Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Day Bill — Second Reading 
Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Day Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9867] 
NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to speak to the New Zealand Day Bill. As we know the bill seeks to change the name of Waitangi Day to New Zealand Day. This is not the first time that politicians have argued over the name. Our national day has had a very interesting history. 
In the 1950s and the 1970s it was frequently suggested that provincial anniversary days such as Auckland Anniversary Day and Canterbury Show Day should be abolished as the provinces had not existed for many decades. At the same time Maori particularly Ngapuhi had been campaigning for Waitangi Day to be a public holiday in recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi. The promise of a new public holiday was part of Labour’s 1957 election manifesto. When Labour was subsequently elected it decided that New Zealand could not afford another public holiday. 
The subsequent Waitangi Day Act was a sham. It was a compromise that allowed Labour to claim that it had kept its promise but without actually creating a holiday. The Act established that 6 February would be known as Waitangi Day and “shall be observed throughout New Zealand as a national day of thanksgiving in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi”. But people did not get the day off. It was not a public holiday. However the Act did allow the Governor-General to declare Waitangi Day as a public holiday in any region as a substitute for the region’s anniversary public day. So yes one could choose to have a Waitangi Day instead of say Auckland Anniversary Day or Canterbury Show Day— 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: We used to in Northland. 
NICKY WAGNER 
: —and Northland did just that but there was no new day off. 
 Not surprisingly people were generally disappointed by the Act and they continued to press for another day off. When one reads  
Hansard 
 one will see that the National Party in Opposition spent most of the debate on the Act berating the Labour Government for breaking its promises. Has anything changed? 
It was in 1973 under Norman Kirk that finally the New Zealand Day Act was passed. It did make 6 February a public holiday and Kiwis really did get their day off. But that day was renamed New Zealand Day and at the same time the first Waitangi Day Act of 1960 was abolished. Many people were disappointed again. They felt that the new name drew attention away from the Treaty of Waitangi and they campaigned to change the name back again. 
It was with the change of Government in 1975 that the new National Government passed the second Waitangi Day Act in 1976 which changed the name back to Waitangi Day. It also gave Northland its own anniversary day back and included an English and a Maori language version of the Treaty of Waitangi in its schedule. 
So this legislation is Groundhog Day—another attempt to extend the focus of the day beyond a celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi. The explanatory note to the bill states that it seeks: “a designated day to which all sectors of our society feel able to contribute.” I agree with that and most submitters did too but few felt that just changing the name would achieve that. Many felt that discarding the name Waitangi Day would be disparaging to the Treaty and what it stood for. It would be divisive and increase social conflict rather than enhancing New Zealand’s identity. There is a strong belief that as the Treaty is the founding document of the modern-day Aotearoa New Zealand it is appropriate to have Waitangi Day as the name of our national day. Others wanted to induce yet another new holiday and helpfully suggested that it should be in the holiday drought between Queen’s Birthday and Labour Day. 
Although there was some concern that the day has often been marred by conflict and tension most Kiwis can appreciate the importance of the Treaty to our country and equally the importance of free speech so that the often tense incidents on this day are all a part of giving every Kiwi a fair go. My favourite quote is from Neville Robertson from Hamilton who ended his submission with the statement: “I want to commemorate our national day in a way which is honest robust brave and generous. This bill reflects none of those qualities.” I and the National Party agree with him.