A new opinion poll finds few New Zealanders can name the Queen as head of state, with most thinking the Governor-General is our head of state. The poll of 1,000 voting-age New Zealanders, taken in May 2020, asked: “Can you please tell me who is New Zealand’s Head of State?”

The Queen’s Birthday public holiday is irrelevant to modern-day Aotearoa. There are plenty of better alternatives.

New Zealand Republic welcomes calls to make Matariki a public holiday. We have a petition to parliament to designate a day to be observed every year to mark the Māori New Year