September 2008 newsletter

In this edition: Then There Were Five; Maori TV Play Promotes Republic Debate: John Key: Republic 'Inevitable'; Malcolm Turnbull to Lead Aussie Liberals; Opinion: Commonwealth Membership by Lewis Holden; Republican Movement Joins The Movement; Steve Maharey: Time to Become a Republic.

Then There Were Five

VOTING OPENED for New Zealand's first ever presidential election earlier this month.

As the political hoardings went up for the general election, the Republican Movement allowed New Zealanders to set aside party politics and rigid convention and tell the world who we really want as our head of State.

More than 1,300 votes were cast on the President of New Zealand website over the past month, as voters narrowed down ten nominees to select their five top candidates. Nominees falling by the wayside are writer Vincent O'Sullivan, jurist Sir Kenneth Keith, former politicians Don McKinnon and Douglas Graham and businessman Sir Robert Jones.

The five top candidates for the presidency (in alphabetical order) are: Professor James Belich, Jim Bolger, Dr Claudia Orange, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Sir Wilson Whineray.

These candidates show that New Zealand is more than capable of producing an able New Zealander to be our head of State. We do not need the Royal family to fill in the role - and the process of election is more democratic than the Prime Minister's appointment of the Governor-General.

Voting is by a simple preference, where voters rank their candidates from 1 - 5. Multiple votes from the same computer are not counted. The ballot runs for six weeks, closing on Friday, October 31.

Whoever takes the Treasury benches on 8 November will have the ability to lead the debate on republicanism. Helen Clark and John Key should take note that a growing number of New Zealanders want our head of State to be a New Zealander, and take action to give New Zealanders a choice on the matter" concluded Mr Holden.

Maori TV Play Promotes Republic Debate

A TV PLAY SCREENING ON MAORI TV next week will take a light-hearted look at the republic debate. Written by two founding members of the Republican Movement, 'Independence Day' is set on the first day of the newly formed Republic of Hawke's Bay.

The screenplay was written by Savage and another founding member Paul Lishman, and was produced as part of "The Table Plays" series for Maori TV and was funded by NZ on Air.

The Table Plays are six regional stories from around New Zealand. Each play was produced on a budget of $70,000 using local crews and actors. The plays are so named because they are set around a table and have no more than four characters.

Directed by Anna Marbrook, 'Independence Day' stars well known actors Rob Mokaraka and Mia Blake. Mia is currently appearing in 'The Millen Baird Show' on TV 3 and is best known to New Zealand audiences from her starring roles in the films 'No.2' and 'The Tattooist'.

Independence Day is a satirical look at personal and political
independence. Savage explains "Monarchists try to use the term 'banana republic' to denigrate republicanism, but few of them understand where the term actually comes from. We thought we would have some fun with the idea of a small republic struggling to prove itself. At its heart the play is about four people in one room who all want different things but we had fun with a whole lot of political issues along the way; republicanism, national sovereignty, the US Empire, drug rights, even the anti-terror raids. Its set in one room but we wanted that room to be a meeting place for a range of national and global issues."

The screening dates for all six of the Table Plays is below.
'Independence Day' is at number two, screening Tuesday the 7th October at 9.30pm.

1. Jack in the Box Tues 30 Sept – 9.30pm
2. Independence Day Tues 07 Oct – 9.30pm
3. New Brew on Brewster St Tues 14 Oct – 9.30pm
4. Ruki's Voice Tues 21 Oct – 9.30pm
5. The Garden Shed Tues 28 Oct – 9.30pm
6 The Waiting Game Tues 04 Nov– 9.30pm

John Key: Republic 'Inevitable'

NATIONAL LEADER JOHN KEY has adopted the Prime Minister's position on the republic issue. The Leader of the Opposition says he thinks a republic is "inevitable" in an interview with London's Financial Times published earlier this month. Mr Key added the republic is not a "pressing issue" and suggested a change in the British monarch or a move by Australia could provide a catalyst.

Mr Key's comments were repeated by NZPA and The New Zealand Herald. This is sensible politics from John Key - as leader of a conservative party, Mr Key could not state outright his support for a republic in the same way as Prime Minister Helen Clark has. However, by stating that he thinks a republic is inevitable, Mr Key avoids having to commit to a republic while not committing to keeping the monarchy either. This is no different to a statement he made to TVNZ in July.

Malcolm Turnbull to Lead Aussie Liberals

FORMER AUSTRALIAN REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT CHAIRMAN Malcolm Turnbull has won the leadership of Australia's opposition. Mr Turnbull lead the Aussie republicans during the 1999 republic referendum campaign, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The current Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, called on Mr Turnbull to support the push to make Australia a republic and said he looked forward to working with the new Liberal leader. This is a significant step forward for the republic debate in Australia. Malcolm Turnbull has gone on the record as stating that he does not think a republic referendum will succeed until the Queen's reign ends, or there is a decision on what sort of republic Australia adopts. However, critically, there is now bi-partisan support between the leaders of the two major parties - Labor and Liberal - on the republic issue.

Republican Movement Joins The Movement

THE REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT has moved to Kiwibank. Our new bank account details are on the Join Us page.

Republican Movement T-shirt in white

The Republican Movement's latest T-shirt production is on its way. Our first shirt is based on the "Heart NZ" designed by Matt Curran. Because of the economics of t-shirt prints, we need to get 10 orders before commencing with a production run. All t-shirts will be supplied as soon as we reach the 10th order.

The t-shirts are locally produced and come in three different sizes - small, medium and large and are $25.00 for members and $30.00 for non-members. To order yours, click here.

Steve Maharey: Time to Become a Republic

RETIRING LABOUR MINISTER STEVE MAHAREY has called for New Zealand to become a republic with a written constitution in his valedictory speech to Parliament. Mr Maharey said New Zealand was at a stage where concrete plans should begin towards becoming a republic. "New Zealand in the 21st century is the home of many different communities. We need to consciously lay the foundations for a diverse, autonomous Pacific nation unified by a sense of what we have in common. We need a written constitution, and a timetable for when we become a republic. That is not a criticism of our past - it is recognition of what we have become." said Mr Maharey. It will be interesting to see if Labour takes up the challenge. United Future already have a plan in place for a republic referendum by 2012, while Green MP Keith Locke has his Head of State Bill which would bring about a referendum.