Waitangi Day Is About What We Share, Not How Much Divides Us

FOR DELIVERY 06 FEBRUARY, 9AM AT ONUKU MARAE, AKAROA

Waitangi Day is a day of national celebration and it is our chance to stand together to mark our unity and our shared love of this country and its people, Jim Anderton, Progressive Party leader and Wigram MP said today.

“We’ve all seen the images from past Waitangi Days where the so-called celebration is marked with anger and confrontations” said Jim Anderton from Onuku Marae in Akaroa. “I’m proud to say that my observations of Akaroa celebrations indicate that you always seem to manage a harmonious day. As it should be, yours is a positive celebration of New Zealand and our Treaty.

“Today is a day to think about how much we share - not how much divides us. I’m proud of our country; it’s diversity; its democracy that allows politicians of different colours to stand together today. And I know my parliamentary colleagues are proud of that too. “This is the real New Zealand, where we celebrate diversity instead of fearing it. “The Treaty of Waitangi is your treaty and it is my treaty. It is the reason I belong here. Because in 1840 my ancestors signed it too. It is a living document and it belongs to us all.

“We have a long way to go to convince all New Zealanders that the Treaty belongs to them too. It is our founding document. It belongs to every New Zealander.

“It is how and where we made a commitment to share this land and live alongside each other. We honour the Treaty by recognizing the grievances of the past and addressing them. “But it is my enduring hope on this day that the Treaty will become a beacon of hope for the future - not just a guide to righting the wrongs of the past.

“That in years to come it will be seen as a living document, our constitution, our Bill of Rights; the taonga - the treasure - that gives us all the right to be here and to call this land home.

“That is what our ancestors intended when they signed the Treaty 170 years ago. And we honour them and their vision today,” Jim Anderton said today.

FULL SPEECH ATTACHED DELIVERED AT ONUKU MARAE, 06 FEBRUARY, 9am.

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