, at the same time we are again starting to see in this country the emergence of a sense of nationhood. Partly it is because our population has become diverse. The new communities that have come to New Zealand over the last 10 years have brought new cultures and new aspects that we all seek to embrace. The Lantern Festival that marks the commencement of the Chinese New Year would never have been considered even worth noting in New Zealand probably 5 years ago. Now it is a prominent feature of our calendar. Similarly, there is Diwali, the Indian lights festival, in October. Celebrations that mark the different cultural contributions of many different groups in New Zealand, such as the Pasifika events of last weekend, are becoming more and more part of our mainstream. What is happening is that as these events go on, New Zealanders are becoming more excited about them. We are on the verge of shaping the New Zealander of the future as a person who is at ease with all those cultures and is unique in that respect. I therefore believe very passionately that in terms of our nationhood, and in terms of our future as a country, we ought to be bringing our national day together as one where all New Zealanders feel they have a part to play. That is not the case at the moment.

Some people have also suggested that while the notion of what I am proposing is correct, the day is wrong—that Waitangi Day is a special day, and should not be tampered with in this way. I am open to suggestion—and if this bill goes to the select committee, as I believe it will, maybe this is something the select committee can examine—as to whether there is another more appropriate day. But the difficulty I have is that when particular days start to be suggested, it is very difficult to find one that is adequate. Anzac Day has a special significance for New Zealanders. I do not believe we would want to see that tampered with as a national day. I think the implication of changing the Queen’s Birthday celebration to a national day celebration carries some other connotations that people may not want to consider at this stage. Many have suggested the old Dominion Day, 26 September, as a more appropriate day. Again, if we are celebrating our nationhood, our diversity, and our future, is making our national day the day on which we became a British dominion the appropriate day to celebrate our nationhood? As I say, I am open-minded on the issue, but as I have looked at it I cannot think of a better day than Waitangi Day.

My colleague Mr Field reminds me that Norman Kirk, at Waitangi in 1973, when he first talked about New Zealand Day, also talked about New Zealand’s unity coming through the recognition of its diversity. I think that this country, 30 years on, is at the point where we have the confidence and the maturity to be able to confront these issues properly and rationally. We should not be bashful about stating proudly, as our colleagues across the Tasman do, as the United States does, and as many other jurisdictions do, that this is our national day. It is a day for all New Zealanders. It is one where people from the strands that make up our national fibre come together as one, celebrate their differences, but recognise that fundamentally they are New Zealanders. It is New Zealand Day.

The National Party supports this bill going to a select committee for further consideration, and we do so for a number of reasons. The first is that there should be a day on which we celebrate what New Zealand is now—that is, a society of many different cultures with many different backgrounds and many different days of celebrations. We should bring those together. The particular days can still be celebrated—for example, the Chinese New Year, which is a great day of celebration; the Indian day of celebration; or the Pasifika—

💬 Dr Richard Worth: The Indian day.

Absolutely! I have already mentioned that. There are a number of days, including Waitangi Day, that should still be recognised, but we should set aside a special day where everybody who has a view, whether it be Scottish heritage or whatever it may be, can have a chance to say: “This is our ethnic background. This is where we came from, and this is what we’ve contributed to New Zealand.” It should be a day when we all come together.

Indeed, one of the things that we will want to address in the select committee when we consider this bill is whether the suggestion in it that merely moving the commemoration of 6 February to the Monday most closely associated with 6 February will do enough to achieve that outcome. If we are to have a day of celebration recognising what this country is, I think that we would need to seriously consider whether it would not be more appropriate that Parliament and the public of New Zealand pick another day—a fresh day—that does not have any association with any linkage of the past in that sense. We could pick a day where everybody can say: “Well, it has no particular association. This we will make New Zealand Day. This is the day we can all come together. We can all celebrate our diversity and our uniqueness and our unity.” That is probably something the select committee would want to give serious thought to.

The problem we have at the moment is that Waitangi Day is considered our official day of celebration as a nation. There are a number of reasons why that has historically been so. But the tragedy of it is that the protest—the “honour the treaty” issue—has become such an issue that it has taken away from the celebration of Waitangi Day our day of recognition as a country. When I look at Waitangi Day and go to Waitangi Day celebrations, as I have done regularly for a number of years now, it disappoints me to see on the news that night and the next day that what is portrayed as being what happened at Waitangi was that it was a day of protest and a place where people went to make their different points—which they do. But what is overlooked is the fact that many people go there to enjoy the day. They do not get involved in the day of protest or have issues that they want to raise, but merely go to have a day of enjoyment, and that still happens. The day is actually a fun day. In Northland, 6 February is a fantastic day for anybody who wants to go and enjoy it, to participate in the celebrations, and to see what Northland can portray and what is portrayed on behalf of New Zealanders. It is a day on which we can enjoy the uniqueness of our country. But, sadly, it is overshadowed by what the media portray of what they see of the day, because somebody stands up and says something about the Treaty of Waitangi.

For that reason we need to take the day of New Zealand away from Waitangi Day. If there is to be protest, then let it happen, but let it happen because of the Treaty of Waitangi, not because it happens on New Zealand Day. Let us choose another day. This bill gives us the opportunity to debate that issue.

I want to make one other point. The thing that worries me with Waitangi Day is that it is an opportunity for the Prime Minister to go to Waitangi and start politicking. We must take that opportunity away from the Prime Minister, Helen Clark.

Debate interrupted.

The House adjourned at 10 p.m.