for the people of new zealand

Once again, Peter Dunne is banging on about Waitangi Day being too political, and, once again, wants to sweep all this Maori and Treaty fuss under the carpet by replacing Waitangi Day with a shinier, less controversial day, New Zealand Day.

Despite his obvious disdain for the usual political lead up to Waitangi Day, this year taking the form of a flag, Dunne continues to politicise Waitangi Day, not as a symbol of a broken partnership, but as a political tool to capture votes.

And what would this solve? Those who exercise their right to free speech now in the leadup to Waitangi Day will see the name change as a complete insult - which it is - and politicise New Zealand Day as a symbol of antipathy against the Maori race. It won't solve the issues underlying the various protests and grandstanding from both sides, which as a nation we need to address in a frank manner, something which keeping February 6 as Waitangi Day will foster, and hopefully resolve.

Dunne's comparison to Australia Day is a bit off too - the land where genocide was committed against it's native peoples has no hallmark day that defines the birth of their nation. Instead they have a fictitious day to celebrate being Australian, good on them for that, but I don't think that is us. The Americans celebrate the birth of the United States of America on the 4th of July, forgetting the tumult of the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, instead focusing the day on a celebration of being who they are.

New Zealander of the Year isn't a bad idea, but we can do that on Waitangi Day without lessening the achievement that such an award represents.

I am, however, completely in favour of a new national holiday - a reason to feel proud of being a New Zealander, a day off to enjoy with friends and family, a day that will sit along with Waitangi Day and Anzac Day as symbols of our nation's past warts and all. So long as it's not used to bash ethnic groups, and so long as it doesn't rob me of an existing holiday.

It should be on May 29 and called Sir. Edmund Hillary Day.