A distant republic

Editorial
The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 Dec 2001

For all its charm, Corowa might seem a pretty long way from anywhere. The so-called Royal Hotel Resolution passed there at the weekend is far away indeed from what will be needed to move Australia from a monarchy to a republic. The fact that the Corowa meeting was held is an indication that the republican cause - despite the failure of the 1999 referendum - is well and truly alive. But the meeting itself showed how far there is still to go before the republicans win the day.

No resolution of a two-day meeting of the nature of that held in Corowa could do more than be very tentative. The meeting, organised by the Victorian Council for the Centenary of Federation and a former governor of Victoria, Sir Richard McGarvie, never claimed to be able to do more than suggest a way for the national debate on a republic to be taken up again and pursued. It has done that - by the tedious, all-too-familiar processes of such talkfests - and come up with a largely uncontroversial set of recommendations. These envisage more of the same - further talks and further consultations - before another attempt is made to draft a proposal for a constitutional amendment which may in due course be put to a referendum.

The process now proposed is for a multi-party committee of Federal Parliament to consult community and constitutional experts and prepare for a plebiscite on whether voters want a republic and, if so, which republican model they prefer. The plebiscite would ask whether Australia should become a republic with an Australian head of state; whether the head of state should be called president or governor-general; whether the head of state should be selected by the prime minister, selected by a two-thirds majority of parliament; nominated by an electoral college; or elected by popular vote and have codified powers.

The mere recitation of the options will, for many, be enough to discourage further interest in the subject, no doubt to the satisfaction of monarchists. Kerry Jones, of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, said after the Corowa meeting that she did not believe there was support to carry, through a plebiscite - on how the questions for a referendum might be formulated - then through the referendum itself, the republican case. Another monarchist, the Federal Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott, says that after "a very long debate leading up to the constitutional referendum of 1999 ... significant time would have to have elapsed before it could go to the people again".

Despite such sentiments, the case for a review of Australia's constitutional arrangements remains strong. So, too, despite the 1999 referendum, does support for the shift to a republic. The question is, what kind of republic. True, it will take time before that support grows sufficiently to make the republic a reality, especially while opposition to change remains firm at the highest political level, as it can be expected to do while John Howard remains prime minister. However, under a successor more in favour of the republic - such as the Treasurer, Peter Costello - the timetable may change. Meanwhile, the Royal Hotel Resolution, ponderous and indefinite though it is, keeps the republic issue alive even while it ensures that plenty of time will pass before the next assay of the people's will at a referendum.