A day to be united

One thing I often encounter while discussing republicanism is the deep yearning New Zealanders have for a uniting purpose to focus on. Pakeha, Maori, Pacific peoples, Asians - almost all of us appear to be looking for it. It's clear the decline into irrelevance of the monarchy, which once provided this focus, has created an apathetic malaise which could easily turn toxic. You only have to look at the ongoing issues with our public holidays to see what I mean. Take the last few days, for example.

New Zealand often appears to be bursting to have a national conversation and debate about issues of ethnicity and politics.

On Monday, June 4, New Zealanders will take a public holiday to mark the nominal birthday of a woman who lives on the other side of the world, has limited relevance to many Kiwis and who has not been here for a decade, despite being our head of state.

Finally, there's calls for Muslims to be able to transfer Christian religious holidays (they're actually already able to do this) which have sparked debate about these holidays.