April 20, 2015
NZ Wars commemoration day needed
As the nation prepares to mark Anzac Day and the centenary of the Gallipoli invasion, Maori Development Ministry Te Ururoa Flavell says serious consideration needs to be given to commemorating the wars fought in Aotearoa.
He says battle sites where Maori fought crown forces are all around but often go unremarked.
He says there is appetite to acknowledge those events, even though it would be hard to pick a single date that would be suitable.
"If we were to pick a date and for all intended purposes, you aren't always going to get it right but allow each iwi or each town or each region to have those acknowledgements in their own way, I think that they would easily cater for it. Last year when they had these 150 anniversaries of Pukehinahina, Rangiriri, Orakau, Te Ranga, people really got behind them and acknowledged the huge history that just sits on our back door" he says.
Te Ururoa Flavell says acknowledgement of the New Zealand Wars would not detract from remembrances of foreign wars.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE URUROA FLAVELL CLICK ON THE LINK
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