O'Connor Simon: Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
O'Connor Simon: Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 27 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:9016. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
SIMON O’CONNOR (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to rise and talk to this bill the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. I want to acknowledge the member David Clark for the work that he has done on this bill and although I disagree with the bill in premise the dignity that he has brought to the approach. 
Unfortunately though I have found the accusations—those hecklings and interjections a week or so ago—disturbing and even more so today. Once again it has been brought up in this place about raising the topic of Anzac Day bringing up the story without comment—that is really important—unlike other members today who have tried to put words into the mouths of the war dead. I stood up I only read a war diary and I allowed those words to speak for themselves. The howls and the cries! I repeat what I said that day: how dare members opposite act with contempt when the words of the war dead are spoken—the words of an Anzac trooper are spoken—when we are discussing Anzac Day. You do not have to agree with it. You can interpret it in whatever way you want. It was left free—it was left free. But to rage and rant about someone daring to talk about Anzac Day—if someone dares to talk about Anzac Day and to put a bill down we might put it in context. We might put it in context. 
I have been struck since that speech by the number of phone calls emails and letters that people have sent expressing their support for that position expressing support for their own people—war veterans like a member who spoke earlier who also had people who served. They were proud as Kiwis to have the voice of an Anzac trooper spoken in this Chamber. It might pay for members to note of course that this Chamber is a war memorial. In this very Chamber of a war memorial they have yelled and cajoled the very fact that we might talk about Anzac Day when discussing a bill about Anzac Day. That is very very striking. 
I noted a week ago and I want to note it again today that Anzac Day is not a holiday and that Anzac Day is not an excuse for a holiday. I made it clear the other time and I want to do so again. If we want to talk about more holidays if we want to talk about workers’ rights then we can find an opportunity to do that and discuss it. The moment you take a day of commemoration and turn it into a holiday you have changed the nature of the day. That is why we call something a commemoration and that is why we call something else a holiday. 
We have heard from Opposition members who say: “Oh this is the same as Easter. This is the same as Christmas.” That is just ignorance. Those are days that are holidays—holy days—days of festival and celebration. Anzac Day is not; it is a day of commemoration. It sits on a very particular day. That is why we celebrate it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: So Boxing Day’s a holy day? Tau Henare might think that. 
SIMON O’CONNOR 
: We do that in that way. We can see that Mr Mallard is back in the Chamber. We celebrate different days in different ways and once again this Parliament does a disservice by trying to make everything absolutely the same. We heard someone from New Zealand First I think it was saying: “No we need to call all the days the same. It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas Day Boxing Day Easter Anzac Day—let’s just make them all the same make them all a holiday.” We heard the Leader of the Opposition’s attempted attack today when he continued talking about tourism and how it is good for business and so forth. Listen Mr Chair and others to the rhetoric and you will understand that this is about taking a day off. 
But there are a couple of other things that we need to point to. There have been discussions about what the Australians do. Well that is all well and good but I think it is nice to note that I am a proud Kiwi. I do what I think is right for Kiwis and do not always follow what the Australians do. The other thing too is that people are noting the attendance on Anzac Day and that it is increasing. Well I actually want to put the challenge to the Committee that attendance is returning to the way it used to be. Attendances over the years have dropped off in some generations in some cities represented in this House—certainly not in mine. Younger people and my generation are coming back to Anzac Day and that is an important distinction. 
So I want to return to what has been a theme of my approach to this bill: that Anzac Day is not a holiday. It is not an excuse for a holiday. I welcome the opportunity to talk with the member or anyone from the Opposition to find other excuses but leave this day of commemoration this Anzac Day to be just that—a commemoration on the day of the 25th. It is a day of commemoration for which Parliament can stand up with confidence and pride in this war memorial and allow the words of a New Zealand trooper to be spoken and not taken out of context and shamefully and contemptuously dealt to.