Independent views By Brendan Horan

Initially I thought I might not support the bill Mondayising Anzac and Waitangi day as before I entered Parliament I part-owned and operated three retail outlets where I hired 15 employees and I was doing the mental sums in my head of the wages that I would have to meet.

However on fully investigating and reflecting on the issue, I changed my stance. I saw that in the next 6 years public holidays would be Mondayised just twice—Anzac Day in 2015 and Waitangi Day in February 2016.

We have had a golden summer in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui and our area has benefited with record numbers of visitors. For areas of great tourist potential such as the Bay, the prospect of an extra-long weekend reaps huge financial rewards for many businesses.

In the case of Tauranga, recovering from the disastrous effects of the Rena and facing the ongoing financial shortfalls to the region caused by PSA (yes, another National Government biosecurity blunder) then the opportunity of additional commerce because of the long weekend will benefit so many in the area, including hoteliers, restaurateurs, tourist guides, and tourist operators.

It will be a bonus as well that Anzac Day 2015 will be the 100^th anniversary of the fateful landings at Gallipoli, it is fitting and proper that the sacrifice of our Anzacs will be remembered in a way that includes a full public holiday so that we can fully respect and celebrate the sacrifice the original ANZACs made.

Ensuring that in every year these two important commemorations are marked with a full public holiday for all people is a good step for our nation. People who do not normally work on the day on which Waitangi Day and Anzac Day falls will get the holiday on the Monday, and those who work on the Saturday on Sunday will get that day as a public holiday. Most important, the commemorations at Waitangi and at dawn parades all around our beautiful country will still be observed on 6 February and 25 April.

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