page_title: Monarchy of New Zealand
section_title: Debate
hierarchical_section_title: Monarchy of New Zealand / Debate
caption_attribution_description: Prince Charles at the Westport town centre where there was a Powhiri and an opportunity for locals to meet the Prince. His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales visit to Westport. The Prince visited NZDF Exercise Southern Katipo 2015 and Westport Township. 7. Nov. 2015
context_page_description: The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. Elizabeth's eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, is heir apparent.
  The Treaty of Waitangi between Queen Victoria and Māori was signed in 1840, and as a result, the British sovereign became New Zealand's head of state. New Zealand gradually became independent from Britain and the monarchy evolved to become a distinctly New Zealand institution, represented by unique symbols. The person who is the New Zealand monarch is today shared with 15 other countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, all being independent and the monarchy of each legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Queen of New Zealand and, in this capacity, she, her consort, and other members of the royal family undertake various public and private functions across New Zealand and on behalf of the country abroad. However, the Queen is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
context_section_description: Despite a similar level of political involvement by the monarchy in both countries, there is less agitation for ending the monarchy of New Zealand and creating a New Zealand republic than in neighbouring Australia, where the republicanism movement is stronger. Past public opinion polls have shown that while the majority of Australians are in favour of a republic, New Zealanders on average favour retaining the monarchy. Supporters of the monarchy claim that for New Zealand, "...monarchy summarises the inheritance of a thousand years of constitutional government and our links with a glorious past".
  Neither National nor Labour, the two major political parties currently in parliament, have a stated policy of creating a republic, though some members of parliament have publicly expressed their personal support for a republic. Some members have also expressed support for the monarchy. Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen declared that he supported the monarchy, stating in 2004 he was "a sort of token monarchist in the Cabinet these days." However, in 2010 he repudiated that stance, taking the view that New Zealand should move towards a republic once the Queen's reign ends. In 2008, former Prime Minister John Key, then Leader of the Opposition, said he is "not convinced [a republic] will be a big issue in the short term," but does believe that a republic is "inevitable." There are two special-interest groups representing both sides of the debate in New Zealand and arguing the issue in the media from time to time: Monarchy New Zealand and New Zealand Republic.
  There are a number of legal issues to be addressed in order to abolish the monarchy, though individuals on both sides of the argument take a different view of the level of difficulty faced. Much of the unsurety involves the reserve powers of the sovereign; the relationship between the various regions of the Realm of New Zealand sharing the same sovereign (the absence of these matters from republican arguments having been criticised as a "self-centredness of republican discussions in New Zealand"); and effects on the relationship between the Crown and Māori, specifically, the continued legal status of the Treaty of Waitangi and its claims and settlements. Some academics expressed concern that governments could use republicanism to evade treaty responsibilities, while others, such as Professor Noel Cox, Chairman-Emeritus of Monarchy New Zealand, have argued a republic would not absolve the Government of its obligations under the treaty.
  The institution enjoys the support of most New Zealanders, particularly those born before the Second World War. With the approval of the current monarch, and the position of the Treaty of Waitangi under a republic remaining a concern to Māori and other New Zealanders alike, as well as the question of what constitutional form a republic might take unresolved, support for a republic remains no higher than one third to 40 per cent of the population. However, polls indicate that many New Zealanders see the monarchy as being of little day-to-day relevance; a One News/Colmar Brunton poll in 2002 found that 58 per cent of the population believed the monarchy has little or no relevance to their lives. National Business Review poll in 2004 found 57 per cent of respondents believed New Zealand would become a republic "in the future". On 21 April 2008, New Zealand Republic released a poll of New Zealanders showing 43 per cent support the monarchy should Prince Charles become king of New Zealand, and 41 per cent support a republic under the same scenario. A poll by The New Zealand Herald in January 2010, before a visit by Prince William to the country, found 33.3 per cent wanted Prince Charles to be the next monarch, with 30.2 per cent favouring Prince William. 29.4 per cent of respondents preferred a republic in the event Queen Elizabeth died or abdicated.
  On 14 October 2009, a bill put forward in parliament by Keith Locke to bring about a referendum on the monarchy was drawn from the ballot of members' bills and introduced into the legislative ch
caption: Charles, Prince of Wales, greets a crowd in Westport, 7 November 2015
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Prince Charles at the Wesport town center where there was a Powhiri and an opporunity for locals to meet the Prince. \n\nHis Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales visit to Wesport. The Prince visited NZDF Exercise Southern Katipo 2015 and Westport Township. 7. Nov. 2015", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D4S", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2015:11:07 21:23:24", "Image Copyright": "Crown Copyright 2015, NZ Defence Force \u2013 Some Rights Reserved.", "Image ExifOffset": "608", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1406", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7840", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:11:07 17:38:01", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:11:07 17:38:01", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1120723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2827819/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "23/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "135", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "04", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "04", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1198", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "44855751/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "44855751/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "135", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "2010254", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[80, 400, 9/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6"}