Former United Future leader Peter Dunner has challenged the millennial generation in parliament to sever ties with the British Monarchy.
Yesterday, Peter Dunne used his last speech in parliament to challenge politicians to make the next Governor General the first president of a New Zealand republic.
"We can do so much better than continuing to bend our knee to the hereditary monarch on the other side of the world," he said.
He also used his valedictory speech to show his distaste for "showman politics".
However, Monarchy New Zealand's Richard Belcher said the benefits of the monarchy are "many and varied".
"One of the core tangible benefits that we get is a strong stable democracy that really works for us," he said.
"The model we have currently where we separate our political power from that cultural power, that's a very important thing to recognise."
Mr Belcher said we saw the "cultural power" of the monarchy when Prince William visited Canterbury and the "amazing impact he had for the communities down there,"
"We do have the elected leaders, we have the Prime Minsters doing a fantastic job representing New Zealand's interests on the world stage, but it's the difference between the political power and the ability to run the government versus the cultural power that we look for in a head of state."
He said it's the "ability to sit above the politics."
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