By Laura Frykberg
Prime Minister John Key says the ‘Monday-isation’ of Waitangi and Anzac Day’s is likely to stall productivity, which will cost the economy.
It is advice he has received over a proposed law change to guarantee New Zealander’s a day off even if the two days fall on the weekend.
Last year Waitangi Day fell on a Sunday and Anzac on Easter Monday, which meant New Zealanders had nine public holidays instead of eleven.
It was the catalyst for a bill to prevent it happening again.
But the prime minister thinks the price tag is too high.
“The cost for an individual day, if we were to Monday-ise them is $200 million to the economy and about $400 million if it falls over the weekend, for both of them.”
The next time Waitangi Day falls on a weekend is in 2016, then 2021 and in 2022.
For Anzac Day it will be in 2015, 2020 and 2021.
That is six more days off over seven years, and the man pushing for change says it is not too much to ask.
Dunedin North MP David Clark says at the moment two out of seven years we do not get the full compliment of holidays. “So Kiwis look forward to their 11 days off a year and they feel a bit cheated,” he says.
While Mr Key himself says an extra holiday would be nice, he says New Zealanders have more time off than most countries.
Even if Mr Key does not support the bill it could still pass because many opposition parties support it and crucially so does United Future's Peter Dunne.
Mr Key will now take the issue to his caucus tomorrow.
3 News