2004 Honorary Republican Ambassadors
On Wednesday 31 March the ARM launched its 2004 Honorary
Republican Ambassadors at a reception at Parliament House
in Canberra.
The 2004 Honorary Republican Ambassador Program is a reflection
of the ARM itself: a grass roots community organisation. A national
organisation of ordinary Australians, we have chosen ambassadors
to represent to their fellow citizens an idea, for the idea of
an Australian Head of State.
Our ambassadors are a diverse group of Australians. They are
mostly not well known to the wider Australian community, though
some are well known. But they are all well known in their own
smaller communities. They are a cross section of Australians.
They are a cross section of republicans. They are city people
and country people. They are women and men. They are relatively
old and quite young. They come from each of Australia's eight
states and territories.
A salesman from Cairns ... a shop owner from Hobart ... a mother
of two from Sydney ... an engineer from Perth ... a financial
planner from Adelaide.
They share the ARM's commitment to an Australian Head of State.
That is the one great unifying idea among republicans.
They have been willing, in the spirit of that great Australian
tradition, to "have a go". They are declaring to their fellow
citizens that they believe strongly enough in the idea of an
Australian Head of State to want to play a special part in the
great community discussion about this issue. They are giving
their time and commitment for that idea.
We are proud and excited that these 50 Australians have accepted
our invitation to become republican ambassadors. We know too that
they are proud to have been invited to take up our offer. We are
excited too to know that there are hundreds more groups of 50
around Australia who every day are acting informally as republican
ambassadors within their own small and sometimes relatively big
communities: families, workplaces, associations and towns, for
instance. We salute them too.
The Australian Republican Movement’s 2004 Honorary Republican Ambassadors
Professor John Warhurst, The New ARM - Our Approach, 31 March 2004
Ted O'Brien, The Philosophy of the New ARM, 31 March 2004
