As a result of our cultural heritage we have the haka as an emblem of national unity, the koru, the powhiri, Maori carvings and art, the amazing Maori language, songs, dances, and all of the other Maori taonga woven into our cultural tapestry.
I'll never forget performing the national anthem (in Maori and English) for the All Blacks in Milan. Seeing them perform the haka when I'd been away from our beautiful New Zealand for a long time was a moving experience. Few New Zealanders could witness a haka without being at least somewhat moved by it.
In Australia the climate is wildly different. In Australia, where our commentators would have us believe that people so cheerfully celebrate "what it means to be Australian", a history of genocide, by massacre and disease, displacement and separation of aboriginal children from their families, and widespread oppression of indigenous Australians is somewhat glossed over.
The man who started Australia Day, Macquarie, ordered his army to attack the Aboriginal Australians and hang the male corpses up in the trees as a warning against resisting colonial rule. Australia's track record with indigenous rights has been condemned repeatedly by the UN, and Aboriginal Australians today continue to suffer as a result of historical oppression and injustice.
Australia is a wonderful country, one where I'm fortunate to spend quite a lot of time, and Australians by and large are great people. To me, however, Australia Day somewhat misses the point. Australia Day is really "Don't mention what we did to the Aborigines Day".
Waitangi Day, by contrast, has nothing to hide. It is a true reflection of our history.
And for the most part, it truly is a celebration. The media are not solely to blame, but a lot of sensationalism surrounds the reporting of Waitangi Day. Reporters seem to go looking for conflict.
Conflict is one of the major news values, so it's not particularly surprising. The result is that about 3 per cent of what is actually happening on Waitangi Day is reported, including protests and mud slinging, while the remaining 97 per cent of the celebrations go unaccounted for.
I was born 14 years after the Waitangi Tribunal was established. I've never known a time when New Zealand has not publicly acknowledged historical injustices committed against Maori. I've also never known a New Zealand that has shied away from protest.
Strikes, protests against nuclear energy, the Springbok tour, the foreshore and seabed, Bastion Point, the Maori land hikoi; protest is part of our national identity.
We're opinionated, and we're not afraid to show it. Arguably, any national day in any democracy will be a target for protest activities. Indeed, what many of our Australia Day proponents neglect to mention is that Australians also protest on Australia Day, and did so even in 2014.
The Australian media also questioned this year whether they can truly celebrate their nationhood on a day that to so many still symbolises the invasion and confiscation of a land that had belonged to the Australian Aborigines for more than 40,000 years.
Honestly, faced with the two choices: Australia Day which seems to gloss over the gross injustices committed against the indigenous Australians, and Waitangi Day which acknowledges and celebrates an atmosphere of diversity and biculturalism, I'll take Waitangi Day.
I'd rather be honest about our history and proud of the steps we've taken to heal our two peoples than hide behind a facade of joviality. My generation doesn't want lies, or even politicking on our national day. We want to celebrate being Kiwi; Maori, Pakeha, Asian, Pasifika, whatever.
We all have our own unique identities, and we all unite on the common ground of calling Aotearoa New Zealand home. Surely a day that celebrates the birth of our diversity through the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is the best kind of holiday we could ask for in our increasingly diverse modern world.
What was I doing on Waitangi Day? I was celebrating with friends and whanau. I reflected on what it meant to be Maori and what it means to be a New Zealander. I am hugely proud to be both.
Lizzie Marvelly is a singer from Rotorua who has just released her first pop single and music video. Our regular Saturday columnist Garth George is taking a break.
