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May 2008 newsletter

In this edition: Sexist and Sectarian Succession to Stay; Charles Boost for Aussie Republic; Opinion: Disbelief, Anger and Absurdity by Deborah Russell; Kingitanga Discusses Republican Future; Queen's Birthday Lost In Bermuda Triangle; United Kingdom Cans Commonwealth Scholarships; Spoken: Quotes from the republic debate; The Case For A Republic: Democratic Re-connection; Poll question: Are you celebrating Queen's Birthday or Matariki?

Spoken

"New Zealand is committed to the principle that everyone is born equal in dignity and worth."

- Governor-General Anand Satyanand

"On some level, the wedding had all the elements of your traditional magical fairy tale. On another level, the story has awkward and unpleasant aspects that highlight just how decidedly un-magical the British Royal Family can often be."

- JJ McCullough

"If the Act of Settlement is amended, changes need to be far more sweeping, better to reflect the new celebrity nature of monarchy: "Vote for king by texting 0801 if you want Wills, 0802 for Harry"

- Janice Turner

"As an outsider it baffles me that New Zealand and Australia haven't declared themselves republics yet."

- Peter Foster

Events

2 June:
Queen's Birthday Holiday

Monthly Poll

Last month's poll results:

Should the Prime Minister have discussed republicanism with the Queen?

Yes: 75%

No: 22%

Don't know: 3%

This month's question:

Are you celebrating Queen's Birthday or Matariki?

Results will be published in the next edition of Republic. Join our website to comment on polls.

Sexist and Sectarian Succession to Stay

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT has decided to keep the monarchy's sexist and sectarian succession law. On 30 April Gordon Brown's Cabinet announced that it would not go ahead with a proposed amendment to the Act of Settlement 1701 to remove discrimination against women and Catholics from succeeding to the throne. The decision came as Princess Anne's only son, Peter Philips, prepared to marry a Canadian Catholic, Autumn Kelly. Following the Cabinet's decision, it was announced that Miss Kelly had joined the Church of England. As a result her future husband did not have to give up his 11th place in line for the throne when the couple married on 17 May.

Max Fashion's 'Women's Republic of New Zealand' campaign plays up our gender-equality credentials. The monarchy undermines them. Image used with permission.

The back-down is despite a poll by The Daily Telegraph published on 1 May finding 78% of those surveyed wanted the law changed, and Buckingham Palace hinting at support for a change to the succession. The need for consultation with the other countries Queen Elizabeth remains head of state of appears to have sunk the proposal. The statement announcing the decision noted that change would require "...the consent of legislatures of member nations of the Commonwealth".

The back down shows the monarchy is unable to be reformed or modernised. Any attempts to do so in the United Kingdom could affect other Commonwealth members who retain the Queen as head of state. The monarchy - the symbolic head of our country - will continue to stand for values that are at odds with the values New Zealanders hold dear. Monarchists fear debating the succession law for fear of opening the institution up to wider debate.

New Zealand is a country with a Catholic Governor-General, a female heads of government, parliament and judiciary, and a strong secular tradition. The monarchy not only discriminates against women and Catholics, it discriminates against all of us. One correspondent to The Daily Telegraph argued removing the gender and religious discrimination would not go far enough: "...why should the elder daughter succeed before the younger son: isn't that age discrimination? Shouldn't we all decide which of them will be God's anointed by a secret ballot, preferably organised by the Electoral Reform Society? And why constrict the Crown only to the direct descendants of King George II, as at present; isn't that discriminatory to the 99.9 per cent of us who aren't?"

Budget 08: Governor-General More Expensive

THE $11M ANNUAL COST of the Governor-General and the $46m renovating his house would be better spent on a democratically-elected head of state than on a fly-by-night ribbon-cutting emissary of overseas royalty, the Republican Movement says.

The figures, published in this years Budget, show the office has become substantially more expensive. They contrast with the 2008 Irish budget, which shows the President of Ireland costs a mere $6.7m per year. The figures rebut the Monarchist League's claim that a New Zealand head of state would be "more expensive" than the Governor-General. A New Zealand head of state with similar powers to the Irish president would cost about the same.

Disbelief, Anger and Absurdity

By Deborah Russell

I'm veering between shaking my head in disbelief, anger, and simply laughing at the absurdity of it all. Despite overwhelming support for a change, the British Cabinet has decided to retain the law that makes women stand in line behind men when it comes to inheriting the throne.

Disbelief, because the second wave of the women's movement is over fifty years old now, and still it seems that the blokes at the top have not got the message. Let me spell it out – men and women are equal. Men are not superior to women, men are not better than women, men do not make better rulers than women simply by virtue of being male. To be sure, some men are better than some women at some things, and vice versa. But there is nothing inherently different between men and women that means that men should have automatic preference for positions of power and influence. At the very least, men and women should have equal opportunities to attain those positions of power and influence.

That's an old, old message, one that's been around for decades, one that most people have listened to, and importantly, one that most people have bought into. But not, it seems, the British cabinet. That's why I am shaking my head in disbelief. It’s as if feminism is something they have never even heard of.

And I'm angry too. They are sending a powerful message, that despite all the changes that have been wrought in our societies by the realisation that women are human beings too, at the end of the day, it's being male that's the important thing. They have dismissed half the human race as simply being not good enough, when there’s a man, any man, ahead in the line. That’s reason enough to be angry. However it’s the nature of the dismissal that makes raises my ire. It turns out that the reason they have shelved the problem is that it would take a lot of consequential law changes, and they would have to consult with the heads of Commonwealth countries first. But rather than making an in principle decision that the law should be changed, and starting a process to get the changes made, they've said that it's all just too difficult, and really, they can’t be bothered. It's yet another dismissal of women's rights as something not to be taken seriously.

Yet it's all so absurd. All that the "men first" decision shows is that the monarchy is hopelessly outdated, a relic of the days when kings rode to war, and women were diplomatic pawns to be traded in marriage. Retaining male primogeniture simply shows how disconnected and unreal the monarchy is. It's one more signal that we should free ourselves from this ancient hierarchy.

Kingitanga Discusses Republican Future

150 YEARS SINCE ITS FORMATION with the intention to defy the Crown's alienation of its land, the Kingitanga is looking to the future with New Zealand becoming a republic. The New Zealand Herald reported early in May comments by Tainui executive chairman Tukurangi Morgan on the issue at the organisation's anniversary celebrations in Ngaruawahia.

Mr Morgan said that with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd supporting the move towards a republic, the Kingitanga had been prompted to consider what a republic would mean for Maori. "We want to drive this for Maori. The Kingitanga affords us that opportunity and we're going to put it to the motu (country) while they're here" said Mr Morgan.

Queen's Birthday Lost In Bermuda Triangle

BRITAIN'S OLDEST COLONY will celebrate its last Queen's Birthday this year. The tiny British possession of Bermuda is set to abolish the mid-June holiday following this year's inaugural celebration of "National Hero's Day" in October. Reuters reported the island nation's pro-independence government made the move as part of its program to strengthen the country's identity.

Meanwhile in New Zealand, the yearly absurdity of councils and other government bodies preparing for the Maori New Year over the Queen's Birthday weekend continues. 2 June 2008 is New Zealand's official public holiday to celebrate the Queen's Birthday. However, Matariki, the Maori new year starts on 5 June and ends 5 July. Perhaps New Zealand should follow Bermuda's lead and make Queen's Birthday disappear - more and more of us celebrate Matariki instead. The Republican Movement can find no actual celebrations of the Queen's reign in New Zealand. If you know of any, please contact us or comment below.

Charles Boost for Aussie Republic

A ROY MORGAN RESEARCH POLL has found only 32% of those surveyed would support the monarchy should Prince Charles become King of Australia. Under Charles' reign, support for a republic would soar to 57% of electors.

Overall support for a republic now decreased marginally since the last survey in 2005 to 46%, while support for the monarchy rose slightly from 39% to 41%. The results are similar to a poll conducted by the Republican Movement last month, which found much stronger support for a republic once Prince Charles becomes King.

United Kingdom Cans Commonwealth Scholarships

BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY David Miliband has announced that the United Kingdom has canceled its funding of Commonwealth Scholarships for New Zealanders. The move represents yet another link between the United Kingdom and New Zealand coming to an end.

Writing in The Dominion Post Eleanor Bishop pointed out that the cancellation is very unfair, since the New Zealand government pays for British students to study in New Zealand. "The real unfairness is that our universities are still funding British students to study here" said Ms Bishop. The paper noted the end of the scholarships was yet another link severed between New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Ms Bishop's father, John Bishop, was even more direct in his analysis of the scholarships cancellation "...they abandoned our butter and cheese... they have progressively restricted our access, privileges and working rights in the UK. Now they don't even want out best scholars. That's the last straw."

The Case for a Republic

This month, we look at the problem of democratic disconnection in New Zealand's democracy, and how republicanism could address this disconnect.

RESEARCH BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION by Research NZ has found large numbers of Pacific Islanders, Asian, Maori and young New Zealanders are not aware that there is an election this year. Kicking off the Electoral Commissions enrollment campaign, an Electoral Enrolment Centre spokesperson said these four groups were the "...most disengaged with the elections".

The research is a reminder that we live in an age of political disconnection and dislocation. These two factors often lead to hatred of politicians and the political process. As a result democratic disconnection is growing. Any association of public life with politics is seen in a negative light - an issue the Australian republicans are all to aware of. They know apathy towards the political process is one of the most potent weapons for the monarchists. It is true Australians (and New Zealanders too) dislike politicians, who often rank below used car salesmen in confidence ratings. This is why the monarchists used "Vote No to the Politician's Republic" as their primary slogan for the 1999 republic referendum campaign, and argued that a President elected by Parliament would be a party hack - ironic, since that is often what happens with the Governor-General anyway. Yet, the monarchists willingly seek the support of many politicians, both on the left and right, for the monarchy. It seems that exploiting political antipathy does not extend to monarchy-supporting politicians.

Interestingly, most mainstream supporters of the monarchy - as opposed to monarchists - are not so hypocritical. The real and genuine dislike of politicians means that in the minds of many supporters of the monarchy, the primary argument against a republic is that it would lead to "more power for politicians". This seems to be the child of the argument that the monarch "denies power to the politicians". Exactly what power and when is never explained, because the Sovereign cannot deny even her own death warrant. If anything, the monarchy hands power on a gold plate to the most cunning politicians, who understand that the monarchy allows them to get on with the "efficient secret" of government.

Which raises the issue of a counter-argument to the claim that a republic leads to "more politicians and more election campaigns". It is not difficult to see that a democratic system where elected representatives and the means to elect them are shunned has an underlying problem. The classic argument against a republic - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - falls over in this regard. If under the monarchy our elected representatives are regarded so lowly, there is something wrong with the system. The problem is that our elections are focussed solely on electing the legislature - Parliament - and not other, albeit symbolic, offices to hold the legislature to account. As elections in the Republic of Ireland show, electing an office that does not have the power to direct policy leads to a national conversation about identity. That is a step towards creating real engagement with the political process, something that the status quo cannot offer.

Republican Movement News

THE REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT's 14th Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 9th May. Lewis Holden was re-elected as Chair, and Dave Guerin, David Farrar, Savage and Jordan Carter were re-elected as National Councillors.

Yearly subscriptions for Republican Movement members are due by the start of June. Further details will be sent out to members following this newsletter.