Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand
Encyclopedia
The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic
(Aotearoa
is a Māori
name for New Zealand). It is Chaired by Lewis Holden. The patron of the Movement is Keri Hulme
, a New Zealand writer famous for her 1985 Booker Prize winning novel The Bone People
. The organisation is not aligned to any political party in New Zealand.
Creating a republic does not require a codified constitution or any change to the Treaty of Waitangi
, Flag of New Zealand
or Commonwealth
membership.
's call for New Zealand to become a republic. Its membership was drawn from many political quarters (including journalist Jonathan Milne and New Zealand First
MP Deborah Morris
), and so was initially named the Republican Coalition of New Zealand.
The group was unrelated to the former Republican Association of New Zealand
(sometimes called the Republican Movement as well), although Bruce Jesson
was a member until his death in 1999.
Some of the movement's members had been involved in the successful campaign of the Electoral Reform Coalition
for electoral reform
at a referendum in 1993. In 1996, writer Keri Hulme became patron of the group. The group changed its name in 1999, coinciding with an unsuccessful Australian referendum on the same issue. It participated in the Building the Constitution conference held in 2000, putting forward three recommendations: greater civics education
, considering republicanism as an option and continued facilitation of the republic debate.
.
On 21 April 2008 the Movement released a poll of New Zealanders showing 43% support the monarchy should Prince Charles become King, and 41% support a republic under the same scenario.
In October 2008, one week before the general election
, the group released the results of an online poll held through a website named "The President of New Zealand". The poll allowed visitors to nominate and vote for their favoured New Zealander to be head of state. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
won the poll.
On 23 September 2009 the group launched a new book entitled "The New Zealand Republic Handbook", at an event hosted at Parliament by UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne
with several current and former MPs in attendance, including Green MP Keith Locke
, Labour MPs Clare Curran
, Charles Chauvel
, Nanaia Mahuta
and Phil Twyford
, and National MPs John Hayes
and Paul Hutchison
.
The group participated in the Reconstituting the Constitution conference at Parliament in September 2010. Dean Knight, senior Victoria University of Wellington
law lecturer and the Republican Movement's constitutional advisor, put forward a so-called "soft-republic".
drafted a members' Bill named the Head of State Referenda Bill, which was drawn from the members' ballot on 14 October 2009. It would have brought about a referendum on the question of a New Zealand republic. Three choices would be put to the public:
If no model gained a majority, a second run-off referendum would be held. If one of the two republican options were supported by the public, New Zealand would become a Parliamentary republic
(as opposed to a presidential republic
), with a head of state with the same powers to the Governor-General of New Zealand
and serving for one five year term. In May 2007, the Republican Movement agreed to support the Bill to Select Committee stage. The Bill was defeated on 21 April 2010 68 - 53.
, which will modernise the office of Governor-General, and make the office's salary taxable. In response to the Bill passing its first reading, the group launched a "citizens process" for selecting the next Governor-General. In its submission to the select committee considering the Bill, the group suggested parliament appoint the next Governor-General with a three-quarters majority plus a majority of party leaders in parliament, with a similar dismissal process and a fixed five-year term.
Until May 2007, the position of Chair was named President.
, an alliance of Commonwealth
republican movements. The RMANZ is not affiliated with any political party, and draws its membership from across the political spectrum.
Republicanism in New Zealand
Republicanism in New Zealand is a theoretical political concept, the implementation of which would result in changing New Zealand's current constitutional monarchy to that of a republic...
(Aotearoa
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
is a Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
name for New Zealand). It is Chaired by Lewis Holden. The patron of the Movement is Keri Hulme
Keri Hulme
Keri Hulme is a New Zealand writer, best known for The Bone People, her only novel.-Early life:Hulme was born in Christchurch, in New Zealand's South Island. The daughter of a carpenter and a credit manager, she was the eldest of six children. Her parents were of English, Scottish, and Māori ...
, a New Zealand writer famous for her 1985 Booker Prize winning novel The Bone People
The Bone People
The Bone People is a Booker Prize-winning 1984 novel by New Zealand author Keri Hulme. Hulme was turned down by many publishing houses before she found a small publishing house in New Zealand called Spiral...
. The organisation is not aligned to any political party in New Zealand.
Aims and principles
The Movement's Constitution specifies the following aims and principles:- Involving all New Zealanders in the debate;
- Providing relevant and reliable information;
- Focusing on ideas, not personalities;
- Winning a referendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to establish the republic;
Creating a republic does not require a codified constitution or any change to the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
, Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....
or Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
membership.
Foundation
The organisation was formed in March 1994 and incorporated in February 1995, following then National Prime Minister Jim BolgerJim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...
's call for New Zealand to become a republic. Its membership was drawn from many political quarters (including journalist Jonathan Milne and New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
MP Deborah Morris
Deborah Morris
Deborah Morris-Travers is a former New Zealand politician. She was a list MP for New Zealand First from 1996 to 1999.-Member of Parliament:Morris was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing the New Zealand First party...
), and so was initially named the Republican Coalition of New Zealand.
The group was unrelated to the former Republican Association of New Zealand
Republican Association of New Zealand
The Republican Association of New Zealand was a political organisation in New Zealand with the aim of supporting the creation of a New Zealand republic.-History:...
(sometimes called the Republican Movement as well), although Bruce Jesson
Bruce Jesson
Bruce Edward Jesson was a left wing journalist, author and political figure in New Zealand.-Early life:Bruce Edward Jesson was the son of Victor John and Edna Cavell Jesson and the great-grandson of an immigrant from Leicestershire,UKHe was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Bruce Edward...
was a member until his death in 1999.
Some of the movement's members had been involved in the successful campaign of the Electoral Reform Coalition
Electoral Reform Coalition
The Electoral Reform Coalition is a group advocating electoral reform in New Zealand. It was founded in 1986. The group has been reformed as the Campaign for MMP to fight to retain MMP at the 2011 referendum on the issue.-History:...
for electoral reform
Electoral reform in New Zealand
Electoral reform in New Zealand has, in recent years, become a political issue as major changes have been made to both Parliamentary and local government electoral systems.- Parliamentary Electoral Reform :...
at a referendum in 1993. In 1996, writer Keri Hulme became patron of the group. The group changed its name in 1999, coinciding with an unsuccessful Australian referendum on the same issue. It participated in the Building the Constitution conference held in 2000, putting forward three recommendations: greater civics education
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
, considering republicanism as an option and continued facilitation of the republic debate.
Recent events
The group attracted controversy in 2008 by expressing disappointment no member of the Royal Family attended the state funeral of Sir Edmund HillaryEdmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
.
On 21 April 2008 the Movement released a poll of New Zealanders showing 43% support the monarchy should Prince Charles become King, and 41% support a republic under the same scenario.
In October 2008, one week before the general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
, the group released the results of an online poll held through a website named "The President of New Zealand". The poll allowed visitors to nominate and vote for their favoured New Zealander to be head of state. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
won the poll.
On 23 September 2009 the group launched a new book entitled "The New Zealand Republic Handbook", at an event hosted at Parliament by UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament who leads the United Future political party. He has served as a Cabinet minister in governments dominated by the centre-left Labour Party as well as by the centre-right National Party...
with several current and former MPs in attendance, including Green MP Keith Locke
Keith Locke
Keith James Locke is a current New Zealand MP representing the Green Party who was first elected to parliament in 1999. he is the Green Party spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Defence, Ethnic Affairs, Pacific Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, Police and Auckland Transport...
, Labour MPs Clare Curran
Clare Curran
Clare Elizabeth Curran is the 3rd and current member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin South.-Early life and education:Curran grew up and was educated in Dunedin, she attended Moreau College where she achieved School Certificate...
, Charles Chauvel
Charles Chauvel (politician)
Charles Pierre Chauvel is a New Zealand lawyer and politician. Since 2006 he has been a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is the first New Zealand MP of Tahitian ancestry...
, Nanaia Mahuta
Nanaia Mahuta
Nanaia Cybelle Mahuta BA, MA in social anthropology, is a New Zealand politician and was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. She was Minister of Customs, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Youth Development, Associate Minister for the Environment and Associate...
and Phil Twyford
Phil Twyford
Philip Stoner Twyford is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a member of parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party candidate for Te Atatū.-Member of Parliament:...
, and National MPs John Hayes
John Hayes
John Hayes may refer to:In academia:* John Hayes , British art historian and museum director, expert on GainsboroughIn entertainment:* John Hayes , American director of low-budget films...
and Paul Hutchison
Paul Hutchison
Charles Paul Telford Hutchison, known as Paul Hutchison is a New Zealand politician and former health professional. He is a member of the National Party.-Early years:...
.
The group participated in the Reconstituting the Constitution conference at Parliament in September 2010. Dean Knight, senior Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
law lecturer and the Republican Movement's constitutional advisor, put forward a so-called "soft-republic".
Head of state Referenda Bill
In 2001, Green Party MP Keith LockeKeith Locke
Keith James Locke is a current New Zealand MP representing the Green Party who was first elected to parliament in 1999. he is the Green Party spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Defence, Ethnic Affairs, Pacific Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, Police and Auckland Transport...
drafted a members' Bill named the Head of State Referenda Bill, which was drawn from the members' ballot on 14 October 2009. It would have brought about a referendum on the question of a New Zealand republic. Three choices would be put to the public:
- A republic with direct election of the head of state;
- A republic with indirect election of the head of state by a three-quarters majority Parliament; and
- The status quo.
If no model gained a majority, a second run-off referendum would be held. If one of the two republican options were supported by the public, New Zealand would become a Parliamentary republic
Parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...
(as opposed to a presidential republic
Presidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
), with a head of state with the same powers to the Governor-General of New Zealand
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
and serving for one five year term. In May 2007, the Republican Movement agreed to support the Bill to Select Committee stage. The Bill was defeated on 21 April 2010 68 - 53.
Constitutional Convention Bill
In January 2008, the group supported former Prime Minister Mike Moore's call for his Constitutional Convention Bill to be resurrected, despite Keith Locke MP stating the convention would be "too broad".Governor-General Bill
The Republican Movement supports the Governor-General Act 2010Governor-General Act 2010
The Governor-General Act 2010 is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament. It reformed the Governor-General of New Zealand's financial programme.- Background :...
, which will modernise the office of Governor-General, and make the office's salary taxable. In response to the Bill passing its first reading, the group launched a "citizens process" for selecting the next Governor-General. In its submission to the select committee considering the Bill, the group suggested parliament appoint the next Governor-General with a three-quarters majority plus a majority of party leaders in parliament, with a similar dismissal process and a fixed five-year term.
National executive
The national executive of the Movement as of October 2011:- Lewis Holden (Chair)
- Savage (Vice-Chair)
- Mike Wilkinson (Secretary)
- Kieran McAnulty (Treasurer)
- Dean Knight (Constitutional adviser)
- David FarrarDavid Farrar (New Zealand)David Peter Farrar is a New Zealand political activist, blogger, and pollster. He is a frequent commentator in the media on Internet issues. Farrar has held many roles within the New Zealand National Party and has worked in Parliament for four National Party leaders.His blog, Kiwiblog, is the most...
- Jordan Carter
- Reon Hogg
Chairpersons
- Savage (1994)
- Simon Sheppard (1994–1996)
- Dave Guerin (1996–2006)
- Lewis Holden (2006 - )
Until May 2007, the position of Chair was named President.
Affiliations
In April, 2005, the movement became a founding member of Common CauseCommon Cause (alliance)
Common Cause is an alliance of four republican political organisations in the Commonwealth of Nations seeking to remove the Monarchy in each realm and replace it with a Republic, with an elected Head of State.As of May 2008, the four members are:...
, an alliance of Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
republican movements. The RMANZ is not affiliated with any political party, and draws its membership from across the political spectrum.
Publications
- Republic - newsletter of the Republican Movement (ISSN 1174-8621)
- The New Zealand Republic Handbook - a guide to creating the New Zealand republic / Lewis Holden (ISBN 978-0-473-15257-4)
See also
- Republicanism in New ZealandRepublicanism in New ZealandRepublicanism in New Zealand is a theoretical political concept, the implementation of which would result in changing New Zealand's current constitutional monarchy to that of a republic...
- Monarchy in New ZealandMonarchy in New ZealandThe monarchy of New Zealand also referred to as The Crown in Right of New Zealand, Her Majesty in Right of New Zealand, or The Queen in Right of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Realm of New Zealand,...
- Monarchy New Zealand