Public Knows A Kiwi G-G When They See One

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*MEDIA RELEASE* 5 October 2010

The Republican Movement has agreed with broadcaster Paul Henry: "New Zealand's head of state should be a New Zealander," said chairman Lewis Holden yesterday.

But unlike Henry, Holden was not objecting to Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, an Auckland-born Kiwi.

Instead, the Republican Movement was unhappy about the present head of state, who must be an English-born UK citizen. Holden said there was an urgent need for the Government to begin drafting provisions now so New Zealanders could choose their own head of state when the Queen dies, rather than automatically inheriting Prince Charles without New Zealanders having any say in it. Contrary to Paul Henry's view, Kiwis are open-minded about who should be the next Governor-General. Nominations for New Zealand’s Next Governor-General website range from the chief of the defence force to prominent historians to everyday Kiwis.

"It's amazing to see how open-minded ordinary New Zealanders are, compared to royalist Paul Henry", said Lewis Holden chair of the Republican Movement. They are fed up with having the Governor-General chosen behind closed doors, without having any democratic say in the decision. And expressing their preferences for the next Governor-General is just a step in the direction of the most important change: choosing a New Zealand as head of state. Polls indicate increasing numbers of New Zealanders want a say in that, too, rather than having a head of state imposed on us by Britain.

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