Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Sir Don McKinnon has met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles many times and says he is "quite certain" that the royal family understand that it is inevitable that we will one day have our own head of state. He has called for a "open and candid" debate on the matter. You can watch his comments here (from about four minutes in) or get a quick summary of his comments here.

Sir Don revealed that in all there are now six out of 16 Commonwealth realms where there are campaigns or initiatives to transition to a parliamentary republic.

We commend Sir Don for taking the lead on this matter and raising the issue at this important time. We advocate a clear referendum process and our campaign is focused on the establishment of a Constitutional Commission to look at how best to make the change to an NZ Head of State. Such a commission would start by developing two alternative models for nominating and electing a head of state. One involving direct election and the one indirect election (via two-thirds majority) in parliament. How New Zealanders feel about these options will become more apparent when the latest poll is released Monday morning.