High time to move on from their Highnesses

Article by Allison Henry
Newcastle Herald
5 March 2005

While there's no denying that the republican issue has been off the mainstream national agenda in recent years, there's equally no doubt its been on people's minds in the past few weeks.

The current visit to these shores of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales - the future King Charles III of Australia - for his first visit in some 11 years, together with the recent announcement of his forthcoming marriage, have renewed interest in the campaign for an Australian Head of State.

Ably assisted by the coincidental visit of the majestic Princess Mary of Denmark, these two developments have prompted Australians to reconsider the fundamental question of who should be our next Head of State: a member of the British royal family who drops by every now and then for a whirlwind trip, or a fellow Australian chosen from amongst us.

And the verdict is pretty clear. In contrast to earlier visits by the Prince and his family, not to mention the rapturous response received by 'Our Mary', Prince Charles has been greeted on his whistle stop tour around the country with general indifference, a few who are curious and a diminished number of true believers.

Meanwhile, the Australian Republican Movement has had its busiest period in years, and opinion polls are showing a surge in support for a home-grown Head of State. The Morgan poll last week demonstrated 51% support for an Australian republic, rising to 61% if Prince Charles were King. This was followed by a Galaxy poll showing support for a republic rising from 53% to 57% when people considered Charles becoming Australia's next Head of State.

While these sorts of polls may be considered bad press for His Royal Highness, they are probably a more accurate indication of how Australians view Queen Elizabeth II than any reflection on Prince Charles or his likely performance as our future King.

They are also a reflection of the changing nature of Australian society. Since Federation in 1901 we have grown into a mature and confident nation. And during that time our institutions have evolved and adapted to fit changing circumstances. While constitutional monarchy was at one time an appropriate reflection of this nation, it is no longer.

When the Queen first visited Australia in 1954, we were overwhelmingly Anglo-Celtic. The White Australia Policy was still in full swing, our highest court of appeal was the Privy Council in the UK and we used the British sterling system with its pounds, shillings and pence for our currency. Britain was our largest export market, as we were theirs, and as loyal children of the motherland we sang God Save the Queen for our national anthem.

Fifty years on, there are whole generations of Australians with no link to Britain. The highest court in the land is the High Court of Australia, our currency is the Australian dollar, our major trading partners are the US and Japan, and for decades now we've been singing Advance Australia Fair.

We've moved on, but our constitutional system lags behind.

Many Australians support the move to a republic "after the Queen goes". But should we wait until our current, well-respected monarch passes away to deal with this issue? Surely such an approach is only going to set us up for constitutional challenges down the track.

We should not wait. We should make the move to a republic while the Queen still reigns over us. We should show our maturity and independence by moving on from an absentee hereditary monarch to an Australian Head of State, so that the position at the apex of our constitutional system is one of us, drawn from amongst us, and with an understanding of who we are and what we aspire to.

Leaving our constitutional system unchanged means that our next Head of State will be Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor of London, England, and we will have no say in the matter. Let's take the initiative and reform our constitutional system, at our own pace and according to our own timetable. An Australian republic remains fundamental to our identity as a nation and to our future; it should not be made to wait for anyone or anything outside of Australia.

Allison Henry is the National Director of the Australian Republican Movement