Dunne: Make NZ a republic

Peter Dunne has used his final speech in Parliament to challenge politicians to make the next governor-general the first president of a New Zealand republic.

Dunne, who did not stand in the last election after 33 years in Parliament, delivered a pseudo-valedictory speech in the Legislative Council Chamber as part of Victoria University’s post-election conference.

At the close of the speech he characterised the 2017 election as a ‘‘generational change’’ moment, similar to the 1984 election that saw his generation of baby boomer MPs replace the World War II veterans in government.

This made it a golden opportunity for the new MPs to ‘‘sever the umbilical cord’’ and become an independent Commonwealth republic, he said.

‘‘You are in the main the millennials who will shape the future of [the] next generation and beyond. Seize the moment now and begin the process of wider constitutional reform by committing to our next head of state being the first president of the Republic of New Zealand ...

‘‘I strongly believe the time has well passed for us to sever the umbilical cord to grandmother England,’’ Dunne said.

‘‘We can do so much better than continuing to bend our knee to a hereditary monarch on the other side of the world.’’

The Government could take the non-partisan governor-general selection process and refit it.

‘‘We have consistently shown over the last 30 years or so that we can produce many quality New Zealanders to serve as our governor-general. There is no reason why we cannot do likewise with a non-executive president.’’