ARM MEDIA RELEASE - 26 January 2006

GG out of line

The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) today criticised the Governor General, Major General Michael Jeffery, over his extraordinary entry into the republican debate.

The Chair of the ARM, Ted O'Brien, was stunned by the Governor General's intervention yesterday, when he made a pointed statement to the Sun Herald newspaper in response to the inaugural A Mate for Head of State campaign.

"This intervention is totally inappropriate," said Mr O'Brien. "As the Queen's representative in Australia, the Governor General by convention should be non-partisan and rise above the politics of the day. It is unacceptable for him to weigh into the debate over an Australian republic in this manner."

"Major General Michael Jeffery may claim to fulfil some functions of a Head of State, but that doesn't make him our Head of State. He carries out such functions on behalf of his boss, the Queen, and this is precisely why we should become a republic. Australia's Head of State should be one of us."

Mr O'Brien noted that the Governor General's comments put him at odds with the senior law officers of the Howard Government. Both current Attorney General Phillip Ruddock and his predecessor Daryl Williams are on the record that it is appropriate to regard the Queen as Australia's head of state.

"Section 2 of the Constitution makes it clear that the Governor-General is the Monarch's 'representative in the Commonwealth'. As constitutional expert Professor George Winterton has argued, 'A person who is another's "representative" cannot properly be described as occupying an office at the apex of the state,'" said Mr O'Brien.

"Monarchists who deny the Queen is our Head of State must take Australians as fools" said Mr O'Brien. "The Governor General pledges allegiance to the Queen and disappears from the scene whenever she visits. The Queen appears throughout our constitution and is on our currency. Australians aren't stupid. We can see right through misleading monarchist campaigns trying to divert attention from the key issue of the republican debate: that an Australian, one of us, should be at the apex of our constitutional system."

The ARM's National Director Allison Henry said that the Governor General's statement was a remarkable reaction, noting that "The A Mate for Head of State campaign is not an attack on the Governor General or on the royal family. It is a positive campaign for an Australian Head of State."

A Mate for Head of State Day has been organised by a broad coalition of republicans including the ARM. The campaign is focused on the simple idea that we should have one of us in the top job. Republicans will gather today at events around the nation in support of A Mate for Head of State Day. Organisers are asking Australians to wear gold ribbons to demonstrate their support for an Australian Head of State. A Mate for Head of State Day is intended to be an annual national event held on the Sunday before Australia Day each January.