Stars could align for a public holiday celebrating Matariki
The Prime Minister hasn’t ruled out the idea of creating another public holiday, which has already prompted calls for one to fall on Matariki — the Ma¯ori New Year.
With profitable long weekends spent in lockdown, some tourism operators are crying out for another public holiday to make up.
Winston Peters has made it clear New Zealand First is against the idea, saying it could cost small businesses and thousands of workers their jobs. However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was open to options.
Laura O’Connell Rapira from Action Station has set up a petition urging the Government to make Matariki a holiday.
Matariki is the cluster of nine stars that become visible for a short time every year, traditionally celebrated by gathering with wha¯nau, remembering the dead, and celebrating the future.
“I thought with the Ma¯ori New Year coming up, now is the perfect time to make Matariki a public holiday,” O’Connell Rapira said.
“This is absolutely an opportunity for communities to gather . . . to learn about both our history prior to colonisation and also the way that different hapu¯ and iwi commemorate Matariki now.”
But she said any decision around making Matariki a public holiday would need to be informed by Ma¯ori experts.
Ma¯ori astronomer Dr Rangi Ma¯ta¯mua said making Matariki a public holiday would encourage more people to learn about it.
“Matariki traditionally was a public holiday,” he said.
“It was when Ma¯ori stopped working, they relaxed, they sat around, they ate together, they celebrated together. Trying to reincorporate that into our modern society is a good thing, and I think it will help Matariki to endure.”