23 April 2001

Green Party MP Keith Locke today welcomed a new openness from the National Party towards New Zealand becoming a republic.

"It's refreshing to see National questioning one of the cornerstones of conservatism, and shows to what degree New Zealand is outgrowing the monarchy," said Mr Locke.

The National Party today released a taskforce report which proposed a referendum on the republican issue and signalled that the report may lead to new National Party policy on the issue.

"I don't see why the referendum needs to wait for the death of the Queen as suggested in the report. A large number of New Zealanders, particularly young people, support a move to a republic," said Mr Locke.

"It is increasingly anachronistic that our head of state is an unelected person living on the other side of the world.

"I hope that other parties follow the National Party and put this issue on their agenda," he said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>