August 2007 newsletter

In this edition: Debate to mark Dominion centenary, Call September national holiday, Poll question: Should 26th September become a national holiday? The Way Forward by Oliver Woods, quotes in the republic debate from Spoken, and the Case For a Republic: three reasons for a republic.

Debate to mark Dominion centenary

THE REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT will mark the 100th anniversary of New Zealand's dominion declaration - September 26th - with a debate on the republic. The debate will be the only organised recognition of the centenary, which the government has chosen to ignore. The only other event planned is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Dominion Post newspaper, which originated from The Dominion, founded on 26th September 1907.

Auckland University Debating Society will host the debate, which will include speakers from the society, alongside speakers from the Republican Movement and the Monarchist League. Further details of the event will be announced shortly.

Call for September national holiday

AUCKLAND ACADEMIC Keith Rankin is calling for the 26th September - formerly Dominion Day - to be made a new national holiday. The Unitec business school lecturer argued "2007 is the centenary of New Zealand ceasing to be a colony, and becoming a fully independent nation within the British Empire. At the time the changes were more symbolic than real, because, as far as the empire was concerned, 1907 was the heyday of imperial hype." To balance statutory holidays - and not create a greater burden on employers - Mr Rankin proposes abolishing the statutory holiday on the second of January.

Noting that Peter Dunne had tried and failed to change the name of Waitangi Day to "New Zealand Day", Mr Rankin stated "New Zealand needs a New Zealand Day holiday separate from Waitangi Day". This is a development from Peter Dunne's New Zealand Day Bill.

This month's poll question: Should 26th September become a national holiday?

Results will be published in the September edition of REPUBLIC.

National: Gov-Gen's Victoria's Cross ceremony used for political gain

NATIONAL IS ACCUSING LABOUR of using the Victoria Cross award ceremony of Corporal Willy Apiata for political gain.

Tau Henare MP, National's spokesperson on Maori affairs, accused Government House of allowing the ceremony to become politicised by approving a guest list which only included Government MPs. Corporal Apiata received his Victoria Cross at Government House on 22 August. Attending the event were members of the Corporal Apiata's family, the SAS, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Defence Minister Phil Goff and Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia.

The guest list itself was put together by the Honours Secretariat, which is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet - as is the Governor-Generals office.

Mr Henare's outburst confirms something that republicans already know: the Governor-General is not an independent check on the Prime Minister and Cabinet that supporters of the monarchy claim it is. This means that politicians will use the office to their own advantage - using the petticoat of the monarchy. Far from denying politicians ultimate power, the Governor-Generals office does almost exactly the opposite.

The Case for a Republic

This month we look at the three key reasons for a republic.

1. A republic means a New Zealand head of state, to affirm our nationhood

We're an independent, sovereign country, and yet we don't have our own head of state. How we see ourselves in the world is of great importance to our national identity, which is crucial to New Zealand’s success in an increasingly global world. Our current constitutional arrangements cause confusion overseas as to whether New Zealand is a colony, or part of Australia: a republic will signal our independence to the world, and it is an expression of confidence in ourselves. Even though electing our own head of state is a simple step, it is an important one because it fosters a sense of nationhood.

Republicanism is an affirmation of the ideas and values that bind us together. It is time that our constitution reflects reality. New Zealand would remain part of the Commonwealth as a practical and useful link to our past. We have a head of state that only represents a token link to our history as a colony of Britain. New Zealanders with British ancestry do not need token links to vindicate their history, anymore than Dutch, German, Japanese or Irish New Zealanders need such links.

The move to a republic is not about rugged nationalism or isolationism, it is about signaling our independence to the world, and something we can’t do under the status quo. The Governor-General is a de facto head of state. We should bring our constitution in to line with this historical and contemporary reality. New Zealand has been a legally independent, sovereign state since adopting the Statute of Westminster in 1947. A constitution to ensure that a New Zealand head of state represents us is an important but legally simple change to make.

2. A republic means a democratic, accountable constitutional safeguard

The head of state needs to be an effective constitutional safeguard. The Sovereign and Governor-General are not effective constitutional safeguards. The Governor-General is unable to resolve constitutional crises because the Prime Minister holds the power dismiss and replace them at any time, and the monarch will never get involved in New Zealand politics, choosing to remain "above politics". Most checks and balances within our system were conceived to check the excesses of the power of the monarch, and not the Prime Minister and Cabinet. As executive power has moved from the monarch to Cabinet, these checks have become ineffective. A republic would rectify this, ensuring the head of state could act in times of constitutional crises. A head of state that is better able to act in times of crises works as a much better restraint on the power of the executive - the Prime Minister and Cabinet - thus a republic will restrain the politicians' powers.

With a republic, the role of the head of state will be clearer, and therefore we will be able to add certainty to gray areas in our constitution, such as which party is to form the government. Monarchy represents the belief that the authority of government devolves from a single individual (the Sovereign). In contrast, republicanism represents the authority of government is gained by the consent of the governed.

3. A republic will bring the Treaty of Waitangi home

The responsibilities of the Crown would be transferred to the New Zealand head of state; responsibility for the Treaty would then rest where it always has rested – the New Zealand government. The constitutional monarchy perpetuates the lie that 'the Crown' protects Maori (and Pakeha) interests under the Treaty of Waitangi.

And because republic makes New Zealanders citizens, not subjects it affirms that we value egalitarianism, a fair go for all and the conviction that "a King is as good as a commoner". These values are diametrically opposed to the monarchy. We believe in appointment by merit, and while elections or various schemes for appointment of the Head of State might not be perfect, they're certainly better than selection by birth. The monarchy discriminates on the basis of gender, religion, birth and indirectly race. There is little support for reform of the archaic succession laws governing the selection of the monarch from supporters of the monarchy.