Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947
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The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 was a constitutional Act of the New Zealand Parliament that formally granted New Zealand full external autonomy. By passing the Act, on November 25 1947, New Zealand ratified the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the British Parliament which granted full sovereign status to the Dominions ratifying the statute.
New Zealand did not adopt the Statute of Westminster 1931 until 1947 on account of a desire not to foster separatism in the British Empire. However, in the wake of the failure to stem the Japanese advance across the Pacific during World War II, it became increasingly clear to New Zealand that it could not rely on the United Kingdom for protection, which influenced the adoption of the statute.
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