Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947

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Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947
Coat of arms of New Zealand.svg
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Public Act No. 1947 38
Responsible Ministry Ministry of Justice

Minister responsible for introduction		 Peter Fraser
Royal Assent November 25, 1947
Force of law November 25, 1947
Replaced by Constitution Act 1986
Repealed on December 13, 1986
Web link Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947

With the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 , New Zealand took the step towards independence in 1947, the law being given legal effect on November 25, 1947 by being signed by the British Crown.

history

With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6, 1840, New Zealand became a British colony and quickly got an independent government under British control. When the Australian colonies merged into a federation in January 1901, New Zealand considered joining them as the seventh state, but on May 30, 1901, this was rejected by parliamentary resolution. Six years later New Zealand took over the status of a Dominion , but after the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 , which gave the British colonies the opportunity to become independent by their own resolution, it took another 16 years to venture into independence. The concerns about having to defend themselves and being able to survive economically due to the close ties to the motherland were too great.

It was finally the Labor Party government under Prime Minister Peter Fraser who decided to go on the road to independence in 1938 and finally implemented it with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 . Along with the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947 , which allowed New Zealand to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 , New Zealand received full sovereignty on November 25, 1947. Actually, this day should be made a national holiday as New Zealand Day . But it was decided instead to use February 6, 1840 as Waitangi Day as a national holiday.

With the passage and signing of the Constitution Act 1986 , the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 ceased to apply on December 13, 1986.

literature

  • Janine Hayward (Ed.): New Zealand Government and Politics . 6th edition. Oxford University Press , Melbourne 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-558525-4 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c New Zealand Sovereignty: 1857, 1907, 1947, or 1987? . New Zealand Parliament , August 28, 2007, accessed June 28, 2015 .
  2. ↑ NZ says no to federation with Australia . New Zealand History , August 26, 2014, accessed June 28, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Janine Hayward : 3.2 The Constitution . In: New Zealand Government and Politics . 2015, p.  133 .
  4. ^ W. David McIntyre. : Self-government and independence - Statute of Westminster . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , July 13, 2012, accessed June 28, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Amos Peaslee : Asia, Australia and Oceania . In: Constitutions of Nations . Volume II . Springer Science & Business Media , 2013, ISBN 978-94-017-1147-0 , pp.  819 (English).
  6. ^ Constitution Act 1986 . Legislation New Zealand , accessed June 7, 2015 .