MEDIA RELEASE: Dame Patsy wrong about the Treaty, British monarchy
“Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy is simply wrong about the British monarchy’s links with Aotearoa,” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New Zealand Republic.
In an interview with the Associated Press, the outgoing Governor-General stated that she believed the Queen should remain New Zealand’s head of state because the arrangement “works” and has “strong historical links,” and that New Zealand has a “special connection to” because of our founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi.
“The British monarch as our head of state is today symbolic, so the arrangement does not work in the most important sense - its symbolism. We are not a colony of the United Kingdom, yet that is what having the British monarch as our head of state tells the world.”
“Our strong historical links to the United Kingdom have nothing to do with the British monarchy. If they did, we would’ve seen much faster progress on the sluggish New Zealand-United Kingdom free trade agreement. New Zealand is today an independent country, and respecting the past does not compel us to live in it.”
“Dame Patsy’s invocation of the Treaty is nonsensical as well. The British monarch has not in any way contributed to the relationship between Māori and the Government. Every time Māori petitioned the British monarch for the redress of their legitimate grievances with the colonial government, they were sent home empty-handed. Having the British monarch as our head of state means that no Māori, or any other New Zealander for that matter, will ever be head of state of our own country” concluded Mr Holden.
ENDS
Media contact: Lewis Holden, phone: 09 889 8426