Earlier this year, Prince Charles gained much publicity for his alleged boycott of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Prince Charles, who has in the past criticised the Chinese leadership, is apparently doing so because of his views on China's occupation of Tibet. Fair enough - HRH is entitled to his own views.

Yet, yesterday's Otago Daily Times reported that the Queen's representative in New Zealand, Governor-General Anand Satyanand, will be travelling to Beijing to support the New Zealand team. You've got to laugh at the absurdity of it: the heir to the throne isn't attending, yet our virtual head of State (who is actually New Zealand's head of State but sure acts like it) is on his way. 

The Canberra Times reports Oxford University Professor Iain McLean has stated the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's government in 1975 is a reason to abolish the monarchy.

This month's edition of Investigate Magazine carries my letter in response to Matt Showering's argument against a New Zealand republic. There's no need to reproduce Mr Wishart's response here, as the gist of it is in my response:

RE: AN ABSOLUTE REPUBLICAN

Dear Ian,

Your response (Vox populi, July 2008) that a "shallow" gene-pool means that a New Zealand head of State would be influenced by the Prime Minister in the same way Governors-General are is nonsense. It is especially so given your claim in Absolute Power that the Governor-General has not kept the Prime Minister in check.

The New Zealand Herald reports more details of next week's coronation of the King of Tonga, George V. The ceremony has been "toned down" to cost a mere NZ$3 million, or a third of New Zealand's aid budget to Tonga, after pro-democracy riots last year.

Coronations are a useful distraction - something politicians and anyone who'se read The English Constitution know all to well. Sir Winston Churchill allegedly wanted Queen Elizabeth's coronation to be closer to the 1955 general election, for example.

Is John Key a monarchist? Would a National-led Government bring back from the dead things like the Queen's Counsel titles, the Queen's Portrait in public buildings, or require kids to learn "God Save the Queen" and generally take a pro-monarchy policy? There's no simple answer to these questions, but there are a couple of clues either way.

If you're short on ideas on who to nominate as New Zealand's first head of State, check out The New Zealand Edge's Heroes section. It's a brilliant collection of great New Zealanders who've made a difference around the world.

Brian Anderton of New Zealand Monarchy nominated Queen Elizabeth II on the President of New Zealand website. Fair enough - Brian's a staunch monarchist, so you'd expect such a nomination. With Brian's permission, we've reproduced his explanation of the nomination below, as it is perhaps the best example of a "Elizabethan" argument for the monarchy:

It sounds funny, but the Republic of New Zealand Party has put out something on New Zealand becoming a republic. But it's not actually funny because despite the party's name, the policy is not included in the party's constitution policy information, nor is it included in their "5 Ways Forward" platform for this year's election. Most of the party's media releases relate to "men's rights" issues, the Electoral Finance Act, and not republicanism.

The Republic of New Zealand Party, much unlike the Republican Movement, is a political organisation which only has republicanism as a small part of it's platform. Nonetheless, the party's Constitutional Spokesman Wayne Hawkins articulated the party's policy position in the speech just posted on their website.

The Dominion Post reports on the plans for upgrades to the Governor-General's residence, the main driver of the rising cost of the office. As we revealed in May, the Governor-General now costs the New Zealand taxpayer $11m a year, far more than the President of Ireland, who has a budget of NZ$6.7m.

The article notes that Prime Minister Helen Clark said in May that Government House was "ripe for conservation work". Reports at the time - such as some of the upstairs bathrooms not working - confirmed this. Clark also saidL

"It is a nationally significant heritage building and the Cabinet is in no doubt that, despite the significant capital costs, it's essential that it be preserved and enhanced to support the work of a 21st century governor-general."

Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced that the UK's Ancestry Visa program is to remain. Clark said the decision "...reflects the huge goodwill towards New Zealand in Britain". It also reflects the economic reality that New Zealanders like to earn British pounds before traveling across Europe.

While this is good news for those of us who're planning on going to the UK for a long period of time, the fact that the British government even considered getting rid of the visas shows a sea-change in attitudes in the "mother country". With the Euro-zone still expanding, and thus the number of migrants seeking to live and work in the UK, the pressure will remain for Britain to tighten its immigration rules still further.