Governor-General

Blog posts on the office of Governor-General

Not the head of state - just the de facto

Submitted by LJ Holden on 25 January, 2012 - 21:03

Radio New Zealand has made the mistake of giving the Governor-General the title of Head of State. We have, of course, told them off and read the Constitution Act. Their mistake does raise an important point though: the Governor-General is seen as our head of state.

Finland, Finland, Finland*

Submitted by LJ Holden on 8 January, 2012 - 11:47
Finland goes to the polls to choose a new president on January 22. Like our Governor-General, the President of Finland has limited constitutional powers, with the notable exception of Foreign Policy (excluding the European Union).

New Year's Honours and Mateparae's speech

Submitted by Savage on 31 December, 2011 - 10:56

Government House has a youtube channel and is broadcasting the Governor-General's New Year address - watch it online. The New Year's Honours List has also been announced.

Absurdistan

Submitted by LJ Holden on 20 December, 2011 - 21:40

Václav Havel, leader of the Velvet Revolution, 1936 - 2011

The late former president of Czech Republic, Václav Havel, often described the Soviet system in Czechoslovakia as "Absurdistan" - a country where absurdity was the norm.

Reserve powers in action!

Submitted by LJ Holden on 15 December, 2011 - 00:05

The Governor-General appointed a new government today. By doing so he used one of his "reserve powers" - the ability to appoint the Prime Minister and Cabinet (technically the Executive Council) without anyone "advising" him to do so. All on his own, he re-appointed Prime Minister John Key.

Irish presidency vastly better than our Governor-General

Submitted by LJ Holden on 2 November, 2011 - 17:40
This article was written in response to claims made by Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM).

Monarchy and homepathy

Submitted by LJ Holden on 6 September, 2011 - 05:14

John Pagani blogs at Stuff:

No education resources under Sir Jerry?

Submitted by LJ Holden on 4 September, 2011 - 00:16

Update: Government House have informed me by e-mail this afternoon that the resources are in fact being updated for Sir Jerry. I apologise to Government House for any error on my part.

New Zealanders are fairly poorly informed when it comes to how our government works.

New Governor-General settles in, settles scores

Submitted by LJ Holden on 2 September, 2011 - 13:23

No surprises that our new Governor-General, Sir Jerry* Mataparae, won't express a view on the transition to a New Zealand republic:

Te toka tu moana?

Submitted by Savage on 31 August, 2011 - 21:13

Sir Jerry Mataparae paid tribute in his speech today to the people who preceded him in the role of Governor-General and looked to their example to guide him. " All brought their unique qualities, character, energy, and mana to the role. They have been steadfast like Te toka tu moana - The rock standing in the ocean. 


It is common to describe a person of great standing and leadership as 'Te toka tu moana'. Doing so for any Governor General characterises that person as an anchor for the ship of state and while I do not disagree with his tribute or his use of the metaphor it seems clear to me that the Governor-General's limited constitutional powers means the office is far from being a solid constitutional rock for New Zealand. Government House it is more like a sand dune in the tide. Ready to sink beneath the waves in the event of any great constitutional storm.


A more fitting description for the office of Governor-General would be Te taipū tu moana , The sand dune standing in the ocean'.  Sir Jerry Mataparae might be a rock but constitutionally he is standing on very shaky ground.

Political statements royal and vice-regal

Submitted by LJ Holden on 25 August, 2011 - 19:56

No Right Turn points to the revelation that Prince Charles' charities have been lobbying ministers in the UK over issues such as education and architecture. He asks:

So, if the monarchy isn't neutral, what's the argument against having an elected head of state again?

The answer, of course, is that there is none. The Sovereign is not an effective check and balance, nor are they symbolically relevant to New Zealand.
Meanwhile, our outgoing Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, made an interesting statement to Radio New Zealand on the weekend: 

Knighthoods and Sir Paul

Submitted by Savage on 16 August, 2011 - 18:33

The recent press release about the passing of Paul (Sir Paul) Reeves has touched off some debate among members regarding knighthoods and titular honours. What do you think about the way we use the terms Sir and Dame?

Saying farewell to the Governor-General

Submitted by LJ Holden on 14 August, 2011 - 11:43
The Beehive has announced the details of the Governor-General's "State Farewell". According to Gavin McLean in his excellent book The Governors, the State Farewell is a quintessentially colonial affair.

Dame Jenny Shipley critical of Queen's Birthday Honours

Submitted by Savage on 8 June, 2011 - 23:57

Dame Jenny Shipley has called attention the very obvious gender bias in the recent Queen's Birthday honours list.  In last weeks list, six times as many men as women were made members of the Order of New Zealand. 

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