Latest Poll: Support for NZ head of state is up

Good news for head of state campaigners in the latest nationwide poll.

The poll, by Curia Market Research, was commissioned by New Zealand Republic. It shows support for a New Zealand Head of State has risen to 44%. Support from people aged 18-30 is at now at 66%. Support for using the next British Monarch as our next head of state has fallen to 46%.

The results follow on from the last polls in December 2012 and April 2013 when support for change was sitting at around 40%. Since then the campaign has focused on making sure as many New Zealanders as possible know what the changes will entail. Chair of the campaign, Savage, has commented "We have been concentrating on giving people more details about ourreform and referendum proposals."

"We are confident that when New Zealanders are given accurate information they'll see there is a real need to change how we choose our head of state. There are obvious benefits to having a New Zealander in the role".

"It is a myth that young New Zealanders no longer support change"

"The royal visit will be interesting to many people of all age groups but changing to how we select our head of state is still inevitable. It's about doing what is best for our future".

The question asked was What is your preference for New Zealand’s next Head of State out of the following three options?
1. The next British Monarch becomes King of New Zealand.
2. New Zealand has a New Zealander as Head of State elected by a two thirds majority in Parliament.
3. New Zealand has a New Zealander as Head of State who is elected by the popular vote.
MARCH 2014
Count Percentage
Next Head of State British Monarch 477 46%
Appointed HoS 118 11%
Elected HoS 338 33%
Total HoS 456 44%
Unsure/refuse 105 10%
Total 1038 100%

RESULTS BY AGE
AGE RANGE
18-30 31-45 46-60 61+
% % % %
Next Head of State British Monarch 26% 41% 45% 53%
Appointed HoS 29% 9% 12% 9%
Elected HoS 37% 36% 36% 27%
Total HoS 66% 45% 48% 36%
Unsure/refuse 8% 14% 7% 11%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
POLLING: Curia Market Research
POLL DATES:
Monday 03 March to Tuesday 18 March 2014. The median response was collected on Tuesday 11 March 2014.
SAMPLE SIZE:
1,038 respondents agreed to participate.
SAMPLE SELECTION:
A random selection of 15,000 nationwide phone numbers.
SAMPLE ERROR:
Based on this sample of 1,038 respondents, the maximum sampling error (for a result of 50%) is +/- 3.1%, at the 95% confidence level.
WEIGHTING:
The results are weighted to the NZ adult population by gender, age and area.

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