Katene Rahui: Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:656;Page:5708] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I came to the Chamber today in the hope that our nation had evolved to a point at which we could stand together and say that a distinctly New Zealand identity is important. I put Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill into the ballot because it reflects and resonates with so many New Zealanders. Matariki has been taken up enthusiastically right throughout the land as a time for coming together with family and friends a time for festivities a time for connecting all people together in the spirit of the Maori new year. Matariki has been manifest in festivities throughout communities and more formally with the endorsement of key Government agencies such as Te Papa Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori and a host of district councils and local government bodies. 
Matariki in its essence is a navigational star to guide us in our journey forward. The Maori Party was only too happy to put forward this bill to show our commitment to move our nation forward. We want to place on the record our appreciation to the Greens the Labour Party and United Future because they had in their mind the vision of a nation in which kotahitanga is an aspiration that we can all share. I thank those parties and the speakers who have taken a stand for their insight and intelligence in investing in opportunities for debate. The spirit of unity and optimism was evident in the korero that has taken place in this Chamber today and a fortnight ago. It was an enormous disappointment that neither the National Party nor the ACT Party could back this bill. It is a sad day when we are divided in the Parliament about something as fundamental as our cultural identity. 
From the way some speakers approached this issue it seemed that Matariki was becoming bigger than  
Ben Hur 
. I want to bring the debate back to why we want to support and promote the concept of Matariki as the time in which we celebrate the unique place in which we live. There are no days in the official calendar in which we have a stand-alone holiday that celebrates the distinctly New Zealand identity that is ours. Matariki Day would do that and being placed in the midst of the winter period it provides a vital breathing space a period for revitalisation and rejuvenation during the colder season. Some of the holidays we currently have bear further scrutiny. The Queen’s actual birthday is 21 April yet we celebrate Queen’s Birthday in June. We have a day off on Boxing Day—a day marked by the giving of Christmas boxes to service workers in the United Kingdom. We have a day off on the day after 1 January. I do not know what that celebrates but we have it. And of course we have the traditional days to mark Christian events or to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The last thing I will suggest is that we pit Matariki Day against any of the 11 public holidays and make a competition of which event is the most significant. We do not want to be part of any initiative that pits Matariki against God or the Queen. It is not a case of either-or. 
But I also believe that the wider picture of how we celebrate public events and holidays is worthy of further debate than we have been able to achieve in the 65 minutes allocated for this issue. Also the point raised that our 11 public holidays compare poorly with other countries such as Italy with 16 and Japan and Spain with 14 is worth considering more. 
A fortnight ago Mr Tremain stood in this House and shared the proverb: “Whakataka te hau ki te uru”. He spoke with passion about the potential those words offered: “Let the red-tipped dawn come … a promise of a glorious day.” Te Ra o Matariki Bill/Matariki Day Bill offered us that promise: a time to celebrate the coming together of a nation. We regret that two parties were unable to support the opportunity to bring the people together to celebrate Matariki Day but although the die is cast the debate is certainly not over. The Maori Party will continue to speak out and speak up about the value of a distinctly New Zealand identity. Kia ora.