Chair's Report
THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY
Most states in Australia had a public holiday on Mon 11 June to mark the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. It is quite bizarre that our governments continue with this anachronistic habit of celebrating the birthday of a foreigner. The Queen is not an Australian, occupies her position by birthright not merit, can never hope to understand what it means to be an Australian and can never represent us, and us alone, on the world stage.
The ARM is not against public holidays or celebrations but surely we can think of something distinctly Australian to celebrate, rather than the birthday of a foreign queen.
We also used the occasion of the holiday to call on the Government to ‘pledge that 2007 will be the last occasion on which Australian Honours and Awards are announced on the Queen’s Birthday holiday.’
This practice devalues the special Australian character of the awards, especially for the majority of Australians who are republicans, and confuses them with the old imperial awards. The days of empire are over and this practice should be ended too.
LEADERSHIP AND ACHIEVING AN AUSTRALIAN HEAD OF STATE
The ARM wants the Government to lead the country towards the goal of achieving an Australian as our Head of State. All governments are prone to telling us how powerless they are to control international trends, for example, fluctuating petrol prices, but the issue of an Australian as our Head of State is one that is entirely within the control of the government of the day. It can choose to lead us on the path to that goal or it can stay silent and inactive, passively reacting rather than proactively leading.
And yet it’s not only the government that should be leading on this issue. The ARM’s objectives of representing what we believe is the majority view and working towards a Republic with an Australian Head of State make the ARM, and its members, leaders on this issue as well.
Leadership is essentially about a spirit of service and about people. Many ARM members exhibit this spirit of service - they give far more to the ARM and the country than they could ever hope to receive in return. But what about the people - including ARM people? Why rely on others to take the leadership role?
Ask yourself the following questions:
Q. When did I last raise the issue of our Head of State with anyone in conversation?
Q. When did I last provide a membership form to a friend / colleague / neighbour?
Q. When did I last attend an ARM function?
Q. When did I last write to a newspaper about a republican issue?
Q. When did I last offer an idea or a comment to an elected Branch Councillor or
a National Committee member ?
Q. Do I ever wear an ARM lapel badge?
Q. Do I display an ARM bumper sticker on my car?
Q. Do I have an ARM coffee mug to give to my visitors?
Q. Do I ever wear my ARM Tshirt?
These are questions not for others but for ourselves! If we want politicians and governments to take up our cause we, as individuals, have to be prepared to lead in our own small ways. Don’t leave it to others - if we lead from the bottom politicians and others will start to take us seriously. That’s the challenge!
Mike Keating, Acting ARM Chair
chair@republic.org.au
Back to top
|
