Key rejects 'New Zealand Day'
Prime Minister John Key has snubbed the idea of introducing a "New Zealand Day".
Prime Minister John Key has snubbed the idea of introducing a "New Zealand day".
United Future leader Peter Dunne has called for Waitangi Day to be renamed New Zealand Day, or for another day to be selected as a national day.
"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," Mr Dunne said.
Mr Dunne said Waitangi Day had not been about national pride for a long time, and that there had to be more to the national day than protests.
"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," he said.
"Waitangi Day is important, but it could be so much more. It has been hijacked by the angry few."
However, Mr Key said he did not support introducing a new day.
"We shouldn't overstate the impact that that isolated group of protestors have on Waitangi," he said.
"For the most part, it's actually a very positive, festival-type atmosphere. It's one of the key messages that I was trying to get out that I want New Zealanders to feel that they can go to Waitangi and enjoy the significance of that time."
Mr Key said the protests shown in the media were a very small part of the event.
Protesters led by Maori Party MP Hone Harawira's nephew, Wikatana Popata, marched on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in a peaceful protest on Sunday.
The 200-strong group protested assets sales, desecration of resources and called for a Maori revolution.
Mr Popata, who was convicted of assaulting Mr Key as he entered Te Tii Marae two years ago, used yesterday's protest to call Mr Key "the enemy".
NZPA and NBR staff
Tue, 08 Feb 2011
Tue, 08 Feb 2011
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Key rejects 'New Zealand Day'
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