Map of the Realm of New Zealand.

Governor-General

Since Queen Elizabeth II is resident in the United Kingdom she is represented in the Realm by a Governor-General. Governors-General take on all the dignities and reserve powers of the Queen. As of 2006 the Governor-General of New Zealand is Anand Satyanand.

Sovereignty within the Realm

The Realm itself is a collection of former British colonies and protectorates. New Zealand was a British colony formed in 1840 and became a dominion in 1907, and gained legal independence with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947. The Cook Islands and Niue were former British protectorates which were transferred to New Zealand administration in the early twentieth century. The Ross Dependency was put under New Zealand administration in 1923, and Tokelau was transferred to New Zealand from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1925.

Cook Islands and Niue

Both the Cook Islands and Niue are said to be self-governing in free association with New Zealand. The New Zealand Parliament is not empowered to unilaterally pass legislation in respect of these countries. In foreign affairs and defence issues New Zealand acts on behalf of these countries but only with their advice and consent.

As the Governor-General is resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands Constitution provides for the distinct position of Queen's Representative. This individual is not subordinate to the Governor-General and acts as the local representative of the Queen in right of New Zealand. As of 2005 Sir Frederick Goodwin is the Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands.

According to the Niue's Constitution of 1974, the Governor-General of New Zealand acts as the Queen's representative.

In the Cook Islands and Niue the New Zealand High Commissioner is the diplomatic representative from New Zealand. As of 2005, John Bryan is the New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands and Anton Ojala is the New Zealand High Commissioner to Niue.

Despite their close relationship to New Zealand, both the Cook Islands and Niue maintain some diplomatic relations in their own name. Both countries maintain High Commissions in New Zealand and have New Zealand High Commissioners resident in their capitals. In Commonwealth practice, High Commissioners represent their governments, not the Head of State.

New Zealand

New Zealand proper consists of the following island groups:

• the North Island, South Island and neighbouring coastal islands, all contained within the 16 regions of New Zealand
• the Chatham Islands to the east, contained within the Chatham Islands Territory
• the Kermadec Islands to the north and sub-Antarctic islands to the south, all outside local authority boundaries and inhabited only by a small number of research and conservation staff

Tokelau

Tokelau has a lesser degree of de jure independence than the Cook Islands and Niue have, and had been moving toward free association status. New Zealand's representative in Tokelau is the Administrator of Tokelau and has the power to overturn rules passed by the general fono.

Ross Dependency

New Zealand's claim to the Ross Dependency is held in abeyance, per the Antarctic Treaty System. The Governor-General of New Zealand, however, is also the Governor of the Ross Dependency. MFAT Speech of 23-Apr-02, Antarctic Conference The Ross Dependency claim includes McMurdo Station, operated by the United States.

Summary

Area	Representative of the Queen	Head of the Government	Legislature	Capital	Population	Land Area
New Zealand	Governor-General	Prime Minister	House of Representatives	Wellington	4,107,883	268,680 km²
Cook Islands	Queen's Representative	Prime Minister	Parliament of the Cook Islands	Avarua	21,388	236 km²
Niue	Representative of the Queen (the Governor-General of New Zealand)	Premier	Niue Assembly	Alofi	2,145	260 km²
Tokelau	Administrator	Ulu-o-Tokelau (Head of the Council of Ongoing Government)	General Fono	None	1,405	10 km²
Ross Dependency	Governor	Chief Executive	None	Scott Base	Scott Base: 10?80; McMurdo Station: 200?1000 (seasonally)	450,000 km²

Future of the Realm

Within New Zealand there exists some support^[1][2] for a New Zealand republic. Should New Zealand become a republic, the Realm of New Zealand would continue to exist without New Zealand, the Ross Dependency and Tokelau^[3]. This would not be a legal hurdle to a New Zealand republic as such, and both the Cook Islands and Niue would retain their status as associated states with New Zealand, as New Zealand shares its Head of state with the Cook Islands and Niue in the same way the United Kingdom shares its Head of state with the other Commonwealth Realms. However, a New Zealand republic would present the issue of independence to the Cook Islands and Niue. Thus, a number of options for the future of the Realm of New Zealand exist:

• A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue remaining in free association with New Zealand, but retaining the Queen of New Zealand as their head of state;
• A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue having a new republican head of state as their head of state;
• A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue having their own heads of state, but retaining their status of free association with New Zealand.

See also

• Dominion of New Zealand
• Commonwealth realm

External links

• Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General of New Zealand — gives explanation for "Realm of New Zealand"
• "Cook Islands" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• "Niue" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• "New Zealand and the Tokelau Islands" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• "Ross Dependency" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

References

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