Editorial: Te Arawa needs to sort out its flag

On Monday we celebrate Waitangi Day - a public holiday marking the signing of New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

The celebration is on February 6 every year. Although official celebrations are held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands, there are also many other events throughout the country - including Rotorua.

We have celebrations at Whakarewarewa Village and this is the sixth year Whakanuia has been held at the village with the focus on a multi-cultural celebration.

What we don't have in Rotorua, however, is a flag that will represent Te Arawa flying high from the Rotorua District Council building on Waitangi Day.

This is because there is indecision about which flag should represent Te Arawa. Now only the New Zealand flag will officially fly in Rotorua on Monday.

Last August the Rotorua District Council's Te Arawa standing committee recommended a Maori flag be flown alongside the New Zealand flag on Waitangi Day. Councillors arranged a meeting in November to ask Te Arawa members to decide which flag should represent them and it was decided to fly the tino rangatiratanga flag next to the New Zealand flag.

However, since then the council has heard of division among Te Arawa and decided to take the issue back to the tribe for a firm decision to be made before Waitangi Day 2013.

While there may be division about which flag to represent Te Arawa, surely we can come up with a solution for Waitangi Day 2013. Waitangi Day means a lot, to a lot of people. Perhaps Te Arawa could come up with a flag design to represent everyone so the iwi has its own flag, rather than many separate ones. Maybe the design process could involve members of the public or Te Arawa artists. Once a few designs are shortlisted, maybe a hui could be held, allowing Te Arawa to vote for the one that best represents them?

Let's not dwell on the problem, but put our energy into solving it.