The last couple of weeks have seen Labour and National back to doing what they know best – scrapping with each other.

This time it was over John Key's Burnside speech about the "underclass". Instead of acknowledging the problem and focusing on ways of dealing with it, both quickly resorted to their traditional game of hurling rocks at each other.

The problems faced by the underclass quickly began to come second to the argument about whose underclass was bigger, and who caused it in the first place. Nowhere was this more powerfully illustrated than in the row over free meals for disadvantaged kids in schools. "Tory charity" sneered one Labour Minister, conveniently ignoring the fact that the first such scheme was Michael Joseph Savage's milk and apples in schools programme in 1937 during the first Labour government, only it was called "applied Christianity" then.

Meanwhile, apart from the publicity blaze of a trip to Waitangi, and all the finger pointing, nothing has really changed for the less well-off in our country. They are still there and their economic and social problems are still real. The only way real change will happen is through a multi-pronged approach to strengthening families and relationships, improving income, health and education status, more affordable housing and improving the physical environment and self-esteem of our neighbourhoods.

All political bickering will do is increase the cynicism so many already feel, and will breed further generations of embittered and alienated people.

It really does come back to promoting strong families and vibrant communities. Over the next few months United Future will be producing a comprehensive paper covering all these areas and the policy responses to address them which we will be discussing with local communities and specialist agencies. Our approach is not a hand-out one, but much more about working alongside people and communities to deal with their real needs. Put simply, our aim is that all New Zealanders, Feb 8, 2006 No. 4 whatever their background, should have the opportunity to enjoy everything that is good in our country.

Waitangi Day has been and gone and with it the annual debate about its future, so it would seem.

However, my call for a new national day or New Zealand Day seems to have gathered momentum. Polls show New Zealanders are losing interest in Waitangi Day for a variety of reasons, and the most common, if somewhat curious reaction, is that people would quite like a new national day but do not believe it will ever happen. All of which encourages me to continue my campaign, and to encourage its broadening to include issues such as becoming a republic. If we are the mature nation we claim to be we should not be afraid about an open debate on these issues.

In this regard, the position of the Maori Party disappoints but does not surprise me. In many areas, the Maori Party's approach is progressive and one United Future can find common ground with, but on these issues they seem more focused on preserving the past rather than building for the future.

Sadly, and I do not suggest that is their aim, the consequence will be a society that is more, not less divided. I think the call for a new national day will strengthen, while at the same time wishing to retain Waitangi Day as a day to commemorate the signing of the Treaty. That is why I am prepared to amend my Bill currently before Parliament to establish New Zealand Day to make it clear that New Zealand Day would be a different day to Waitangi Day.

Incidentally, the prize for the most fatuous comment on this issue goes to the editorial writer for the Sunday Star Times who denounced my idea as "fuddy-duddy", only to say a sentence or two later that the country was not yet ready for such a change!

There is still time to join the more Daylight Saving Campaign. There has been a huge degree of public interest in the national petition for three more weeks of daylight saving each year, with many people wanting to sign or distribute petition forms. These can be downloaded from the United Future website at www.unitedfuture.org.nz .

Completed forms need to be returned to my office at the end of February for collation prior to presentation of the petition to Parliament in the middle of March.

Peter Dunne

ENDS

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