The Irish got rid of the Windsors in 64 pages of biggish print.

And the law creating a public holiday for the King's Birthday is still on the books?

The idea that enacting the constitution is all they did, is, I suspect, misplaced.

It only took New Zealand 30 pages…

where I predicted it would be over 240 pages long?

The Irish got rid of the Windsors in 64 pages of biggish print. The Yanks ditched the Hanovers in rather less.

I wonder if anyone has actually put some thought to how this would work out, on an official level. Or is this too pie in the sky for the Parliamentary Counsel or…

I am, very much, in favour of ANZ becoming a republic – rather than an ersatz pseudo-monarchy (propped up by John Key's re-installation of weird old knightly/damely titles) but it…

Perhaps someone should convince a masters or honours student at Vic ... to have a whack at drafting something for the research paper requirement

Now that's just mean. Did you miss the bit where I predicted it would be over 240 pages long?

Would just be too much for talkback radio land, I guess. So we're stuck indefinitely

Sadly, a lot of folk dying of old age may be the answer

Object-Oriented Legislation?

I'm trying to keep that whole "computer science degree has real world uses" thing on the down low.

That's not how Keith Locke wanted to do it. The (New Zealand) Crown's obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi wouldn't transfer to the Government of the Republic of New Zealand, or to the Head of State, they'd stay with the Crown, exactly as they are now:

That's not a flaw....…

It would seem to make sense if there was a 'conduct of referenda' Act which provided a central reference point for any time someone wanted to put up a bill which included referenda.

Absolutely. It's my intention to suggest this in my select committee submission on both the MMP referedum…

a hereditary monarch, who passes on their status to their eldest son (who must be a Protestant and not marry a Catholic)

Curious how the law of succession is entirely inconsistent with all domestic law on, y'know, human rights and stuff.

Given that Labour and National are both leery of…

Somewhat hilariously, given Green Party views on the conduct of referendums made known in the House just the following day, the bill imposed absolutely no restrictions and no transparency on the conduct of the republican referendum.

It would seem to make sense if there was a 'conduct of referenda' Act…

Lewis, you may be right legally, but I believe politically Mrs Skin is correct – the issues are inextricable.

Sure, I freely accept that there's a significant "symbolic" aspect to the monarchy. There will need to be some work done in ensuring the Treaty is untouched. But that's it.

Mike…

How, exactly, can the Treaty be separated from the republic question? I would say they are inextricably bound.

But that's just the thing though Mrs Skin – they're not.

The Crown in 1840 that made the Treaty with Maori iwi was the British Crown. As part of New Zealand's constitutional…

Trying to do everything – republic, Treaty, entrenched BORA – all at once in one package is setting ourselves up to fail.

How, exactly, can the Treaty be separated from the republic question? I would say they are inextricably bound.

...the Green Party doesn't have the resources to pay lawyers…

The Maori Party got a constitutional review as part of it's confidence and supply agreement

It's not started yet.

The Maori Party got a constitutional review as part of it's confidence and supply agreement

It did? Is it happening? It must be a very quiet one..

I'd…

Why would you want a debate with the Monarchist League, or monarchists generally?

We try and avoid it – but they do represent a legitimate viewpoint nonetheless.

We are not going to have a republic when you convince the monarchists it's a good idea, we're going to have a republic…

We are serious about having a debate. The side avoiding the debate here are the monarchists.

Why would you want a debate with the Monarchist League, or monarchists generally? We are not going to have a republic when you convince the monarchists it's a good idea, we're going to have…

When republicans are serious about having a real debate, they'll come up with a non-stupid process actually worth engaging in. If they're not going to take themselves seriously by pushing a bill that flawed, I don't see why anyone else should take them seriously.

We…

Locke's Bill ignored that discussion.

That's because it tried to do the minimum change, the twink republic, where the monarchy is removed and everything else continues on as before. The Treaty is its own issue, and we can work that out another day. Trying to do everything – republic, Treaty,…

If the bill had made it to select committee, wouldn't a lot of the weirder stuff you've mentioned been weeded out, leaving a better framework for constitutional change should someone decide to have another stab further down the line?

It may have, if the bill had made it out of…

A bill setting up a Citizens Assembly to look into it is one.

Now thats a good idea...

An indicitive referendum triggering an inquiry is much less ambitious, but also…

How's about we follow something similar to the Australian process, sans…

The other scenario – that Locke didn't realise how bad the bill was – kind of worries me.

I can't conceive that he'd have known. Problems? Sure. But not these ones.

The idea that Locke would seek to provoke debate on whether we should have a hereditary monarch, who passes…

[Just wait until my next piece =) ]