MEDIA RELEASE: 14 January 2011

"Lord McNally has revealed New Zealand's government is leading discussions amongst the remaining Commonwealth nations with the Queen as their head of state about changing the rules governing who can be our monarch" said Lewis Holden, chair of the Republican Movement.

The Deputy Leader of Britain's House of Lords made the comments during a recent debate. If the British government agrees to the changes, it could mean major changes to the monarchy. Currently the rules exclude non-Anglicans and put males before females.

"The government knows the monarchy's arcane succession laws discriminate against non-Anglicans and women, and that is unacceptable to New Zealanders. The question of the future of New Zealand's head of state must be decided by New Zealanders, and not by back room discussions" continued Mr Holden.

"If the government wants to make changes to the succession law, they should include the head of state issue in the constitutional review. They can't have it both ways. The question of the future of our head of state, and becoming a republic, should be expressly included in the agenda for Kiwis to debate as part of the constitutional review" concluded Mr Holden.

NOTES
• On 10 January 2011, Lord McNally stated in the House of Lords: "As is known, the previous Administration initiated discussions among Commonwealth countries [about the succession]. Those discussions are proceeding under the chairmanship of the New Zealand Government and we will continue to keep the matter under consideration."
• The Hansard is available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/110110-0...
ENDS
The Republican Movement is a network of New Zealanders who want our head of state to be elected by New Zealanders - either directly or indirectly.
We are committed to:
• involving all New Zealanders in the republic debate;
• providing relevant and reliable information;
• focusing on ideas, not personalities;
• winning a referendum to establish the republic;
Creating a republic does not require any change to the Treaty of Waitangi, flag or Commonwealth membership. For more information, see our website: www.republic.org.nz

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