Point of Order: The things the Govt wants us to commemorate – here’s hoping they haven’t forgotten Fred Dagg and the Big Mac

Whee. The Government is lining up a slew of happenings and occasions to be …

To be celebrated, we hopefully thought for a moment.

We were disabused on reading further into a press statement headed Government announces refreshed Commemorations Programme 2023-2027.

Commemoration does not necessarily mean celebration, but rather we are being advised of

‘… a programme of historical anniversaries to be acknowledged by the New Zealand Government over the next five years.”

The announcement was included in a mixed bag of press statements from the Beehive.

Others informed us that – 

* The Government is pumping $6 million from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund into a Southland-based oat milk producer, New Zealand Functional Foods.

* Kiribati Language Week 2022 is getting under way at a time when Kiribati is in the grip of a disastrous drought while it deals with the impact of Climate Change.

* A major redevelopment of Dunedin’s “iconic” Hillside Workshops is on track to have the facility up and running by early 2024.

* The PM has sent New Zealand’s condolences following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

* She and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have met in Sydney for their first annual Australia New Zealand Leaders Meeting.

Point of Order focused on the announcement of a programme of commemorations by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Carmel Sepuloni, because of the happenings she chose to highlight. We can only trust that other worthy happenings will not be overlooked.

We also got a strong whiff of social engineering:

“We’re continuing to lay the foundations for a better future by ensuring all New Zealanders have the opportunity to learn, be immersed in and meaningfully engage with some pretty historical events which have shaped Aotearoa New Zealand’s history,” she Carmel Sepuloni said.

“The programme announced today spans key anniversaries from 2023 to 2027.

“Some anniversaries will celebrate unique milestones in the development of our national identity, such as 75 years since the 1951 waterfront dispute and the centenary of our relationship with the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, both significant anniversaries coming up over the next five years.”

This referred to Britain’s declaration of sovereignty over Antarctica’s Ross Dependency, with administration allocated to New Zealand.

“The programme will also give opportunity to reflect on past injustices in order to create a better future. For example, in 2024 we will mark 50 years since the start of the Dawn Raids on Pacific peoples. In 2025, we will commemorate the 1975 Māori Land March from Te Hāpua in Northland to Wellington – a 1,000 km hīkoi led by Dame Whina Cooper to protest land laws which had a devastating impact on Māori.

“Aotearoa’s artistic identity is also highlighted with the 50th anniversary of the first novel by a Māori author, Witi Ihimaera’s Tangi, and the 75th anniversary of the first wholly New Zealand-produced record, Ruru Karaitiana’s Blue Smoke.

“And we will acknowledge the development of our social safety net with anniversaries like 50 years since the launch of ACC in 2024,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

The programme is being launched as the country prepares to mark “the tier 1 anniversary” of the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language Petition, in September, Sepuloni said.

Sepuloni did not explain the significance of a tier 1 anniversary and how it differs from a tier 2 or 3 event.

She did say that this year, the National Commemorations Policy has been “refreshed” so that future anniversaries are grouped by theme rather than marked as ‘tier 1’ or ‘tier 2’ commemorations.

What does this mean?

Fasten your seatbelts for the Minister’s explanation:

“This new approach to grouping anniversaries will encourage kōrero about common threads across multiple anniversaries. The themes for the next five years include cultural identity, Māori rights and representation, creating a social safety net and our relationship with Pacific countries.”

Encouraging “kōrero” probably means the Government will be aiming to encourage discussion and/or debate.

Without the state’s encouragement – or intervention – perhaps nothing would happen.

“Our Government’s Commemorations Programme is one opportunity we have to enhance New Zealanders’ understanding of the stories, culture, identities and communities that make up our nation and are important to mark and recognise.

“With this commemorations programme, we encourage New Zealanders to walk into the future informed by our past,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

Hmm. Cultural identity, Māori rights and representation, creating a social safety net and our relationship with Pacific countries.

The cultural identity element of the agenda should allow us to commemorate comedian John Clarke’s introduction of Fred Dagg and a host of ‘Trevs’ 50 years ago next year, for example.

And Colour TV arrived just in time for New Zealanders to enjoy the pomp and ceremony of Princess Anne’s wedding to Captain Mark Phillips in November.

Selwyn Toogood’s popular long-running radio and stage show It’s in the bag made its TV debut.

A hundred years ago next year, social campaigner Ettie Rout’s book Safe marriage, which discussed contraception, was banned for indecency. Is that a cultural event?

And New Zealand Breweries was established following the merger of 10 breweries, including the country’s largest, Speight’s of Dunedin.

Fifty-year commemorations over the next few years – in 2026, to be specific – should also include McDonalds setting up shop in New Zealand for the first time at Cobham Court, Porirua. Kentucky Fried Chicken had begun the American fast-food invasion of New Zealand five years earlier.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton