Graham Edwards Address to the Constitutional Convention Old Parliament House, Canberra Tuesday 3 February, 1998 Graham Edwards is an ARM Delegate from Western Australia

I was, I must admit, moved yesterday at the start of our Convention when our national anthem was played and delegates spontaneously sang Advance Australia Fair. I felt that there was at least some common ground. I was rather saddened, however, to later listen to a number of speakers from the monarchist ranks who were, in my view, unnecessarily mean-spirited in their attacks on members of the Australian Republican Movement. We have been, for instance, accused of being dishonest, divisive, unpatriotic, ignorant of the Constitution, anti-British and anti the Queen, among other things. I am not going to respond to that mean-spiritedness because I think in the end the Australian people will make their own judgment. But I want to say to the monarchists that if yesterday's and today's example is the best you can do then I would despair for the future of Australia if you were running our country. I say this because you appear to reflect our past without in any way reflecting our great Australian heritage or character.

I am extremely pleased to be part of the Australian Republican Movement. We are a diverse group of people, from the cities, the bush, young, old, from all walks of life and with representation from most political parties. We are a unified group, from the robustness and energy of Malcolm Turnbull to the effervescent passion of Janet Holmes a Court to the quiet dignity of Hazel Hawke or the wisdom of Peter Tannock - all united in the view that we should have an Australian as our head of state. Indeed, I take this opportunity to thank the people of Western Australia and the Australian Republican Movement for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this Convention.

People have recently been asking me why, with my background as an ex-serviceman, I support a republic. I guess the reasons go back a long way, and they are in part related to our history. I well recall my days at school where I grew up with a sense of frustration because we were taught so little Australian history and so little about the real individuals and occurrences that give and gave Australia its unique character.

I remember too as a young boy listening to the stories of veterans from Gallipoli, the Middle East and France and being told then by some of those veterans that one day Australia would break from the monarchy. I had the opportunity some years ago to visit Gallipoli. I must admit, it was an emotional experience. As I stood in awe at Anzac Cove, I came to understand the depth of feeling with which those men of my childhood spoke. Indeed, the first republicans I met, although I did not recognise it at that time, were some of those diggers who survived the horrors of the First World War.

I just ask you to reflect on these facts. In 1914-18 Australia had a population of some four million people. Of that sparse population, approximately 417,000 enlisted in Australian forces. Over 300,000 were sent overseas to serve on some three different continents. Sadly, 60,000 were killed and over 220,000 were wounded. That war on foreign soil ripped the heart out of our young nation. Indeed, I often wonder where Australia would be today if those young men had not been sacrificed for King and Empire.

Then there was the Second World War. At that time, with our own nation under immediate threat, our wartime Prime Minister, Curtin, had to fight bitterly with Churchill and Roosevelt over the deployment of Australian troops. In the face of their opposition, Curtin wanted our troops home. After months of argument, he had to override Churchill and order the return of our forces to prepare to defend Australia - and didn't they defend it magnificently. Then there was the war of my own era, Vietnam. Who could forget the slogan "All the way with LBJ"? It is my strong view that Australia has great cause to become a more independent nation with our own strong sense of self-determination and confidence in our own ability to decide our own future in our own regime in pursuit of our own destiny and security.

Australia has played a great role in international war and conflict; yet, we have paid a terrible price for our own freedom - a freedom which should be fully and totally reflected in our own Constitution with an Australian as our head of state. In the past, as a soldier and as a state member of parliament, I have sworn allegiance to the Queen, her heirs and successors. At all of those times I thought I should have been swearing allegiance to Australia and her people.

I am not anti the Queen. Indeed, I am proud of my British heritage just as you should be proud of whatever particular heritage you and your family personally bring to Australia. Know that I am not anti-British; I am just proud to be Australian and I want this reflected in our Constitution. The move to have an Australian as our head of state is largely a symbolic change, but nonetheless an important change. It will not change our system of parliamentary democracy, which has served us well, nor should it, nor will it take us out of the Commonwealth.

It is a change, however, that in my view will alter the way we feel as ordinary Australians, in our own hearts and minds, about our own country. This Convention cannot make a decision on whether or not there will be a republic, nor can it change the Constitution. That decision ultimately and rightly can be made only by the Australian people.

The monarchists say to us - indeed, we heard it reiterated by Lord Waddy - that 49 per cent of Australians do not want to change our Constitution. I say rubbish, Sir. I say to you: if you and your fellow monarchists have the courage of your convictions and if your words are not just empty rhetoric then support the model we want and let that model be put to the Australian people and let them decide.

In conclusion, I took the opportunity the other day when I arrived in Canberra to quietly sit under the halo at the Vietnam veterans memorial and reflected on many issues that are personal to me but which strongly related to my attitude to a republic. It was a humbling yet balancing experience, particularly when you know that but for the grace of God and a bit of luck your name could well be up there with the others who lost their lives in that unfortunate conflict.

I hope I reflect that balance here when I say to the monarchists: you obviously think it is acceptable for Australian men and women to fight for this country and you think it is acceptable for Australian men and women to die for this country, yet you do not think it is acceptable or good enough for an Australian man or woman to be head of this country. As an ex-serviceman and as an Australian I find that objectionable. That is why I strongly and passionately believe that Australia should become a republic.