Robertson GrantHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): It's always a pleasure to follow on from my Ngāti Porou whanaunga Pāora" Goldsmith! There's nothing like a sign of how supportive you are: you don't make it halfway through your speech you've got your hands in your pockets all the way through your speech and you keep shrugging your shoulders. Mr Goldsmith might do very well to reflect a little on the importance of what we are discussing today because when he spoke he made it sound like it was some kind of lottery what day we might choose for there to be a celebration of Matariki and for there to be a public holiday—as if we could have picked any day! We could have picked today—could have picked December could have picked any day of the year! In actual fact this is not that at all; it is not just another holiday. This is a celebration of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is a recognition of tikanga Māori of Te Ao Māori view of the world and a celebration of who we can be as a nation. It's not just about picking a day Mr Goldsmith. It's not just about making sure that New Zealanders can have another day off. It's about building a culture in New Zealand where we understand and appreciate one another and where we understand the history and the heritage of how we have got to this point.When the suggestion was floated and it came through in the Labour Party's manifesto in 2020 I believe it was part of a number of measures that we put in place that give better recognition of who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand today and who we can be. And for me it very much sits alongside the introduction of New Zealand history into the Curriculum in our schools because as part of that work we will for example understand more about the way in which people came to be in Aotearoa New Zealand—the role that Matariki and the stars played in our navigators finding their way to New Zealand. So as we build up that understanding of our collective histories we can start to then say "Well how do we reflect that in our society?" We reflect that through more people learning te reo Māori we reflect that through more people understanding their histories and we reflect that through taking a day with Matariki and saying "This is the day when we will acknowledge that. We will come together and talk about what lies ahead in the new year."Ka puta a Matariki ka rere a Whānui ko te tohu tēnei o te tau hou: Matariki reappears Whānui starts its flight being the sign of the New Year. This is an opportunity to understand and reflect on the year that has been and the year that will come. The brighter the stars are I understand and the clearer they are that means how abundant the harvest will be. In June this year we will see bright and clear stars because the harvest will be abundant for New Zealanders as we come through COVID and we find a time to celebrate this important part of our nationhood.Mr Goldsmith spoke about the impact on small businesses and this has been a very tough time for small businesses right across New Zealand particularly those in the hospitality and the tourism sector. They will be welcoming the fact that New Zealanders in June this year will be able to go out—and as my colleague Kelvin Davis said "No one drinks coffee on a holiday do they?" They go out and they go to cafes. They travel around New Zealand they visit their friends and their whānau and they spend their money with those hospitality and tourism operators. But the National Party's solution here—the National Party solutions that they put forward during the debate on this bill—was to get rid of Labour weekend; was to take Labour weekend off New Zealanders. And I want to make sure that all New Zealanders know that the National Party put up an amendment during the committee stage of this bill to get rid of Labour weekend to take Labour Day off New Zealanders. That's the approach—Hon Kelvin Davis: They hate workers.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —exactly Mr Davis—working people for whom Labour weekend represents the sign that they work hard the 40-hour week; the fact that we recognise every single year the importance of that. National wanted to take that off New Zealanders.Hon Members: Shameful.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Shameful indeed. On this side of the House we're extremely proud of the fact that we are taking steps to recognise who we are as Aotearoa New Zealand and I believe te Kāhui o Matariki public holiday bill is an important step in that. It sits alongside a number of other steps that will make sure that New Zealanders and future generations of New Zealanders grow up understanding more about themselves more about their history. This is a great day of celebration for Aotearoa New Zealand."