MPs to join republican protest

Prince William will face protesters, including MPs, when he opens the Supreme Court building in Wellington on Monday.

Labour MP Clare Curran and Green MP Keith Locke will stand with advocates of a republic when a banner reading "It's Time For A Republic" is unfurled.

"I think he [William] is sort of irrelevant to New Zealand, so we don't really have a thing against him, as such," Republican Movement president Lewis Holden said. "This is all about a peaceful, positive protest. It's just us exercising our democratic rights."

William will land in Auckland tomorrow before flying to Wellington on Monday. After a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial, he will officially open the Supreme Court at 10.30am.

The Prince will also face a protest by Ministry of Justice staff, who are agitating for a pay settlement.

Curran said it was ironic that royalty was opening the Supreme Court, because it replaced the Privy Council, which was a bastion of the British justice system.

"That's partly what the advent of the Supreme Court was about – us pulling away from the British tradition of the Privy Council and setting up our own institution," she said.

Curran's stance was supported by fellow Labour MP Charles Chauvel, who will be overseas on Monday.

"To have a member of a foreign royal family open the building seems a bit anachronistic," he said.

Locke, who has a private member's bill for a referendum on the question of a republic, will attend the protest, but he said it was not against William.

There was a significant body of opinion in support of a republic, he said.

It is understood Locke's bill, which is expected to reach Parliament in March, will have enough support so that only two National or ACT MPs will have to add their backing for it to pass its first reading.

The bill would not become binding until it passed a further two readings.

Locke's Head of State Referenda Bill would send New Zealanders to the polls to decide whether to retain the British monarchy or move to an elected New Zealand head of state.

Locke yesterday said he had approached several national figures and been offered support by at least a dozen people, some of whom had been involved in starting a debate on changing the New Zealand flag. Writers, artists, sportspeople and academics were among them.

Locke said he expected to name them this month.

His bill had "a good chance" of passing its first reading, because it had supporters across every party, he said.

Both Labour and the Maori Party are expected to vote for the bill to pass its first reading so that it can be considered by a parliamentary select committee.

National has not made it clear how it will vote on the bill, but it is understood there are MPs within the party supportive of New Zealand becoming a republic.

National's Hunua MP, Paul Hutchinson, said yesterday he was sympathetic to the idea of a republic, but Locke's bill had not been discussed by the National caucus.

Chauvel said the bill should at least be considered by a select committee, so people could debate the issue.

- © Fairfax NZ News