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Leader of the opposition National party in New Zealand Chris Luxon has said he does not believe there is public appetite for leaving the monarchy. People are more concerned about issues such as the cost of living, he said.
Speaking to Newshub Nation Luxon said:
I visit two or three towns each and every week, it just isn’t a topic of conversation that comes up. I appreciate at times like this we start thinking about having these conversations, but there actually isn’t a real desire for the conversation or to make any change to our constitutional arrangements… The reality for me is people are very fixated on other things: cost a living, housing, healthcare, education, crime. That’s what they’re really concerned about at the moment.
He also paid tribute to the Queen, adding: “she’s woken up each and every day with tremendous mission and purpose to serve her people incredibly well”.