Tirikatene RinoRINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare tēnā koutou ōku rangatira. Tēnā koutou i tēnei rā nui whakahirahira. E tū tautoko ahau i te pire i tēnei pānuitanga tuatoru i tēnei rā kaupapa nui whakahirahira Te Pire mō Te Hararei Tūmatanui o Te Kāhui o Matariki. Ka huri tū me mihi ki ngā mate huhua o te wā – ko Tā Wira tērā ko te whānau o Te Kahurangi me te māreikura o te whānau Jackson āe ngā mate huhua o te wā kua haere koutou ki 'Matariki kāinga kore'. Kua whetūrangitia koutou. Āpiti hono tātai hono. Ko te hunga mate ki te hunga mate āpiti hono tātai hono. Ko tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Greetings Mr Speaker and to my respected colleagues. Greetings on this very important day. I stand to support the third reading of this bill a very important bill Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill.I turn now to acknowledge the many deaths of this time—Sir Wira is one the esteemed Dame of the Jackson family another—yes the many deaths of the time who have gone to 'homeless Matariki'. You have become stars in the heavens. The lines are unbroken. Let the dead rest with the dead. The lines are unbroken. To us the living greetings greetings greetings one and all.]I am so proud to be able to speak in support of this momentous bill Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill in this third reading. I was bedazzled by the soaring kupu kauhau and almost—I could hear harmonies coming from the other side from Rawiri over the television set. It's wonderful to have the tautoko—wonderful to have that tautoko for this bill. Great as the oratory and the waiata may be the actual mahi of actually getting this bill done and passed through this House solely rests with this Government. I want to acknowledge Minister Allan—all the Ministers that were involved in this bill. We took this bill to the motu at election time and over 50 percent of the motu gave us the endorsement to not only give us the mandate to have the privilege of governing but also to be able to follow through and enact this legislation. So I'm very proud that we are following it up with the mahi.I want to acknowledge the importance of this bill because this bill is not just another public holiday; this bill is a Māori public holiday. First and foremost we need to celebrate that. This bill is about honouring mātauranga Māori honouring the place of te Iwi Māori who we are in Aotearoa and it's something that all of Aotearoa can share. Come 24 June there are going to be celebrations up and down the motu all over because this is such a wonderful indigenous home-grown statutory holiday that we are enacting. We've heard quite sadly in the debate—typical of the other side; they always know the cost of everything but they know the value of nothing. The value that we are getting as a country from the passage of this legislation is beyond the cost-benefit analysis. We've looked at the—I'm not going to even go into the economics because we hear this every time we bring these positive measures into the House. This is great for Aotearoa. This is great for te Iwi Māori and for everybody because it's not just an extra holiday but we know the benefits that will flow from this are going to be enormous—the economics that will be generated from 30 years and beyond forever. Our country will celebrate a long weekend right through June and July around that period. It's already mapped out so we can plan ahead. This is going to be absolutely fantastic for Aotearoa. I'm so proud. I'm so excited for all of our iwi puta noa i te motu [all around the country]—all of the different traditions and practices that we have which are all coming to life and will be just so revived from this piece of legislation from this holiday.I know that my whānau of the South Te Wai Pounamu Te Tai Tonga we celebrate in our own ways—Puanga and the rising of the Puanga and the ushering in of our mahinga kai seasons and the changing of the seasons into the frosts of the winter. We'll be able to share our kōrero share our practices with our whanaungas right across the motu and with New Zealand Aotearoa at large. This is a fantastic piece of legislation.I remember when a similar bill I guess to this was the—we heard from the other side about when we enacted the Mondayisation of Anzac Day. Oh we heard the shrieks from the other side—the sky was going to fall in! Oh how bad it's going to be for business! Is anyone saying that now that we've had 10 years hence of Mondayisation when it does fall for Anzac Day? Of course not. It's absolutely fantastic. Kiwis are actually really enjoying those days. They're opening their wallets they're getting out there and they're enjoying the time together and the benefits that flow to the wairua of whānau to be able to have that extended break. I mean that's immeasurable and that's the benefits that will be happening. Using Anzac Day is a classic example of that. No one—no one—is moaning about how bad the Mondayisation of Anzac Day has been. And the same will apply to this holiday—the same will apply to this mapping out 30 years into the future and beyond.This is a landmark piece of legislation and I want to acknowledge the mātauranga that has come together to guide us through the drafting and the planning ahead that is embodied in this bill. Dr Rangi Matamua and the expert advisory group thank you so much for your leadership on this important kaupapa. I know my whanaunga Victoria played her bit too there within the group and she is very proud to bring a southern flavour to your important mahi.So this is a tremendous bill. I mean when I heard the members opposite talking about the options about which holiday to ditch or—it's just ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. But one thing I did pick up on was none of those holidays—well every holiday that was read out none of them had Māori times apart from Waitangi Day. But everything was all Pākehā. The day after the day after New Year's Day is a public holiday. Who really cares about that day?This day this day which we are enacting—which I would like to say: Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. Remember that—Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. That is the name for this special day and that name will be carried not only by us but by our children and our mokopuna hence and that will be part and parcel of who we are as a country. I'm really looking forward to just seeing how this evolves because this is so important for us as a country as a nation in terms of our identity who we are our unique history our Treaty bicultural roots that we are founded on. All of that can be given expression and celebration through the enactment of this bill and the creation of this new public holiday.I'm really so delighted with this. I'm looking forward to joining in the celebrations come 24 June. I'll be down in the mighty South with our big mountain and we'll be definitely celebrating hard as will Glen up in Taranaki with the big mountain there and all the big mountains and the big rivers and the big celebrations that will be taking place. It's a cause for celebration—it really is a cause for celebration.So with that once again can I commend all who have been involved in this bill from the Minister to everybody that's been involved. This is making a difference for our country forever through the creation of this statutory holiday which we will enact very shortly: Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. So with that I add my tautoko and I commend this bill wholeheartedly to the House. Kia ora tātou.