Many New Zealanders are fed up that Waitangi Day has been hijacked by the antics of a few.
A number of people have suggested that Waitangi day be left to those wanting to commemorate the treay and those who use it for protest, and that we have a day that all New Zealanders can proudly celebrate our country.
David Farrar has picked up on this at Kiwiblog.
What I do advocate is that we establish a separate New Zealand Day. This should be a day to unashamedly celebrate the wonderful country we all live in, our many achievements, ourselves. It should be the equivalent of US Independence Day, Australia Day or French Bastille Day – a day of fun and joy. There are 364 other days to focus on what divides us – but I want one day to focus on what unites us. And that day will never ever ever be Waitangi Day. It hasn’t been for the last 40 years, and it never will be.
So what day could we pick for a New Zealand Day? Possibilities are:
- Passing of NZ Constitution Act 30 June (1852)
- Dominion Day 26 September (1907)
- Balfour Declaration 15 November (1926)
- Day we adopted the Statute of Westminster 25 November (1947)
- Full constitutional independence 10 December (1947)
Any thoughts or suggestions?
More comment on this:
Mania Ngatai
/ February 5, 2013Let the Crown/Government celebrate it the way they want.
How many times are we going to let them break the treaty?
To me they should give back everything that they took from our Tupuna.
What our people went through then wasn’t funny or joyful.
Our own are still fighting each other & they still want to be rich & famous.
Not a good look for us is it.
Let our people celebrate it the way we want & when we want in our own back yard..
Each tribe do their own thing. Same day same time just different venue.
bandwagonhasgone
/ February 5, 2013Personally I find ANZAC
bandwagonhasgone
/ February 5, 2013Hate it when you hit ‘Enter’ too soon… anyway, pesonally I find ANZAC Day is increasingly becoming a national day of unity. Not a ‘fun’ day perhaps, but certainly a day when New Zealanders come together and reflect on what makes us a nation
Pete George
/ February 5, 2013There’s no doubt that ANZAC Day is the most universally accepted national day we have, one of remembrance.
Some think we need a national celebration day as well, but nothing obvious has looked like being decided on.