Republicanism in New Zealand

Republicanism in New Zealand is the movement to change New Zealand's status as a Commonwealth realm as a constitutional monarchy to that of a republic.

History

Early

The first use of the term "republic" to connate an independent state in New Zealand came in 1840 when Lieutenant Governor William Hobson described the New Zealand Company settlement of Port Nicholson (Wellington), which had its own governing council, as such. Parihaka

Bolger initiates debate

In 1994, National Prime Minister Jim Bolger caused surprise by suggesting during a general debate that New Zealand become a republic. Bolger claimed that New Zealand's traditional links with Britain were in decline, that the country should acknowledge that "...the tide of history is moving in one direction". The Republican Coalition of New Zealand was formed to promote the move to a republic as a response to the Prime Minister. The following year, the now defunct Republican Party with a similar aim, along with the Monarchist_League_of_New Zealand which was established to defend the consitutional monarchy.

In 1996, the Bolger government proposed to end the status of the Privy Council as the country's highest court of appeal. This policy was the same as that of the previous Labour government. His government ended the awarding of British honours in New Zealand, introducing a New Zealand Honours System. However, Bolger's successor, Jenny Shipley, did not share his enthusiasm for republicanism. Shipley noted during a visit in 1999 of the Princess Royal that "I am an unashamed royal supporter, along with many New Zealanders".

The election of the present Labour government in 1999 under Helen Clark has seen a number of moves to a republic. Clark has previously expressed her support for a republic, describing the role of the monarchy as antiquated.

Influence of the 1999 Australian referendum

The Republican Coalition of New Zealand was relaunced as the Republican Movement, similar to the Australian Republican Movement to take advantage of increased coverage the issue was getting as a result of the referendum.

Another factor is that whereas Australia has large populations of Irish Catholic and Mediterranean European descent, most Pakeha (New Zealanders of European origin) are of British descent. However, Jim Bolger was the son of Irish immigrants, and as in Australia, citizens of British heritage are not united on the issue, with many still regarding the monarchy as an irrelevance or an anachronism.

Recent developments

In 2003 the government replaced appeals to the Privy Council which were replaced by the new Supreme Court of New Zealand. In November 2004, Prime Minister Clark announced the formation of a parliamentary committee inquiry into the constitution, chaired by United Future leader Peter Dunne, which will investigate a possible process on the creation of a republic. Dunne has said he supports the end of the monarchy in New Zealand. Both the National Party and New Zealand First have refused to participate, however, calling the committee a "political stunt", accusing her of using republicanism as a distraction from the subject of the grievance industry of Maori land claims in the hope of avoiding fall-out in the run up to an election.

Other proposals included the replacement of the title of Queen's Counsel, given to barristers, with that of Senior Counsel, and the removal of references to the Queen from oaths. These changes have already occurred in Australia, where they have been criticised by supporters of the status quo as 'republicanism by stealth'.

Two former governors-general Sir Paul Reeves and Dame Catherine Tizard have both said publicly that the Queen should be replaced by a New Zealand head of state.

Constitutional Issues

Were New Zealand to move towards becoming a republic, the change would occur with far more ease than in Australia. This is because New Zealand is a unitary state and has no written constitution, unlike Australia, where constitutional change must not only be approved in a referendum by a majority of voters, but also by a majority of states. New Zealand has made radical constitutional changes without difficulty in the past, such as the abolition of its upper house of parliament in 1951, and the introduction of proportional representation in 1996.

Many Maori see the Crown as a guarantor of their legal rights under the Treaty of Waitangi, which was an agreement signed between the Maori tribes and the Crown, not with the New Zealand Government.

Proponents and Opponents

Party political positions

None of the major political parties currently in Parliament have a policy of creating a republic. The National Party's constitution specifies that the Party desires "Loyalty to our country, its democratic principles and our Sovereign as Head of State". However, a vote to remove reference to the Sovereign was held in April 2003 as part of the Party's constitutional conference. It was defeated by only three votes, with over 200 members of the party voting. National MP Richard Worth has been the most vocal member of his party to defend the monarchy.

Similarly, the conservative Christian_Heritage_New_Zealand states in its policy[1] information that it would “Retain New Zealand’s position as a constitutional monarchy and oppose any moves to make New Zealand a republic.”

Support for a republic appears to be strongest amongst the Green Party. Green MP Keith Locke currently has a Private Member's Bill waiting to be drawn from ballot on the issue. The Mana Maori Motuhake Party included republicanism as part of its policy platform. However, the issue was never raised as Mana Maori Motuhake became a member of the Alliance Party. The Libertarianz Party produced a written constitution seeking a Republic of New Freeland to replace the constitutional monarchy. In April 2005 the Republic Aotearoa New Zealand Party was founded by Kerry Bevin with the specific aim of creating a New Zealand Republic.

External links

The Monarchist League of New Zealand
The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Holden Republic A pro-New Zealand republic blog by republican Lewis Holden.
A Constitution for New Freeland A proposed constitution by the Libertarianz Party for a New Zealand republic.