Dr Michael Bassett: Waitangi Day Looms

Spare a thought for what our national day was meant to be, compared with what it has become. Before 1973 a small ceremony took place at Waitangi each 6 February to commemorate the signing of the Treaty. Only Northland had a holiday. Then Norman Kirk promised during the 1972 election campaign to establish a national holiday. The New Zealand Day Act passed through Parliament the following year. Kirk was adamant that henceforth the day should be called New Zealand Day. It was for all New Zealanders to celebrate our different identities and a sense of nationhood that brought us together. It was to be a day for everyone, irrespective of race or cultural background.

Chris Trotter: Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?

Bill Rowling told New Zealanders that he felt as though he had been run over by a bus. The metaphor was apt. Rob Muldoon’s 1975 electoral victory represented one of the great turnarounds in New Zealand political history. Three years earlier, Labour’s Norman Kirk had sent the National Government of Jack Marshall packing. But, just three years later, Muldoon, Marshall’s populist successor, exactly reversed Kirk’s landslide. National’s majority in the House of Representatives was identical to Labour’s – a whopping 23 seats. New Zealand had voted for the nation they wanted – and Muldoon was determined to give it to them.

Chris Trotter: The Facts Don’t Always Tell The Truth.

What would you think of a man who offered himself for high political office with the following credentials? He was raised in humble circumstances, fought his way out of poverty and, at 44, is a twice-decorated war hero. He does not eat meat or drink alcohol, loves animals and has an easy rapport with children.
Worth a go?

Not when you hear his name. Not when you discover that the man seeking your support is Adolf Hitler.

And yet, all the attributes listed above are completely factual. Adolf Hitler was all of those things. But, simply listing facts, especially when they are stripped of context, is not the same as telling the truth. To grasp the truth of Adolf Hitler’s contribution to world history requires more than mere facts, it requires understanding, interpretation and judgement.