If New Zealand had a better defined head of state the period between election day and the appointment of the next government would be more transparent and stable. A party-neutral Head of State would provide constitutional leadership and clear direction about what happens next.
It has been a week since election night and the Governor-General has made no statement or issued any information about her role in the formation of the next government. She has carried on with ceremonial duties, marking Armistice Day at the Pukeahu War Memorial, but Government House has not issue a statement about what her powers and duties are, or what is expected of incoming Members of Parliament.
Right now Dame Cindy Kiro is an office holder ‘caught between conventions’. Caught between remaining neutral by letting members of parliament negotiate the formation of executive government and being the country’s constitutional leader. The only person who will officially appoint the next Prime Minister and every other Minister of the Crown.
As Governor-General the conventions are clear enough. Let the election results be finalised. Wait for coalition talks to conclude. Appoint as PM the party leader who can demonstrate they have the confidence of the majority of members of parliament.
Except this election is different. It is close and there is a new, untested party in the mix. As a result the role of Head of State needs to evolve. It is in this post-election, pre-results period, when opinions, party positioning and conjecture are at their peak, that the role of constitutional leader needs to be more active.
The role must remain above the fray and not be seen to influence in any way what voters have delivered. As the PM announced on election night the care-taker government conventions are in place. But as the only senior leader whose role and relationship to government is not in question, the Governor-General as New Zealand’s de facto Head of State should issue a succinct and firm public statement. To ensure there is no misunderstand either here or overseas about what is happening and what needs to happen.
Like previous elections we are waiting for final results to be declared before coalition talks can be finalised but unlike previous elections we are not sure which parties will be in those talks. That is the difference. The overhang is a complicating factor but it is not actually the cause of the delay. Any election can deliver a close election or a hung parliament, regardless of whether the voting creates an overhang.
A clear statement and setting of expectations would mean that regardless of what any party leader, politician, political commentator or member of the public predicted or claimed, voters would have an authoritative and reassuring statement from our highest constitutional office setting out what will happen next and is expected of all those involved.
Over time the role of Governor-General has adapted to better suit New Zealand’s democratic needs and it is at times like this when the importance of the role’s constitutional duties becomes very apparent. New Zealand has an out-dated symbolic Head of State on the other side of the world. We have a need to better define what a Head of State is for and what its role is at election time.
Our campaign is proposing a straight-forward solution to having the British King as Head of State. Taking office of Governor-General and transitioning it into being New Zealand’s actual Head of State. Set out clearly what the office is for by ensuring the duties and powers are well-defined in law and better guided by convention. There is no convention preventing the Governor-General from issuing a statement between Writ day and the return of results. So now is the time to be a constitutional leader. To establish that new convention and better serve the needs of all New Zealanders.
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