The New Zealand high commission to the Solomon Islands staff have marked Waitangi Day on Monday with a special radio broadcast on Paoa FM.
Waitangi day is considered as New Zealand’s national day. It marks the day that the treaty of Waitangi was first signed on the 6th February in 1840.
To mark Waitangi Day, the New Zealand High Commission in Honiara, made a special one-hour Waitangi Day radio program live on Paoa FM.
Members of the New Zealand High Commission office in Honiara, Olivia, Jossy and Nelson enlightened radio listeners of the significance of Waitangi Day, of which the first was officially commemorated in 1932.
According to the live talk show, the Waitangi treaty is the treaty that governs the relationship between Maori- the indigenous people and everyone else.
This means, that the Maori have the right to self-determination, to protect their way of life and to control their resources, culture, language and land.
In the same not it requires the government to act reasonably and in good faith towards the Maori and establishing that all New Zealanders are under the law.
Meanwhile, New Zealand now commemorates the day each year on the 6 February and it is the most important marker in New Zealand’s history.
The special radio program on Paoa FM also included a selection of New Zealand indigenous, classic and current music played in the one-hour special.
By FLOYD TERRY
Solomon Star, Honiara
