• Howick and Botany Times

THIS year another Waitangi Day passed with the now traditional protests, screaming and posturing.

Sadly, the day has become more synonymous with newsreels of mud, tears and fists than it is about celebrating our identity.

Most New Zealanders have understandably come to see February 6 as a day of division and differences. Is that what we should be celebrating on our national day?

There is value in recognising and robustly debating our issues. Politicians and Maori leaders should be encouraged to come together and address the state of race relations on the spot where that relationship was formalised.

Waitangi Day, like no other, is a recognition of where we came from as a nation and so it ought to remain.

But I’m not sure it continues to be the best forum for celebrating our New Zealand identity.

On the same weekend as Waitangi Day, the Auckland Lantern Festival was attended by more than 100,000 people.

Friends and families descended on Albert Park en masse to show how accepting and inclusive we are as a people.

Meanwhile, at Waitangi, we had scenes of hikoi, megaphones and Prime Minister John Key shielded by diplomatic protection.

For everything that divides us, there are countless things that bring us together. While that may sound clichéd, I think it’s too easily forgotten.

New Zealand has a unique history and an understated pride. We should take a day out with our friends and family to celebrate that.