The Republic of New Zealand

The QueenSome people have commented that the Royal Wedding is going to encourage support for the monarchy from New Zealanders. I disagree. The wedding highlighted a lack of Kiwiness. A fairy-tale story of princes and princesses. A lavish old-fashioned ceremony. Backward gender roles. People from other countries enjoyed the wedding without being part of the monarchy.

Irrelevance of the British monarchy to us (and I guess vice versa) was shown in the Queen’s (very religious) 2010 Christmas message. The Governor-General in his 2011 New Year Message spoke about the Pike River mining disaster and the Canterbury earthquake, both which would’ve been appreciated by New Zealanders as topics in New Zealand’s real head of state’s address.

No need for a Rolls-Royce. A Toyota Corolla, a minimalist’s republic, will be fine. –Dean Knight

Becoming a republic could be quite painless: changing the Governor-General from being our head of state in effect to our real head of state. Everything could else could stay the same.

Our Head of State should be chosen by us, from amongst us, and be able to reflect the values of our nation. It’s time for a Kiwi Head of State.

As Dean also points out, becoming a republic doesn’t mean we can’t still be part of the Commonwealth. We’re one of 16 (out of 54) countries that have Queen Elizabeth as our head of state.

Change seems most likely when the current Queen passes away, by referendum. Her mother was 101 when she died, so there might be some waiting to do.

Image credit: Steve Punter