Latest Poll: Support for NZ head of state rising

Good news for head of state campaigners in the latest nationwide poll. The poll, by Curia Market Research, was commissioned by New Zealand Republic. It shows support for a New Zealand Head of State has risen to 44%. Support from people aged 18-30 is at now at 66%. Support for using the British Monarchy to provide our next head of state has fallen to 46%. Respondents were also asked whether they preferred direct or indirect election but there was no change in the ratio. There is still a three to one preference for direct election.

The results follow on from the last years poll in April 2013 when support for using the British Monarch was sitting at 52%. Since then the campaign has focused on making sure as many New Zealanders as possible know what the changes will likely entail. Chair of the campaign, Savage, has commented "We have been promoting our blueprint for change, and the need for a referendum, whenever we get a chance".

"We are confident that when New Zealanders are given accurate information they will see there is a need to change how things are done. When they hear and read what we are proposing they can tell there are clear benefits to having a New Zealander in the role".

Former governor-general Dame Catherine Tizard told Fairfax Media she was delighted to hear the figures. "I have been advocating for some time now that we should be as a country making plans for what we propose to do when her majesty is no longer with us," she said.

The poll of 1038 people was conducted between March 3rd and March 18th. It asked respondents "What is your preference for New Zealand's next head of State out of the following three options?

1. The next British Monarch becomes King of New Zealand.
2. New Zealand has a New Zealander as Head of State elected by a two thirds majority in Parliament.
3. New Zealand has a New Zealander as Head of State who is elected by the popular vote.

On current polling 46% preferred to have a King, 11% preferred indirect election and 33% direct election. 10% of people were unsure or undecided. There was a clear age correlation. In the 18-30 age group support for change was at 66% with support at 45% for 31-45 year olds and at 48% for 46 to 60. Support among the 60+ age group was only at 35%.

Sir Don McKinnon: republic is inevitable

Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Sir Don McKinnon has met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles many times and says he is "quite certain" that the royal family understand that it is inevitable that we will one day have our own head of state. He has called for a "open and candid" debate on the matter. You can watch his comments here (from about four minutes in) or get a quick summary of his comments here.

Sir Don revealed that in all there are now six out of 16 Commonwealth realms where there are campaigns or initiatives to transition to a parliamentary republic.

We commend Sir Don for taking the lead on this matter and raising the issue at this important time. We advocate a clear referendum process and our campaign is focused on the establishment of a Constitutional Commission to look at how best to make the change to an NZ Head of State. Such a commission would start by developing two alternative models for nominating and electing a head of state. One involving direct election and the one indirect election (via two-thirds majority) in parliament. How New Zealanders feel about these options will become more apparent when the latest poll is released Monday morning.

Reporters keen to hear our plans

Our latest poll results will be released tomorrow and the news media have been contacting the campaign interested to know what we think of the impending royal visit. Some have been disappointed to hear that we aren't too worried about it

Our campaign is a long term one. We want two referendums held on New Zealand's head of state and we want to win both referendums. A short visit by two members of the British royal family gets people thinking about why we still use the Monarchy to supply us with a head of state but it does not change our campaign's long term goals. Our eyes are firmly on the bigger picture and our plans are all contained in our policy statement.

The royal couple are celebrities and, whether or not you see much sense in that, it is a fact that there are people who are quite looking forward to seeing them in person. Being interested in seeing royality in person and supporting a New Zealand head of state are two different things. It is quite possible to do both. Naturally we question whether spending so much money on the visit is worth the investment from a PR perspective and we question how useful it is to over-hype the event but our main aim is to let as many New Zealanders as possible know that there is a better way to do things. We are not advocating for any kind of 'celebrity head of state' as we don't think it helps our democracy to prosper.

Nothing the royal visitors do while they are here will solve the ongoing head of state problem. The clothes they wear and the places they visit are interesting to some but only a clear and well thought out reform process will deliver results for Kiwis. New Zealanders are quite capable of choosing their own head of state and the poll results out tomorrow show that interest in using the monarchy is beginning to wane.

New Zealanders value political freedom

New Zealand often does well in international rankings and it is no surprise that we should rank first in the world with regard to 'social progress'. New Zealanders are not afraid to face up to problems and look for solutions. We are a small, highly literate country with a stable political system. We value individuality, diversity and freedom of choice. We are blessed with a beautiful country. Of course, how we choose our head of state was not included in the ranking criteria used but we believe New Zealand can improve its democracy even more by transitioning to an independent head of state. We think it is only fair that New Zealanders have a say in who holds our highest public office and there are real benefits to updating how we do things.

No one is saying New Zealand is perfect. In terms of 'Health and Wellness' we ranked 35th. In 'Affordable Housing' we ranked 21st. In 'Ecosystem and Sustainability' we ranked 32nd. There is always room for improvement and while we can pat ourselves on the back we can't become complacent.

The improvement we are advocating is a New Zealander as head of State. We are not advocating wholesale change or radical reform. We simply say that a careful step-by-step process over several years can deliver a head of State more in keeping with contemporary New Zealand. Reforming our head of state would not be hard and we have set out a clear framework for how it can be achieved. You can read our policy statement on this website. If you want to help the campaign you can donate at http://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/kiwiheadofstate or you visit our donations page http://www.republic.org.nz/donate/. New Zealand is a capable country and we are not afraid to embrace change.

War of words ensnares Prime Minister and Governor-General

An unseemly spat has caused our Prime Minister to publicly insult former Chief Superintendent Dai Davies, former head of the Royal Protection Squad in the UK. It started when PR staff at Government House and the Department of Internal Affairs (together with PR staff at Kensington Place) decided to stage a 9 day, 'whistle-stop' tour of New Zealand by William and Kate. 

Nostalgic stories of previous royal visits have been appearing in magazines and the news media. Royal watchers are being encouraged to line the streets to see the couple. The visit is designed to promote royalty and use royal celebrity to promote New Zealand products and places. Part of the PR campaign has involved giving out detailed information on where the visitors will be and along which routes their cars will travel. The New Zealand Governor-General's twitter account has been used to send out information encouraging the public to be excited by the visit but the tweets in question are being written by members of the PR team and not by the Governor-General himself. 

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Dai Davies described whoever decided to release such detailed information as "an idiot" claiming it compromised the couple's security. He has since insisted that the Daily Mirror article quoted him out of context and it seems clear he was not directing his insult at the Governor-General. Our Prime Minister has now entered the debate claiming "that bloke's an idiot, the Governor-General certainly isn't". Former Chief Superintendent Davies could be right about the risks but his arguments have been refuted on the grounds that security for the visit has been cleared by Kensington Palace and the New Zealand Police.

What is unseemly about all this is that the Governor-General's twitter account should not have been used to promote the tour in the way it was. Our Prime Minister should have remained above the fray. The office of Governor-General is supposed to have a level of decorum and it needs to rethink its use of social media. The Prime Minister of New Zealand should not be getting involved and calling people names in a tit-for-tat argument. The royal 'celebrity head of state' road show is getting out of hand and New Zealand deserves better.

A new flag and a new head of state are both inevitable

John Key and the Cabinet have followed the New Zealand Herald's advice and given what he described as a "very thoughtful speech" about choosing a new flag after a January 30th editorial had argued that "if there is to be a change...it must be the product of a far more professional exercise and carefully considered decision". At the time we argued for a two stage referendum process similar to the electoral change referendums and similar to our own plans for a two stage referendum on the head of state. Our proposal is for the setting up of a constitutional commission outside parliament (with cross party support inside parliament) who would develop two alternative electoral options - one using direct election and one indirect election. Those two models would be put to voters in an indicator referendum that would measure whether we wanted a democratic head of state and whether we preferred direct or indirect election. From there detailed plans would be drawn up and a final binding referendum would be held. The two stage flag referendum process now being suggested by the Prime Minister is a big boost for the campaign for a New Zealand head of state because it will encourage all New Zealanders to think about what we stand for as a nation and about those final steps to full independence. The PM can try and talk down the republic issue as much as he likes but there is no escaping the obvious conclusion that having our own head of state is a far more meaningful and important change. New Zealand will not be independent from Britain until we have a New Zealander as head of state. Both are changes that have to happen.