Luxton JoJO LUXTON (Labour—Rangitata) (remote): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Look I'm really pleased to take a call on this bill Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill in its second reading. I'd like to commend the Minister and I'd like to acknowledge the select committee and all of those that submitted to the select committee. I just wanted to touch on a comment that Mr Bayly made around Labour Day and getting rid of Labour Day. It just speaks to the way that the National Party feel about our hard-working New Zealanders out there when Labour Day actually commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day. New Zealand was the first country in 1840 to claim that right so it's actually very relevant and very important to our history as a country. So coming back to this piece of legislation though I note that the Māori Affairs Committee have reported this bill back to the House recommended by majority that it pass without amendment. We've heard that it will establish a new public holiday here in Aotearoa celebrates Matariki and it is the start of the Māori New Year and it has become a time of celebration actually not only for Māori but for many people around New Zealand. It's going to be the fifth bill that we have in New Zealand to be a dual language in both te reo Māori and English which again is another thing that we should celebrate as a country. We heard that it's going to be observed annually on the dates set out in the current bill for the next 30 years with the first date being 24 June in 2022.It's the first such public holiday that's going to distinctly recognise and celebrate Te Ao Māori and it's something that we as a nation we can share together. It comes at the perfect time of year: June-July. It's winter; it's cold. You know people often need a bit of a break time to recharge or simply be with family and friends. It is actually often a quieter time for businesses and tourism and hospitality and I know that in my electorate here I think Mount Hutt and Ōpuke hot pools will be quite thankful that we are having a public holiday at that time of the year because that will be a peak for them and the fact that it's going to be an extended—or on a Friday that will create a long weekend and will certainly encourage people in the electorate to spend their money which I think will be very welcome by those sectors.Within the select committee though there were other options that were discussed such as replacing another holiday and we've heard members opposite talk about replacing Labour Day which maybe they're trying to make a bit of a funny pun I guess because of the name but actually it is really significant to our workers here in a New Zealand. It is part of our history. So I don't see the sense in replacing that. You know it's far more relevant than something like Boxing Day for example. So there were other options that were discussed as I said about perhaps having it on Monday replacing a different public holiday. But my understanding is that the committee supported the initial proposal in the bill with the holiday being determined by the maramataka and falling on a Friday. We heard Mr Bayly talk about Why a Friday? Why a Friday for goodness' sake? You know it's just another cost. Think about this." Well I just wanted to remind Mr Bayly that it was the National Party that Mondayised public holidays so when a public holiday might fall on a Saturday or Sunday it moved to a weekday which therefore incurred a cost to employers also so his point is a bit moot there I think. As for Friday versus Monday observance the committee was advised that the cost to the employer would be similar and so would the social and cultural benefits. But one of the points about having a public holiday on a Friday is if you think that the majority of our public holidays are actually on a Monday what it would mean is that for those who don't perhaps ordinarily work on Mondays they would be able to partake in a public holiday on a Friday and enjoy that. We've heard that we have 11 public holidays currently. If we compare ourselves to other OECD countries there's at least 18 others that have more than us and 12 that have fewer so we're actually mid to low range when you think about it in that respect. I'm really proud of this bill and I'm proud that we have a public holiday that is unique to us that celebrates Te Ao Māori that all New Zealanders can celebrate Matariki and learn more about it because that's what it's all about. It's about learning more about things that are special and traditional and specific to our culture here in New Zealand and our Māori culture in particular. It's an opportunity for us to enjoy time with our loved ones and something that we're all in particular need of particularly after the last couple of years is being able to spend time with each other family and friends and making the opportunity when it comes around and Matariki will be the perfect opportunity and time of year to do that. So I commend this bill to the House."