Only a New Zealander can be our Head of State

News from London that Prince William and his wife Kate are expecting a second child will be of interest to followers of the royal family but it will have no effect on the campaign for a New Zealand republic.

Achieving an independent and democratically selected head of state is about New Zealanders gaining control over their head of state. The role can only be awarded to someone based on their career and hard work. It cannot be given to someone just because they were born into the right family.

It is important that we reform the position of Governor-General so that it reflects the needs of contemporary New Zealand. At issue is not about how many members of the royal family there are or what they are named. It is about New Zealanders and how we live together as a diverse and modern nation.

Pregnancy can be a trying time for any couple and the happy news is always tinged with caution. For parents all that matters is that their baby is born healthy and that both mother and baby remain well throughout. William and Kate are no different and if royalists really want to help the couple they will leave them alone and let them enjoy the pregnancy away from the media glare.

William himself recognises how relevant the issue is in the greater scheme of things.  Commenting on the announcement he said "It's important that we all focus on the big news and the big international and domestic things that are going on at the moment," 

Right now in Britain the biggest issue is next week's referendum on Scottish independence. Here in New Zealand it is the election of a new government. 

Prime Minister John Key is mistaken if he believes all "New Zealanders would rejoice at the baby announcement". Clearly there are some New Zealanders who will be very happy to hear the news but the majority of New Zealanders have either a passing interest or no interest at all. 

Many Kiwis will be happy for the couple (and for all the couples here in New Zealand who are expecting) but far more Kiwis however are working to make sure New Zealand can better meet the needs of future generations.

Reforming our head of state is all about our future together. Becoming New Zealand's head of state should be something that all New Zealander children can aspire to regardless of what family they were born in to.

The Head of State and the Head of Government

Yesterday, August 31st, was the third anniversary of Sir Jerry Matepare taking office as Governor-General.  He is our 20th Governor-General and only the 10th New Zealander to hold the position. He is also the 9th Governor-General of Niue

Prime Minister John Key is the Head of Government. As such, he is entitled to appoint the Head of State's representative. He appointed Sir Jerry Mateparae.  Whoever becomes PM on September 20th will choose the next Governor-General in 2016.

New Zealand's actual Head of State is still the British Head of State but in effect all of the work is done by the Governor-General. Government House is an important part of our constitution.

At the moment our current Head of Government is busy dealing with re-election. It has been a very intense campaign so far  and all of the various political parties are looking to gain as many seats in Parliament as possible. United Future, the Green Party and Labour all support a referendum to look at reforming our Head of State. National has stated they support a referendum on changing our flag.

Our position is clear. We think it is more important to change the way our Head of State is chosen. New Zealand's head of state should be a democratically selected New Zealander. The office must be independent from all party politics. Once voters have made that more important change we can then all look at the symbolic issue of a new flag.

Both debates are an inevitable result of New Zealand's new sense of nationhood and a continuation of New Zealand's long drive to full independence. If the flag debate happens first it will help focus attention on New Zealand's core values.

Issues of political integrity, housing, education, health, taxation and transport are all getting far more attention then the Head of State changes but that does not mean it is unimportant.  Irrespective of who forms the next government and who our next Head of Government is New Zealand must still reform its Head of State. There is no escaping that inevitability.

Be sure and vote in this election for a party who you support and be sure to encourage everyone you know to vote. The right to choose who holds political office and who exerts constitutional power is fundemental. Exercise your right to choose. Have your say.

We need 300 000 more New Zealanders

Election time is here and it is a good opportunity to spread the news that a New Zealand head of state is the better option for all New Zealanders.

Two polls in a row have shown that 1.34 million kiwis already want a Kiwi head of state but there are around 3.04 million people enrolled to vote in New Zealand.

To comfortably win a referendum on a head of state we need another  300 000 voters to support the cause. That means a long term campaign to get our message out and make sure that each and every voter understands why a New Zealand republic will be an improvement.  

We also need to remember that support for change is highest among younger voters and that younger voters are less likely to vote. Victory in a referendum will mean convincing people to to get out and actively vote for change. Voter turn-out in the referendum will be crucial.

Our goal is simple. We want a referendum and we want to win that referendum. The Greens and Labour support a referendum. National supports a flag referendum instead. Whatever party you support, whatever other views you have you can do your part by asking your local election candidates to say what their view is. 

Stand up at public meetings and ask whether they support a NZ head of state. Submit your questions to the candidates and take the opportunity an election presents to ask the leading candidates in your area what they think. 

Health, housing, political tactics, inequality, and education will always dominate any election campaign but we can all do our part to promote a New Zealand Republic and a New Zealand head of State. A referendum is still some years away. All the more reason to start spreading the word now!

Glasgow 2014: Governor-General or Head of State?

If New Zealanders want to know what it would be like to have a Kiwi head of state they need look no further than our current Governor-General.

This week Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae is in Glasgow to "represent the Government and the people of New Zealand".  He has met with the  New Zealand games team and attended the Games closing ceremony. He was part of the launch of Creative New Zealand's promotional events for the Edinburgh Arts Festival and attended the Edinburgh Military tattoo. Today he will participate in a World War One commemoration service along side Prince Charles and the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

In 2014, the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth is New Zealand's head of state in name only. The actual work and the mana of the office all belong to our Governor-General.  Queen Elizabeth has been on the British throne for 60 years and despite all of this happening two hours drive from Balmoral Castle, the Monarch is unable to properly represent New Zealand.  Instead we have sent our 'defacto head of state' to the other side of the world to represent our interests and viewpoint.

The various heads of states of Commonwealth countries have all visited Glasgow and been accorded due respect as their nation's highest representative yet our Governor-General is always in the shadow of the British royal family. Instead of standing aside Prince Charles as an equal Sir Jerry Mateparae will be looked on as a slightly lesser dignatory. Almost, but not quite, a commonwealth head of state.

New Zealanders and their Governor-General deserve better.  We need to drop the pretence and stand with our own authority as a sovereign Commonwealth nation.

Pretending that the Governor-General is the Monarch's representative and not really our head of state is no longer tenable and no longer necessary. Prince Charles has little interest in fulfilling the role and it is time New Zealand reformed the role of Governor-General and made the final changes necessary for New Zealand to achieve full sovereignty.

Kia mana motuhake a Aotearoa. It's time for New Zealand stand with it's own authority.

Most Commonwealth members have their own Head of State

The Commonwealth Games is a big reason why so many New Zealanders value Commonwealth membership but some Kiwis still don't realise that becoming a republic, with our own Head of State, does not mean NZ would leave the Commonwealth.

The majority of commonwealth countries are already republics and choose their own Head of State.  The Commonwealth has 53 member states. 32 are republics, 6 are monarchies and have a hereditary Head of State, 15 more are 'Commonwealth Realms' with the British monarch acting in place of a local Head of State.  

Achieving republic status will not affect Commonwealth membership because Member states have agreed that membership will continue when a state changes its constitutional arrangements:

[W]here an existing member changes its formal constitutional status, it should not have to reapply for Commonwealth membership provided that it continues to meet all the criteria for membership.

(Final Communiqué - CHOGM 2007)

Commonwealth membership does not require New Zealand to have the same Head of State as Great Britain

Membership requires each country to accept the Commonwealth's fundamental values, principles, and priorities. Member states must demonstrate a commitment to democracy, rule of law, judicial independence, good governance, and protection of human rights;

Members must have a historic constitutional Commonwealth association; and accept the conventions for inter-Commonwealth relations. They must also acknowledge that Queen Elizabeth II, holds the symbolic position of ‘Head of the Commonwealth’.

‘Head of the Commonwealth’ is not a hereditary position.  It is separate from the Monarch's role as Head of State.

 18 former Commonwealth realms have all become republics and are still members of the Commonwealth (including India and South Africa).

A New Zealand republic would continue to be a leader in Commomnwealth relations and Kiwis can continue enjoying our role in the Commonwealth Games.

Kia Waimarie. Best of luck to the everyone competing at this year's Games in Glasgow.

Royal tour no king hit

Support for a New Zealand head of state remains high after April's royal visit.

In March, just prior to the visit, a poll of eligible voters had support for a Kiwi head of state at 44%. Support for the next British Monarch was at 46%. 10% were undecided. The same poll taken in June 2014 shows support is still at 44% with a 3% swing toward a royal head of state. There was corresponding 3% decrease in undecided voters.

The latest poll was carried out by Curia Research between 16 June and July 1st. It surveyed 1026 eligible voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. The March poll surveyed 1038 eligible voters and had the same margin of error.

The head of state campaign leader, Savage, is pleased with the result, "Royal tours get a lot of publicity but long-term we don't think they change peoples' opinions very much.  There was a massive amount of hype around this last royal visit but support for a New Zealand head of state remains very strong."

"After the last royal visit we expected a small swing toward a royal head of state so we're confident our campaign is on the right track and that our blueprint for change is a good solution to the debate."

"Royalists threw everything into this visit. They bought in their A-list royals and spent millions of dollars promoting them. We decided to conserve our funds and ride it out."

"A similar shift in the polls happened after the Charles and Camilla tour in 2012. As the hype dies away voters return to looking at the detail and thinking about the advantages of choosing a New Zealander.  The head of state debate is not about personal popularity."

"Support for a British head of state is still lower than two years but we'll be waiting until next time this question is polled to judge the long-term trend."

Extra spending uncovered

"Our monitoring has so far uncovered an extra $700 000 of spending on the royal visit in excess of the 1 million already announced. We expect the final bill for the royal visit to be over $2 million. That equates to about 5 years travel costs for the Governor-General. Spending $200 000 a day on royal publicity tours is not going to deliver a better head of state.  Far better to spend it on the person who is actually doing all the work."

"It is inevitable that New Zealand will one day have its own head of State. New Zealand Republic wants to make sure that the office of Head of State serve the needs of all New Zealanders and not just royalists."