Oath of Allegiance (New Zealand) - Alteration and Augmentation of Oaths

Alteration and Augmentation of Oaths

In May 2004, the Minister of Justice, Phil Goff, announced a review of New Zealand's oaths and affirmations stating that "This review also offers a chance for people to express a view on whether our oaths accurately reflect the values and beliefs that are important to New Zealanders in the 21st century". The Ministry of Justice reported in a discussion paper on oaths and affirmations that many were either out of date (such as the teachers' oath or the Queen's Counsel oath) or used arcane language. The review suggested that New Zealand could follow the experience of Australia by removing references to the Queen from the oaths. The Monarchist League called the change "republicanism by stealth" and commented that " declaration of allegiance to New Zealand, or to the Prime Minister, would be a poor substitute ".

In response, the Republican Movement argued that removing references to the Queen was not "republicanism by stealth" but simply reflected the contemporary values of New Zealanders. The Republican Movement also submitted that "he Australians have already updated their oath of citizenship so that there is no mention of the Queen, while maintaining the exact same constitutional monarchy as New Zealand".