New Zealand's Next Governor-General: An open letter to the Prime Minister

MEDIA RELEASE 3 October 2010

"The Republican Movement believes that nominations for the next Governor-General ought to be made by the general public, and the nominee subject to approval of three-quarters of MPs and a majority of party leaders in the House of Representatives" said Lewis Holden, chair of the Republican Movement.

The Republican Movement has sent an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to start such a process for the appointment of the next Governor-General in 2011.

"Even if a New Zealand republic is not inevitable, we believe this change will clarify the vague and undefined conventions around the appointment and dismissal of the Governor-General. For example, it is often claimed the Prime Minister must consult with the Leader of the Opposition, however this appears to have rarely been the case since New Zealand Prime Ministers began appointing New Zealanders to the office in 1967" continued Mr Holden.

Over the last few months, 1,200 New Zealanders have put forward their nominations for Governor-General through our website (www.gov-gen.org.nz).

"Electing the Governor-General is a smart way to clarify vague constitutional conventions. We hope the Prime Minister will take note of this list and our proposals" concluded Mr Holden.

NOTES

The letter and profiles of the top ten nominees is here:
http://www.republic.org.nz/files/Open letter to Prime Minister John Key.pdf

ENDS

Media contact: Lewis Holden 027 699 1350 (m)

The Republican Movement is a network of New Zealanders who want our head of state to be elected by New Zealanders - either directly or indirectly.

We are committed to:

• involving all New Zealanders in the republic debate;
• providing relevant and reliable information;
• focusing on ideas, not personalities;
• winning a referendum to establish the republic;

Creating a republic does not require any change to the Treaty of
Waitangi, flag or Commonwealth membership. For more information, see our
website: www.republic.org.nz