BlueLibs to debate republic

National's "Blue Liberals" policy advisory group are to discuss the republican issue at their first annual conference, to be held sometime at the start of 2011. Here's an excerpt from their latest newsletter:

The Republican option

The status of the monarch as Head of State has been an open question for some time and was a subject debated at the recent constitutional conference hosted at Parliament. Some have said that New Zealand's transition to a republic is "inevitable." Is it? And if it is, what measures will be put in place to ensure that the constitutional conventions of the Westminster system continue to serve us. Is this the time for a written constitution and a greater role for the courts? What about Maori links to the Crown? Are we better off leaving things as they are? This is a fruitful area for discussion and hot debate.

As I noted the other day, National considered a policy of holding a referendum on a republic once the Queen's reign ends, back in 2001. It looks like the conversation is about to get started again. It's been forced on them by Labour's growing willingness to discuss the issue, as No Right Turn pointed out, largely as a consequence of Keith Locke's Head of State Referenda Bill. So despite the Bill's defeat, the issue hasn't and won't go away.