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New Zealand’s Leader Affirms Support for a Republic, but Not Now


Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reaffirmed her support for the country’s eventual becoming a republic, but said it was not an issue. urgency that her government must pursue.

“I believe that’s where New Zealand is going at the right time,” she told reporters on Monday. Ms Ardern’s comments come a day after she expressed support for Britain’s new sovereign, King Charles III.

“King Charles has long had feelings for Aotearoa New Zealand and has always shown his deep concern for our nation,” using Maori and English name of the country at a ceremony to honor the new head of state. She said that relationship was “deeply valued by our people” and added: “I have no doubt it will deepen.”

New Zealand had few public republican leaders before Ms Ardern. But she is unlikely to shepherd in a referendum on the issue. “I believe it has the potential to happen in my lifetime, but I don’t see it as a short-term measure or anything soon on the agenda,” she said Monday, citing the lack of “emergency”.

Former British colonies around the world began to re-examine their ties to the monarchy after the queen’s death. On Saturday, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda announced the plan hold a referendum on becoming a republic within three years. That follows in the footsteps of another Caribbean country, Barbados, last year Vote to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda said: “This is an issue that must be put to a referendum for the people to decide. Charles III served as head of state for 15 countries, including Britain.

In New Zealand, there seems to be little public interest in a major constitutional shift away from the monarchy. In a 2021 poll, just a third of New Zealanders surveyed said they would support abandoning the country’s ties to the royal family, while a proposal in 2016 to scrap the Union Jack from the flag of New Zealand is roundly defeated.

The indigenous people of New Zealand have a complicated relationship with the British monarchy. In 1840, Māori chiefs together with representatives of the British monarchy signed the Treaty of Waitangi, a legal document that played an important role in the relationship between the New Zealand government and the Maori people. “They have always considered the monarch as another partner in the Treaty of Waitangi, so that relationship has always been important,” said Jock Phillips, a New Zealand historian.

Earlier this year, Te Pati Maori, a minority party seeking to represent the interests of Indigenous New Zealanders, called for the British royal family to be removed as head of state.

“This is an opportunity to rebalance the scale of power,” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, a co-leader of the party.

Republicanism is strengthening more in Australia, which has a larger Irish population, and it’s hard to know what could spark a more heated debate in New Zealand, Dr Phillips said. . “If Australia becomes a republic, I think that will lead to a much more intense discussion,” he said.

There is some evidence that public sentiment is changing. During her reign, the queen visited New Zealand 10 times: In 1953, her first visit to the country, about 75% of New Zealanders attempted to see her. Dr Phillips said that on her most recent trip in 2002, those crowds dwindled. “We are simply not tied to Britain,” he said.



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