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==Controversy and protest==
[[File:The flag post by the treaty house - Waitangi.jpg|thumb|right|The flagstaff at [[Waitangi, Northland|Waitangi]], the focus of significant protest. On the flagstaff is flown, from left, the Flag of the [[United Tribes of New Zealand]]; the Ensign of the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]], and the [[Union Flag]].]]
By 1971, Waitangi and Waitangi Day had become a focus of protest concerning treaty injustices, with [[Ngā Tamatoa]] leading early protests. After a [[walkout]] from the ceremony in 1972, Governor General [[Arthur Porritt]] responded saying "I just do not believe that racism or discrimination exists in this country," demonstrating the gap in mutual understanding.<ref name="1970s">{{cite web |last1=Orange |first1=Claudia |title=Waitangi Day 1970s |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1970s |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |publisher=NZHistory |language=en}}</ref> Activists initially called for greater recognition of the treaty, but by the early 1980s, they were also arguing that it was a fraud and the means by which Pākehā had conned Māori out of their land. Attempts were made by groups, including the Waitangi Action Committee, to halt the commemorations.<ref>Hazlehurst, Kayleen M. (1995), 'Ethnicity, Ideology and Social Drama: The Waitangi Day Incident 1981' in Alisdair Rogers and Steven Vertovec, eds, ''The Urban Context: Ethnicity, Social Networks and Situational Analysis'', Oxford and Washington D.C., p.83; Walker, Ranginui (1990), ''Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle without End'', Auckland, p.221.</ref> This led to confrontations between police and protesters, sometimes resulting in dozens of arrests. When the treaty gained greater official recognition in the mid-1980s, emphasis switched back to calls to honour it, and protesters generally returned to the aim of raising awareness of it and what they saw as its neglect by the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11583909|access-date=11 February 2017|title=A brief history of Waitangi Day – "Not everyone has something to celebrate"|date=5 February 2016|work=NZ Herald}}</ref>
Some New Zealand politicians and commentators, such as [[Paul Holmes (broadcaster)|Paul Holmes]], have felt that Waitangi Day is too controversial to be a national day and have sought to replace it with [[Anzac Day]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10784735|title=Waitangi Day a complete waste |author=Paul Holmes |author-link=Paul Holmes (broadcaster) |access-date=13 February 2012|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=11 February 2012}}</ref> Others, for example the [[United Future]] Party's [[Peter Dunne]], have suggested that the name be changed back to New Zealand Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/press/show_item.php?t=0&i=1540|publisher=UnitedFuture|title=United Future press release|date=5 February 2007}}</ref>
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