Editorial: Special days should be Mondayised

Opinion

It seems increasingly odd that New Zealand ascribes different conditions to its 11 public holidays. Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are always commemorated on the exact date, but the other statutory holidays are either set on a weekday or are "Mondayised", and roll over to the next working day if they fall on a weekend.

The difference has been sharply highlighted this year by both Waitangi Day and Anzac Day falling on the weekend, denying people two days of their usual holidays. This has prompted the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union to seek more pay for workers if statutory holidays fall on a weekend.

The union's assistant secretary, Bill Newson, talks of the unfairness of the situation. He is right, but the correct way to remedy this lies through a change to the 2003 Holidays Act, not via wage negotiations.

An amendment would recognise that in a secular state devoid of a state religion, it is inappropriate and inconsistent to give Christian holidays, such as Christmas Day, a different status from others.

Somewhat ironically, that difference stems from an original wish to make Anzac Day and, to a lesser degree, Waitangi Day especially sacrosanct.

When Anzac Day was declared a public holiday, it was specified that everything had to be shut, and in 1949 legislation was passed forbidding the Mondayising of the day. The notion was that it would be wrong to treat such a solemn occasion as just another holiday. If such were the case, it could lose some of its significance.

The view persists in some quarters today. The Returned and Services Association national executive has just revisited the issue, having noted that all Australian states except Tasmania and Victoria have Mondayised Anzac Day.

It voted for the status quo, with its chief executive, Stephen Clarke, saying, "It's a holiday but it is a special day and with the increase in numbers of attendances [at Anzac Day services], we really think the public feels that way, too."

The RSA is right about the increased sanctity of Anzac Day, but that is the precise reason it is wrong to fear that might be lost if the day were Mondayised. People understand the importance of April 25 and February 6 as the exact dates of important historical events.

They want to commemorate those events on those days. That will never change. It is, therefore, no reason to deny the statutory holiday that usually falls people's way on those days.

Other reasons given for the non-transfer of the two holidays are equally unconvincing. It is said there would be an unacceptable extra cost to business. But it is accustomed to the normal course of 11 statutory holidays annually. The cost, in any event, would be minimal. Likewise, any lost productivity would be easily made up through the balance of the year.

Next year, the inconsistency between the treatment of holidays will be evident once more because Waitangi Day again falls at the weekend and Anzac Day and Easter Monday both fall on the same day. Dr Clarke says this will be a good test of people's commitment to remembering the special day. He need have no fears on that score. Anzac Day has become, arguably, the most revered date on the national calendar.

That does not mean, however, it has been immune to change. The original strictures relating to the opening of shops have been leavened. This has not diminished the commemoration in any way.

Nor would Mondayising Anzac Day and Waitangi Day. By international standards, New Zealanders work long hours and do not enjoy an inordinate number of holidays. In the interests of fairness and uniformity, they should enjoy the full fruit of what they get.