Waitangi Day editorial: We are still pulling together in one direction

Waka leaving for Te Tii Marae. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Clear skies and the summer sun on your back are reasons enough to be thankful.

Even so, Kiwis have other reasons to feel thankful for being here on this Waitangi Day long weekend.

Over the past year we have come to realise we are fortunate to be in one of the safest spots on Earth.

Exactly a year ago a planeload of 193 people evacuated from Wuhan landed in Auckland and began quarantine at a naval base in Whangapāroa.

Just a few weeks later, on February 28, the country reported its first case of the coronavirus - a person who travelled from Iran to Auckland.

Just six weeks after Waitangi Day, the borders were closed to all arrivals except New Zealand citizens and permanent residents for the first time in history.

As a country of people who carry the name of a flightless native bird but who traditionally consider OEs to be a rite of passage, it has been a strange experience being cut off from the outside world.

Just the idea of needing to settle in and be patient and stay safe for an indefinite period has been hard for some to get used to.

The first lockdown brought feelings of isolation and insecurity for many. And some among us would have had harsh, life-changing experiences - such as knowing a loved one who died or being unable to see close family members overseas. Kiwis are still struggling to get home and having to wait for quarantine berths. Plenty of people suffer long-term health problems from the virus.

But for most of the past year we have been able to live normally - but with a new awareness of needing to count our blessings.

The urge to wander off has been turned into a quest to explore or rediscover our own backyard while international tourists are away.

A Kiwi version of This Land is Your Land (sung at US President Joe Biden's inauguration) would have to name-check Cape Reinga, Ninety Mile Beach, the Waitangi Treaty grounds and the kauri forests for starters.

From Rangitoto to Karekare, the mud pools and lakes, bush walks, rivers and glow worms; to Marlborough's sounds, the Remarkables filling the horizon, and golden hills of Otago; to the fresh air of Dunedin, splendour of Fiordland, and Bluff's oysters.

Or just a stretch of golden sand and sun sparkling on the sea will do.

Living with a common threat for a year makes it easier to see what makes this place special.

Being a small enough and connected enough society with an essentially positive outlook is part of it.

Knowing that we can pull through difficult times because we've managed it before - through conflicts, recessions, shootings, earthquakes, eruptions... and emotionally calamitous setbacks on sports fields.

We have always been good at team sports whether in a rowing boat or yacht or when dressed in black in stadiums.

People with very individualistic talents from different backgrounds can come together to achieve a performance level above what they could individually.

That sense of partnership is central to our national day, culture and identity.

It's the idea of collectively trying to make this a good place for all, even if we regularly fall short.

Respect, understanding, equality and working together to achieve common purpose are all key parts of the one whole.

We are all in the same waka.