Why is New Zealand not a State of Australia? Did they choose not to be?

Question

According to the Constitution of Australia, New Zealand is referenced as a state of the Commonweath of Australia.

See point 6 in:
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/preamble.htm

I assume that NZ chose not to be a part of this after the constitution was formed and became a sovereign state.

Can someone tell me if this is true and if so, the logic behind it?

Answer 1

G'day Brettski,

Thanks for the question.

New Zealand was envisaged as part of a possible federation.

Following the formation of the Federal Council of Australasia in 1885 (a weak non-executive, non-legislative federation of Western Australia, Fiji, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria) the movement for full Federation developed in the late nineteenth century, proposing that the six colonies join together as one federation of several States and territories (it was envisaged that New Zealand might join). In the 1890s, two constitutional conventions were called, which ultimately adopted a constitution based on a combination of British, American and other models (monarchy and parliamentary government from Britain, federalism from the United States, the use of the referendum from Switzerland).

New Zealand was involved in a Constitutional Convention in March 1891 in Sydney, New South Wales, along with the Australian colonies. This was to consider a potential constitution for the proposed federation between all the Australasian colonies. New Zealand lost interest in joining Australia in a federation following this convention, though the Australian Constitution still includes provision for New Zealand to be included.

This constitution was then approved by the voters in each of the six colonies. (At the time women had the vote in only one of them: South Australia, and Aboriginal Australians in South Australia and Queensland only). It was then passed (with an amendment allowing for some appeals to the Privy Council in London) as an Act of the British Parliament: the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. The Act entered into force on January 1, 1901, at which point the Commonwealth of Australia came into being. The 1901 Australian Constitution included provisions to allow New Zealand to join Australia as its seventh state, even after the government of New Zealand had already decided against such a move.

The logic was that the Australian colonies and New Zealand had much in common. While New Zealand chose not to join the Australian federation in 1901, it maintains close political contact. At a government-to-government level, the relationship that Australia has with New Zealand is better developed and more extensive than with any other country. Prime Ministers hold annual formal talks, as do Treasurers, Trade and Defence Ministers. Foreign Ministers meet biannually.Ministers and public servants from both countries participate in meetings and conferences on a wide range of issues: health, education, transport, justice, quarantine and many others. New Zealand ministers and senior officials participate, with their Australian federal and state counterparts, in many of the ministerial council meetings which span the Australian domestic policy agenda.

One of the reasons that New Zealand chose not to join Australia was due to perceptions that the indigenous Māori population would suffer as a result. Federation age Australia had a strict White Australia policy and indigenous Aboriginal peoples were not granted citizenship and the vote as early as the Māori in New Zealand, who had full citizenship, and universal suffrage since 1893.

From time to time the idea of joining Australia has been mooted, but opinion polls show New Zealanders overwhelmingly oppose the idea. Even New Zealanders resident in Australia have been unenthusiastic, while for its part, the Australian government has expressed little or no interest.

Manuka in the Australian Capital Territory is named because of hopes that New Zealand would join the Federation.

I have enclosed some sources for your reference.

Regards

Answer 2

New Zealand was involved in the early Federation talks with other Australian colonies (later States) but ultimately chose not to join the Australian Commonwealth. Another answerer will have to give you the reasons why they made this decision. Interestingly, as NZ didn't join with Australia it was not truly independent of Britain until 1953 - that's slow, bro!

From Wikipedia - "In 1901 New Zealand did not ratify the Australian Constitution, and so rejected membership of the Australian Commonwealth. Hence, on 26 September 1907 the United Kingdom granted New Zealand (along with Newfoundland, which later became a part of Canada) "Dominion" status within the British empire. Thus New Zealand became known as the Dominion of New Zealand. The date was declared Dominion Day, but never reached any popularity as a day of independence. To regard it as a national independence day is incorrect. With Dominion status, New Zealand did not have any control over its foreign affairs or military; these issues remained the responsibility of Britain.

In 1926 the Balfour Declaration declared that the British Dominions were equal, which had the effect of granting New Zealand control over its own foreign policy and military. The legislation required to effect this change, the Statute of Westminster 1931 was not adopted by New Zealand some 16 years later. As of 1939, the Governor-General ceased to be Britain's High Commissioner to New Zealand, instead an independent officier was appointed.

At the outset of the Second World War, then Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage famously declared "Where [Britain] stands, we stand". The New Zealand armed forces were by now substantially under New Zealand command, although legally a part of the British military. Thus, the New Zealand Government did not have the same powers to recall New Zealand armed forces to meet the threat of invasion by Japanese forces, as Australia did in 1942.

Thus, in 1946 Prime Minister Peter Fraser instructed Government departments not to use the term 'Dominion' any longer, and the following year New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster Act on 25 November 1947 with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947. This Act allowed the New Zealand Parliament full legislative powers, extra-territorial control of the New Zealand military and legally separated the New Zealand Crown from the British Crown. Thus, the New Zealand Monarchy is legally speaking independent of British Monarchy.

In 1948 the New Zealand Parliament passed the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948, altering the New Zealand nationality law. From 1 January 1949 all New Zealanders became New Zealand citizens. Previously, New Zealanders were automatically British citizens. However, the term "British" was used in New Zealand nationality law until the Citizenship Act 1977 came into force. Prior to this Act, migrants to New Zealand were classed as either "British" (mainly from the United Kingdom itself, but also other Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa and India) or "Non-British"[1].

It was not until 1953, however, that the term 'Dominion' was replaced officially with the term "Realm of New Zealand". In the same year the New Zealand Parliament passed the Royal Titles Act 1953, which declared the recently Crowned Queen Elizabeth II "Queen of New Zealand". New Zealand was thus an independent Commonwealth Realm.

Answer 3

Aside from all of the above-mentioned political reasons, the nation of New Zealand was forged in a way which is much different from Australia's colonial beginnings.

Essentially, though they were close geographically, Australia and New Zealand did not evolve as the nations they are today on a parallel timeline. At least one of the major differences was the reaction of the Maori people and the signing of the treaty of Waitangi. As a result of it's early history, New Zealand formed an identity independantly of and seperate to that of Australia.

For more information please see the sources.

Answer 4

A politician wrote up the Constitution and put it to the Australian parliament, who accepted as it was written, but didn't consult New Zealand over whether or not they wanted to be a state of Australia, but this clause has never been amended, due to pure laziness.

Answer 5

Great informative answers above!

Despite being a proud Aussie, I would have to admit that the general wellbeing and staus of the NZ Indegenous population was and still remains far, far, far superior to that of the Australian Indegenous population.

That would almost certainly not be the case if NZ had joined the other 6 colonies to become part of the Australian federation!

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Forget the constitution, we'ed be over run by sheep and rampaging Kiwis, All doing a harka and trying to borrow money!..Who would we play rugby against..and hate?AND they've got a funny accent! Fssshh n' chpps, Their netball players look like mountain gorillas, And act like them too. They drink like a flushing dunny, They bat to slowly in test matches, Oh, in passing im only talking about North Islanders, not Mainlanders from the south!..And you want that lot to be part of Australia?..Go and seek medical help immediatly!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Australia didn't want them. Too many Kiwis, too many sheep.

New Zealand, where men are men and sheep are sh1t scared

Answer 10

I'm Australian and your right Stacey P...THANK GOD NZ is not part of Australia.