Republicanism in New Zealand

[4] The existence of the council prompted Hobson to declare British sovereignty over the entirety of New Zealand on 21 May 1840, despite the fact the Treaty of Waitangi was still being signed throughout the country.

[5] Hobson dispatched the Colonial Secretary, Willoughby Shortland along with some soldiers to demand the settlers disband their "illegal association" and remove the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.

[6][7] In 1879 the people of Hāwera declared themselves the "Republic of Hawera," due to a campaign by Māori leader Te Whiti against European settlement.

In the 1911 general election Colonel Allen Bell, the Reform Party candidate for the Raglan seat, advocated the abolition of the monarchy.

[12] In 1994 Prime Minister Jim Bolger suggested to the 44th Parliament in the Address In Reply debate that New Zealand should move to become a republic by 2001.

Bolger stated that New Zealand's links with Britain were in decline, and that the country should acknowledge that "the tide of history is moving in one direction.

"[14] In 1998, Richard Nottage, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, called for New Zealand to consider becoming a republic, arguing that the position of the "British monarch" [sic] as head of state "looks strange in Asian eyes".

[17] Keith Locke's Head of State Referenda Bill for a referendum on the republic issue was drawn from the members' ballot and introduced into Parliament on 14 October 2009.

[18] The bill focused on reforming the governor-general of New Zealand as a ceremonial head of state, creating a parliamentary republic.

[41] As of 2010[update], the New Zealand public were generally in favour of the retention of the monarchy, with polls showing it to have between 50 and 70 per cent support.

[43] National Business Review poll in 2004 found 57 per cent of respondents believed New Zealand would become a republic "in the future".

[48] On the eve of a royal tour by Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in November 2012, a ONE News/Colmar Brunton poll reported 70 per cent of people questioned responded they wanted to keep the Queen as head of state, while 19 percent supported New Zealand becoming a republic.

[55] As of 2013[update], three political parties with members in New Zealand's parliament had a policy of holding a binding referendum on the republic issue.

"[57] Former Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern states that she is a republican, and that she would "encourage national debate over cutting ties with the royal family".

[62] Former Prime Minister David Lange expressed support for a New Zealand republic, stating: "Do such things matter?

I don’t think that swapping out the governor general for some other form of head of state is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though.

Former MPs John Carter, and Wayne Mapp and Richard Worth have been among the most vocal supporters of the monarchy within the party.

At the 2014 election the former Chair of New Zealand Republic, Lewis Holden, was nominated as candidate for the Rimutaka electorate but failed to enter Parliament with incumbent Labour MP Chris Hipkins retaining the electorate, and Holden holding a list ranking too low (at 66 on the National list) to enter parliament.

Among the 2014 caucus of new National Members of Parliament, a number of portraits of the Queen have been placed in their Wellington offices through an initiative led by Monarchy New Zealand.

[69] During a debate for the 2020 election, John Tamihere of the Māori Party voiced support for New Zealand to become a republic after the death of Queen Elizabeth (which had not then occurred), saying, "it's about time".

The party had a policy of "a public education process on constitutional matters, leading towards consideration of New Zealand as a republic within the Commonwealth in the future.

In 2004, Professor Noel Cox argued "In strict legal terms, if New Zealand became a republic tomorrow it would make no difference to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007, the Kampala Communiqué stated "Heads of Government also agreed that, where an existing member changes its formal constitutional status, it should not have to reapply for Commonwealth membership provided that it continues to meet all the criteria for membership.