New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has said that he sees New Zealand as potentially becoming fully independent from the British Crown in the future.
In a short press gathering preceding his departure for London on Monday, 1st May, the successor to Jacinda Ardern told reporters: “Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world”.
However, this doesn’t seem to be a pressing issue for the present: “I don’t think that swapping out the Governor General for some other form of Head of State is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though”, continued the PM.
Mr Hipkins said priorities currently lay in more “bread-and-butter issues”, such as the cost of living crisis sparked by the pandemic, with its subsequent effects on the global production chain, and the war in Ukraine, which has created issues on energy provisions and global basic food supplies.
The question of the country’s full independence is one that the population has to answer. “Honestly, I think it is something for New Zealanders to instigate a discussion on, and there isn’t a groundswell of support for having this particular debate right at the moment”, said the Prime Minister.
This all happened as Mr Hipkins prepares for a short visit to London, during which, aside from attending the Coronation of King Charles III as a representative of one of the Realms, he also has a planned meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunek, to discuss advancements in a free trade agreement that was signed by the two nations in 2021.
Prime Minister Hipkins is not a lonely voice in the New Zealand’s political scene to predict full independence for the country at a later date. Former PM Ardern had also voiced her opinion in that sense during her time as leader, but, like her successor, she also saw the issue as not being a political priority.
Nor is New Zealand the first country in recent years to push for a complete separation from the British Crown: the most recent country to become a Republic was Barbados, in 2021, in a ceremony that was attended by the then-Prince of Wales on behalf of his mother.
And in recent months, Jamaica has expressed a wish to follow in that path, potentially becoming the first Realm to become a Republic under the reign of King Charles III.
Independence is a process for which both the King and the Prince of Wales have voiced their respect and cooperation. Prince William said in a statement following the Caribbean tour last year that “that future is for the people to decide upon”, and that “Catherine and I are committed to service. For us that’s not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best, by using the platform we are lucky to have”, adding: “Who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isn’t what is on my mind”.
Chris Hipkins is due to hold an audience with King Charles III in the days before the Coronation.
