AUSTRALIA DEBATES DITCHING QUEEN!
| By Phil Mercer BBC News, Perth |
As the United States celebrates its first African-American president, the people of another former British colony, Australia, are wondering whether they will ever have their own home-grown head of state.
The issue of a republic is brewing again amid mounting pressure on the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to say when Australians can vote on constitutional reform.
The idea that Britain's Queen Elizabeth should be replaced by an Australian president was enthusiastically endorsed by delegates at Mr Rudd's recent 2020 Summit, which invited 1,000 of the nation's brightest minds to Canberra to debate pressing public concerns.
The prime minister is expected to respond within weeks to their suggestions and those agitating for change believe that the Labor leader must set out a timetable for a referendum.
"It's really about identity and dignity," explained Grant Jordan, Western Australian convenor of the Australian Republican Movement.
 |   I love the Queen, I love what she stands for  Steve Amphlett |
Australia is a constitutional monarchy and it is a decade since the country rejected wholesale reform at the last referendum, thanks in large part to the type of republic on offer, which would have seen a president appointed by parliament and not by the people.
Republicans believe that up to six different models should be put to the popular vote in a plebiscite, with the most favoured then subjected to a referendum.
On a sweltering evening in the northern Perth suburb of Joondalup, home to legions of British migrants, opinion on the issue at the local soccer club was as fierce as some of the tackles at the start of pre-season training.
|  It's nice she's a titular head of state but I'm not so sure in today's world it's really necessary Alan Vest |
Neither did John Higgins, a bricklayer from Birmingham who emigrated to Perth 18 years ago.
"The monarchy should stay in Australia," he told the BBC. "If you speak to the majority of the English here, they really want it to stay as it is."
Joondalup's soccer coach, Alan Vest, a Yorkshire-born former New Zealand international - whose name may be familiar to older supporters of Barnsley and Rochdale - believes though that constitutional change in Australia is inevitable.
"My mother's a monarchist. She's mad about the Queen. It's nice she's a titular head of state but I'm not so sure in today's world it's really necessary."
Republicans have estimated that up to 85% of Australians support their cause, among them both the Prime Minister and leader of the conservative opposition.
 The driver of this Perth car makes his royal allegiance clear |
"I think the Queen's for England," he told BBC News. "I just think Australia is an old enough country to be the master of its own destiny. We are becoming more Asian-orientated and there are more Asian people in Australia and they have no affiliation with the UK."
The republic debate in Australia is always passionate and both sides are promising a forceful campaign when the next referendum eventually comes around.
Neil Gilmore, the Australian Monarchists League representative in Western Australia, remains adamant that voters will favour the status quo.
"The notable thing about Mr Rudd's enthusiasm for a republic is the fact that the people of Australia don't share it," he insisted. "We don't want a republic. We've had stability and prosperity. Everything that we could want we get from our wonderful system of government."BBC NEWS REPORT.
Labels: Australia Repulbic Queen Reform Asian Monarchy Canberra
posted by jackaranda at 9:10 am
1 Comments:
A lot could be said in reply to Phil Mercer's article. Let me just refer to "Mr Rudd's recent 2020 Summit, which invited 1,000 of the nation's brightest minds to Canberra". It came as no surprise that participants (I refuse to call them "delegates" , since nobody delegated them) "enthusiastically endorsed" a republic. They did not say, what kind of republic, but these trifle little issue were not discussed, because it was obvious they would not be able to agree on a model.
Mr Rudd's 2020 Summit pretended to be the voice of the people, but was acutally used by such groups as Get Up! ... A group that is officially unaligned but which had 118 delegates out of the 1000 summiteers at that 2020 Summit. Piers Akerman: "Incredibly, 118 of the chosen delegates are GetUp! members, including our Executive Director Brett Solomon."
The whole 2020 Summit seems to have been the ultimate astroturfing exercise ... a group supposedly representing the people of Australia but in fact hand crafted to ensure a predictable outcome.
All they could demonstrate was that their ability to organise a vote was more advanced than that of the Monarchists. They achieved a one hundred precent vote in favour of "a" republic at the Summit, which is ridiculous when opinion polls show that their support base in the population is just 45 percent.
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