Call for Matariki public holiday

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