Te Ra o Matariki Bill / Matariki Day Bill
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga
Wednesday 29 July 2009; 9.30pm

I move that Te Ra o Matariki Bill / the Matariki Day Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Maori Affairs Committee.

E te manu korero rau rangatira ma tena koutou katoa. Tena hoki koutou nga kaitautoko.

Koianei taku pire tuatahi. Hei pire whakanui i a matariki.
No reira e nga mana e nga reo tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.
The stars have certainly been in alignment for this important Bill to be read today.

At the midpoint of Maori Language Week, we are proposing the introduction of a significant occurrence within the Maori calendar – the celebration of Matariki – the Maori New Year.

The theme for Maori Language Week this year, is Te Reo i te Hapori – Maori Language in the Community –and there is no better expression of the community passion than in the Matariki festivals and celebrations held around the country.

But this first reading of the Matariki Bill also comes hot on the heels of an important report from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, called Cultural Indicators for New Zealand.

That report sets a very clear direction ahead, for what the Ministry describes as a "distinctly New Zealand cultural identity".

Three key themes underlie this concept:
1. New Zealanders identify their common culture and heritage as being distinctive to this nation;
2. expression of our culture are valued because they link past, present and future generations of New Zealanders;
3. Maori culture is valued for the contribution it makes to New Zealand’s identity.
4.
The Matariki Bill therefore is an opportunity to embrace and welcome the chance to stand proud, of our distinctly New Zealand cultural identity.

This Bill is an idea which has been waiting to happen.

Over fifteen years ago, artist, Diane Prince and Iwa Holmes from Pipitea Marae, formed a trust to reintroduce Matariki celebrations. Jim Rahi, a member of the trust, named it ‘Te Whakanui i a Matariki’ and in 1995 Pipitea Marae celebrated it in style. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou.

Of course nowadays, Matariki is an event that is almost universally celebrated around the motu.

Matariki builds on a groundswell of support, for a new indigenous event to celebrate the unique place in which we live, to pay our respects to the land, the peoples, the history.

This is a positive occasion, literally a dawning of a new age.

Matariki has traditionally been a time for planting and planning activities for the year ahead, for valuing our past, and also preparing for our future. All of these activities are significant steps in nation-building.

Matariki symbolises the optimum time for new harvests. In earlier times, our people used to make offerings to the gods, Rongo, Uenuku and Whiro, to protect our crops for the coming year.

It is a very special time of the year –a time in which we pause and reflect on the year that was, and the year that will be. In this unique indigenous occasion, we seek to value our past – to preserve history, knowledge, culture and traditional practices – while at the same time preparing for the future.

I ask the House – what other days in the year are we able to say that we celebrate the indigenous peoples of the land?

Some may say that Waitangi Day is such a day – but that day is about the birth of our nation, the bringing together of two peoples, the sacred covenant signed, Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Matariki is a festival in which we can truly commemorate the indigenous origins of Aotearoa, by giving respect to the unique customs and culture of tangata whenua.

What is exciting about the promotion of Matariki is that it also joins us in the special relationships we have with our brothers and sisters of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa – the peoples of the Pacific.

In Samoa they refer to it as Matalii; in Tahiti it is known as Matarii; in Hakai’i, Makalii; and in Rarotonga and Aotearoa, Matariki.

The glittering star cluster that signals Matariki was celebrated by our ancestors mai ra ano. In fact Dr Rawiri Taonui from Canterbury University, suggests the celebrations continued until past 1900, with the last traditional festival known in 1940.

The inspiration to mark Matariki as a day of national importance, has emerged from the people, within the drive for the revitalisation of te reo, and indeed the renaissance of Maori.

It is a breath of fresh air into the journey for nationhood.

For those with Green passions, the moment of Matariki rising connects to an interest in astronomy and our natural world.

For historians, Matariki is a time to treasure our past, for all New Zealanders, Matariki offers us that unique opportunity to connect in a positive celebration which takes its origins from this land.

Just over a month ago, Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey called for a new public holiday to mark Matariki.

It is a call which has come from all corners.

The Republican Movement wrote to all of New Zealand’s mayors in May of this year, and received responses from several who were already hosting Matariki celebrations this year.

At Christchurch’s Nga Hau e Wha national marae, the Matariki event is for everyone – and is demonstrated by the range of multicultural communities taking part.

In Te Arawa, Anaru Rangiheuea supports the concept of Matariki as a national event as a way of what he suggests is “celebrating this special country we live in”.

And over in Ngati Kahungunu territory, Ngahiwi Tomoana, called for making Matariki a public holiday, concluding, “”I believe that future generations of New Zealanders will embrace it with gusto”.

And even in this House, Green co-leader Metiria Turei has promoted the call of the people to make Matariki a public holiday.

Mr Speaker, if we are ever going to move forward as a nation, we need to find things that connect us.

It was heartening to hear the Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage stand in the House today and proclaim that Maori culture, and celebrations of that culture, are part of New Zealand’s unique international brand.

He went further and recognised that the strength and vitality of Maori culture, and celebrations of that culture, helps set us apart on the international stage. All so true.

But we know that his voice is not a lone voice in the National Caucus.

Wouldn’t it be great to allow the public a voice, to open the debate about whether New Zealanders would like an opportunity to celebrate our distinctive cultural identity by the introduction of a Matariki Day?

What possible defence could there be for maintaining the ‘day after’ holidays – the day after the 1st January; the day after Christmas; or for maintaining events to commemorate a man who devised a gunpowder plot to blow up the English Parliament; and yet to flatly refuse to engage in conversation about an indigenous-inspired event for Aotearoa?

All we want is to let the people have a say.

What does it say, that when the Prime Minister was asked in June 2009, about whether he would support Matariki Day that he responded “I can’t say I have given any great thought to the matter but it’s probably a no”.

Mr Speaker, this Bill is the opportunity to give great thought to supporting an event which is celebrated by many nationalities throughout Aotearoa.

An opportunity to embrace a celestial event, a festival which is inclusive of this place, and respectful of indigenous origins.
An opportunity to listen to others, to open the door, to have the conversation – not to say no before the debate had even begun.

Today, Business New Zealand launched a set of proposals, entitled Setting New Zealand Apart, which is a contribution to a national conversation about how we can perform better.

We believe this Bill is the ideal means by improving New Zealand’s productivity while at the same time boosting cultural identity.

A national celebration of our unique indigenous beginnings; a day in the midst of winter when workers could be revitalised physically, mentally and spiritually, could well set Aotearoa apart as a nation which cares for its people, workers, families and communities.

I return again to the wisdom of Dr Rawiri Taonui, to close:

“Some say that Matariki should become a public holiday. Good idea. The small constellation of glittering jewels reflects our journey as one nation, two peoples and many cultures – a time for New Zealanders to shine as one”.

Kia ora tatou

ENDS

© Scoop Media