New Zealand’s Maori Party calls for Queen to be removed as head of state

New Zealand’s Māori Party has called for the Queen to be dropped as the country’s head of state, on the day she marked 70 years since her ascension to the throne.

Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer called for a “divorce” from the British Monarchy on Sunday in a statement made as part of New Zealand’s Waitangi Day commemorations.

The day marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, between Māori chiefs and the British Crown on 6 February 1840.

Ms Ngarewa-Packer said New Zealand should undergo “constitutional transformation” that restores sovereignty to the “tangata whenua”, or First Nations.

“The only way this nation can work is when Māori assert their rights to self-management, self-determination, and self-governance over all our domains,” she said.

The party meanwhile criticised prime minister Jacinda Ardern for her statement in praise of Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more via The Telegraph