Huo Raymond: Royal Succession Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHuo Raymond: Royal Succession Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15436. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]RAYMOND HUO (Labour): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to take a call to support the Royal Succession Bill. This is a very important bill particularly this morning when we are going to debate the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character Mana and Reputation) Bill. This bill is probably important not only for our past and present but for our future as well because the reality is that MPs are required to pledge allegiance to the Queen as New Zealand’s head of State. Our system is a constitutional monarchy system. Every MP is bound by that system and every MP should swear their allegiance to the Queen. This is a relevant bill. This is not about somebody else’s head of State; it is about our head of State.My first encounter with the Queen—not a personal encounter of course—Hon Judith Collins: Why are you so disrespectful?RAYMOND HUO: What was that?Hon Judith Collins: Why are you so disrespectful of our traditions in New Zealand?RAYMOND HUO: Sorry?Hon Judith Collins: Don’t be disrespectful about our parliamentary traditions. Don’t bag the Queen.RAYMOND HUO: That is not a terribly constructive contribution from the Minister of Justice. My first encounter with the Queen was when I was studying at my first university in China. There was a paper called Queen’s English and Pub Talk. It was quite an interesting paper. For the first 2 years we had professors from England to teach us BBC English. But for the remaining 2 years we had professors from the United States to teach us VOA English Voice of America English so many students ended up speaking American English.Coming back to this bill it seeks to modernise historical royal succession rules by making three specific changes. Firstly it provides for gender-neutral succession to the throne ending the rule that a younger son precedes an elder daughter in the line of succession. Secondly it provides for succession to and possession of the Crown by a person married to a Roman Catholic removing the current prohibition. Thirdly it requires only the first six in line to the throne to seek the Sovereign’s permission to marry in order to ensure that their marriage is valid. Currently all descendants of King George II require the Sovereign’s consent to marry.The bill has a narrow scope. The changes to royal succession have been agreed by the 16 realms of which Her Majesty the Queen is Sovereign. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the submitters for their passion their commitment and theiranalysis especially Monarchy New Zealand and The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand. Generally submissions either supported or were neutral about the specific changes in the bill which are seen as improving the current rules of royal succession. However some submitters raised issues about the broader constitutional context behind the changes. I acknowledge my Green colleagues in that regard because they argued that the monarchy is outdated and that New Zealand should become a republic. The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand submitted that there should be a referendum on this issue and conversely other submitters considered that the bill should change the rules to allow a Roman Catholic to become Sovereign of New Zealand.As I said the bill has a narrow scope. Wider constitutional issues including the role of the monarchy are beyond the purpose of this bill and any moves for New Zealand to abolish the monarchy or hold a referendum on becoming a republic should be discussed in the context of a wider constitutional debate.Finally I think that the bill as drafted particularly under clause 8 reflects our constitutional arrangements. Under Section 15(2) of the Constitution Act 1986 any changes to United Kingdom laws will not automatically apply to New Zealand. In addition the Imperial Laws Application Act 1988 adopts imperial laws as at the date of enactment and it does not include subsequent changes. So any changes to United Kingdom laws do not automatically apply to New Zealand. That is a deliberate measure to ensure that United Kingdom Acts or amendments do not apply without being accepted by New Zealand’s Parliament. In line with this New Zealand’s general legislative approach is to mirror relevant provisions of United Kingdom law in New Zealand law rather than refer to United Kingdom Acts. Thank you.