Call for Matariki public holiday
Relevant offers
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey is calling for a new public holiday in July.
He wants it to mark Matariki, or Maori New Year, celebrations.
"I think we need a mid-winter fun event and this of course is in the Maori calendar but it's our calendar too," Mr Harvey told TV3.
"Let's go and have a ripper of the weekend in July. . .I think we need something in the middle of winter, as a nation, to cheer us up."
He said Waitangi was a serious occasion and it would be good to have a light-hearted day that was unique to New Zealand.
Prime Minister John Key did not think it was a goer.
"I can't say I have given any great thought to the matter but it's probably a no," he said.
"What about the ninth of August? It's my birthday."
Mr Key joked that he would ask Treasury to do some work on it but did not think it would help the economy.
- NZPA
Sponsored links
'I wish I could take the pain away'
Injured tourist rescued from Tararuas
One dead in crash south of Kaikoura
Tougher sentences for 'sadistic' robbers
Gunman's partner seeks ACC payout
Army bomb victim 'a good Kiwi bloke'
Memorial service for shooting victim
Petition launched for Auckland-Hamilton commuter trains
Hundreds march over government inaction
Families head to France to remember Air NZ crash victims
Hundreds march over government inaction
Memorial service for shooting victim
Mother of separated twins: 'We don't want them back'
All Blacks wary of loading English gun
Sleepwalker found not guilty of wife's death
World Cup party's over for Phoenix
Oprah says ending show 'feels right'
Police officer killed as floods devastate UK
Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns, one dead
European football match-fixing ring exposed
Nice Kiwi blokes - shame about the women
'Brainless' stunt by NZ 'idiots' a global sensation
Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns, one dead
Praying for Ben after explosion
Mother of separated twins: 'We don't want them back'
Kiwi Kevin Percy claims Harry Potter castle
Women pay top dollar for evening with bachelor
Nice Kiwi blokes - shame about the women
Rokocoko to play against All Blacks
As Henry shows, footballers can't be trusted
$450,000 march is political manipulation
