As the debate about our head of state has progressed, it’s become increasingly obvious that the Commonwealth is a major issue for some. So we created a Facebook page called “New Zealand in the Commonwealth” with the aim of dispelling misinformation about the modern Commonwealth, and New Zealand’s membership of the organisation.
The page itself links to our website, where we’ve spelled out the facts on New Zealand’s membership of the Commonwealth. It’s clear on the page that it’s an initiative of New Zealand Republic, and advertising is paid for by our supporters and members.
What our page’s advertising has constantly confirmed though is that many New Zealanders - including some supporters of a New Zealand citizen as head of state - don’t really understand what the modern Commonwealth is.
For starters, there’s confusion about the nature of the Commonwealth. Many people appear to think that it’s some kind of supranational body like the European Union, or the British Empire. In fact, the Commonwealth is a group of organisations, called the Commonwealth “family.”
Then there are assumptions that the Commonwealth equates to trading and defence relationships, which hasn’t been the case for nearly half a century. Old assumptions die hard it seems, but often you’ll see comments based on these assumptions which are decades out of date.
And yet, the modern Commonwealth does a lot of good that is barely covered by the news media. Most of the organisations that exist to ostensibly promote the Commonwealth focus on the Royal family and the monarchy, only one appears to actively focus on the good work the Commonwealth does, Commonwealth Youth. The Commonwealth’s greatest challenge is that it is closely associated with the Royals, who use the organisation as a way of trying to project themselves as part of Britain’s “soft power” in the world. As a result, shifting perceptions and misinformation is very difficult.
Sir Don McKinnon, in his autobiography In The Ring expressed frustration at this, especially with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown introducing the Secretary-General as “head” of the “British Commonwealth”. What is clear for the head of state debate though is that we have to correct a lot of these misunderstandings even if the supporters of the Commonwealth won’t.