Merry Christmas Everyone

Let's get on with it

A Republic is inevitable and we do need to get on with it. It is time to overcome our awkward adolescence.

Speaking to people before the 2008 elections it is clear that a groundswell of republican sentiment is growing here. According to the BBC, 42% of New Zealanders think we should be a republic.

The galvanizing is already coming from the bottom up. It will not develop from the top down because both Labour and National have a vested interest in delay. Key has just leapt backwards with the reinstatement of royal honours to placate his conservatives. Goff supports Maori separatism and the development of a nation within a nation.

New Zealanders are signalling a New Start with a centrist vision. They are tired of the same old left to right seesaw. We need

• A Constitution that makes all equal in law
• Prompt reconciliation of Maori grievances
• A new flag without the union jack
• Direct democracy with binding referendums
• Our families restored
• Our assets protected
• Incentives for innovation and hard work
• And full on concentration on alternative energy.

We don't need Clayton's Republicans like Peter Dunne. He simply wants to replace the Governor General with a New Zealand Head of State and leave everything else as it is. This is not a republic. The problem with our present system is the unchallengeable power of the Executive to ramrod things through. If you don't believe me, look at what National is doing now with the Supercity Bill. They rammed it through Parliament under urgency, even though 80% of Aucklanders oppose it. Labour's retrospective legislation to wipe away its breaches of electoral law is another example. That legislation was unchallengeable in the courts because we don't have a written constitution. We so blindly believe in the superiority of the Westminster system and arrogantly criticise the Americans. Yet they have a constitution and a court that can review legislation. They also have the separation of powers, a unique system where the executive, the legislature and judiciary watch each other. Did Congress force Nixon to resign? You bet it did. We have no such protections here.

It is time for New Zealand (Aotearoa) to claim maturity as a nation. It's time to say bye bye to the monarchy, bye bye Governor General, bye bye to Westminster and hello to the democratic Republic of New Zealand.

India Supreme

Congratulations to the Indian Cricket team. They definitely out played the New Zealand team throughout the tour, except for the second test. In that test we saw the emergence of Jess Ryder as a genuine test batsman. Although New Zealand lost it was a pleasure to see the sublime batting skills of Tendukhar, possibly for the last time in New Zealand. Seewag and Dravid also performed well as did the Indian bowlers. There's no doubt about it. India now is a world class team and can look forward to beating any one they take on. It's great to see good cricket.
I am not despondent about the results this summer. The New Zealand team shows real potential and I'm looking forward to improved performances next summer.

Big plunge backwards

The National Government's decision to reinstate knights and dames into our honours system is a big plunge backwards.
Nearly a decade ago we dropped this import from Britain and developed our own honours system.
The idea was to reflect the growing maturity of our nation and us as New Zealanders by departing from our colonial past.
Now the National Government has bowed to the pressure of its hard core conservatives and plunged us back 20 years or more.
No wonder many countries around the world have a hard time taking us seriously when we proclaim ourselves as an independent and sovereign nation. We certainly don't act like one.