Jacinda Ardern announced the first date today, and said it would move around in following years to fit in with the rising of Matariki - a cluster of stars that rises mid-year and marks the Māori New Year.
A new panel of experts on tikanga and astronomy would set the dates for future years – but it is likely to always be on a Friday or a Monday.
Matariki marks the rising of the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades. It usually rises in late May or early June. In Māori tradition it is seen as a time of renewal.
Ardern said it was time to have a distinctly New Zealand holiday: "a time for reflection and celebration, and our first public holiday that recognises Te Ao Māori".
"This will be a day to acknowledge our nation's unique, shared identity, and the importance of tikanga Māori. It's going to be something very special, and something uniquely New Zealand.
"It will also break up the lag between public holidays that currently exists between Queen's Birthday in early June and Labour Day in late October."
The new public holiday was one of Ardern's first campaign promises in September last year.
It will be the first new public holiday in New Zealand in almost 50 years and the 12th public holiday of the year.
A new Matariki Advisory Group would include Professor Rangiānehu Matamua (chair), Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, Rereata Makiha, Victoria Campbell, Dr Pauline Harris, Dr Ruakere Hond, and Jack Thatcher.
"This group will ensure that Mātauranga Māori is at the forefront of decision-making about the public holiday. Each of the members are recognised experts in Te Ao Māori and mātauranga associated with Matariki and the Maramataka," Māori-Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis said.
The group is expected to start to work out the dates of the holiday for the next 30 years, to give businesses certainty about when it would happen.
Matamua said different iwi marked the occasion in different ways "so it's important this holiday acknowledges those regional differences".
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood said it would give tourism businesses in particular something unique to market to international visitors, once borders re-opened.
There had long been calls for a holiday to mark the significant event in the Māori calendar, especially given the country had public holidays for Queen's Birthday and religious days of Easter and Christmas.
A petition by Laura O'Connell Rapira raised more than 35,000 signatures last year.
However, Labour's announcement in September was not universally welcomed: while the Green Party supported it, NZ First, National and Act all questioned whether there was a need for another public holiday.
National had suggested it should replace another public holiday rather than add a further one, saying it would put more pressure on businesses at a difficult economic time.
UNION HAPPY
The co-president of the E tū union, Muriel Tunoho, welcomed the move, saying a mid-winder public holiday was long overdue.
“After Queen’s Birthday, Kiwi workers don’t get a public holiday until Labour Day in October. Matariki will give people a much-needed ray of sunshine in the middle of winter.
“We are very happy that this will be a new public holiday. Matariki is unique and indigenous to Aotearoa and it is a very positive way our nation can all embrace it together.”
Tunoho said while the Government was making good progress on some workplace relations issues, other urgent issues remained.
“While an extra public holiday is fantastic news, E tū continues to campaign for many other changes that will fundamentally improve workplace relations in Aotearoa, such as the implementation of Fair Pay Agreements, paying the Living Wage to all workers in the public service, and strengthening industrial democracy.”
Related Stories
Comments
Yet again a person who only worked part time in a fish and chip shop showing no idea of who ultimately pays for this indulgence.
Congratulations NZ. This is an excellent development. One more step towards establishing our national identity. Full points to the govt on this initiative.
A new holiday coupled with an extra five days per annum of sick leave and that's over 1% of the working year eaten away from business - just like that. Not sure if the timing is good, but hey, it is all about feelings and being kind. Who needs business to employ, pay tax etc when you have Labour in charge?
I dont know how business managed it 40 years or so ago when most shops were forced to be closed for 50 days a year because we simply didn't do retail on a saturday - never mind a sunday!
Oh woe! Feel for the poor businesses. They've had to cope with so much. First it was the children. The Govt put a stop to employing children under the age of 13 in the mills, Oh woe! But they survived that vicious communist attack on their existence, adapted and continued to thrive. Then it was health and safety, oh woe! they had to make their workplaces safe for workers but they adapted and continued to thrive. The next attack was the 40 hour week and overtime, they adapted and continued to thrive, then it was paid annual holidays, they adapted and continuerd to thrive. Then it was the minimum wage, they adapted and continued to thrive, then it was sick leave, guess what? They adapted and continued to thrive. Now a new Statutory holiday and this is going to be the straw that break's the camels back? Somehow I think not. I think businesses will survive this horror, they'll adapt and continue to thrive.
Awesome news. Unique in it's recognition of indigenous people. Something Australia could surely take note of in it's current 'Invasion day' angst. Adding the public holiday is also a step forward for better work/ life balance. There are a hell of a lot of workers like me that do put in the hard yards. The grumblers would have us working 24/7 if they could...after all how else will they get staff to pay for the holiday houses, private school tuition and the Ski holidays.