Public should have say on 'mondayised' holidays - MP

Leaping from Waitangi Bridge on Waitangi Day, February 6. File photo / Northern Advocate

The public should have a say on whether public holidays that fall on the weekend should be "mondayised", Labour MP Grant Robertson says.

He has drafted a member's bill that would allow holidays falling on weekends to be taken on another day.

Prime Minister John Key has been less than enthusiastic about it, saying there are problems with the proposal including substantial costs for businesses, although he hasn't entirely ruled it out.

"Certainly not this year," he said yesterday.

"It's a bit self-serving for the Labour Party to be saying it's a great idea - they had nine years in office, they faced exactly the same set of conditions and they did nothing about it."

Mr Robertson said today Mr Key seemed to be prepared to consider it.

"I hope that National would support sending the bill in my name to a select committee so everyone can have a say, and so all the issues that are being raised can be explored," he said.

"I have had a large amount of feedback on this proposal, mostly very positive."

When he announced his bill last week, Mr Robertson said there were 11 public holidays a year, but when Waitangi Day and Anzac Day fall on a weekend - as they do this year - they should be able to be taken on a weekday.

He said his bill would not change the commemoration of Anzac Day or Waitangi Day.

"Just as people still celebrate Christmas Day on December 25, but have a holiday on the following Monday if it falls on a weekend, the same can happen for Anzac Day and Waitangi Day," he said.

Before anything can happen to his bill it has to be drawn from the member's ballot. Some bills come out within weeks of being put in but others have stayed in the box for years.

- NZPA