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Monday, 7 February 2011

Dunne: Reclaim or rename Waitangi Day for all New Zealanders

All of New Zealand needs to reclaim Waitangi Day, and if that means renaming it New Zealand Day or choosing another day as a true New Zealand Day, then that should happen, UnitedFuture leader and Ohariu MP Peter Dunne said today.

“New Zealanders have had a gutsful of being made to feel bad about being New Zealanders,” he said.

“And it has got to the point where one ill-informed individual with a loud-hailer and intimidating thugs demanding ‘koha’ in a manner that actually breaches their own tikanga, are turning Waitangi Day into a farce.

“If there is an argument that Waitangi Day protests prompted us to address things that needed addressing and still need our vigilance, that’s fine, but there has got to be more to our national day than that.

“We have so many wonderful things about this country that we should be celebrating; we have achieved great things as a nation and continue to do so. We need to be proud of all of that and celebrate what it is to be a Kiwi.

“Waitangi Day is not doing that and has not for a long time

“We very rarely have New Zealanders come out of Waitangi with a feeling of being more united, positive or upbeat – and let’s be blunt, non-Maori New Zealanders are basically staying away.

“We deserve a day of true celebration and pride. That does not mean we brush things aside that need attention, but we deserve a day that actually says to us all that it is great to be a Kiwi of whatever ethnic background, and that we are one, and that we have a huge amount to be grateful for in this country,” Mr Dunne said

“Waitangi Day is important, but it could be so much more. It has been hijacked by the angry few.”

ENDS

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