“It is inevitable,” said former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark in her farewell speech, “that our constitutional status as a monarchy will also change – it's a question of not if, but when.” As she can clearly predict the future, didn’t Ms. Clark know that she would lose office last November? So why did she bother to contest the election?
Her successor John Key also predicts an inevitable republic. Neither tells New Zealanders what sort of republic will prevail. Ms. Clarke is not happy about Mr. Key’s sensible decision to recognize the achievements of New Zealanders in a way New Zealand and the wider world understand. It seems she detests knighthoods.
"Many of our forebears came to this land to escape the class-bound nature of Britain, where their place in the economic and social order was largely prescribed by birth,” she affirmed.
"I deeply detest social distinction and snobbery, and in that lies my strong aversion to titular honours. To me they relate to another era, from which our nation has largely, but obviously still not completely, freed itself."
…A Haka for Their Queen…
In the video on the site , the All Blacks perform a Haka for Their Queen at the Palace, followed by one on the field. This is followed by a photograph of New Zealand born members of the Royal Family.
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