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We
are Australian. Our Head of State should be one of us.
So simple, so obvious and yet such a long struggle to
achieve.
We are three weeks away from having the chance to do
something wonderful for ourselves, our children and
our nation. We are reminded by the young speakers today,
the National Children's Choir and all the children in
the hall of what this is all about.
Every Australian child should be able to aspire to be
the Head of State of Australia. No public office in
our country should be denied to Australians. We should
have a Resident for President.
Someone who lives among us, breathes the air we breath,
hurts when we hurt, cheers when we win, encourages us
when we lose and always barracks for Australia. Someone
who can represent our nation both to its own people
and to the world. Only an Australian can do that.
This referendum is the culmination of a nine year campaign.
The republic proposal for November 6 is the best republican
model for Australia. It has brought together Australians
from all walks of life and all sides of politics. Young
and old, Labor and Liberal.
Now the monarchists may have walked away from the Queen.
But we are not walking from our republic proposal which
was developed at the Constitutional Convention.
The monarchy we have today is relic of our colonial
past. The proposal we are asking Australians to say
Yes to next month is a huge improvement.
It delivers an Australian as our Head of State. It lessens
the power of the Prime Minister. No longer will the
Prime Minister be able to install a political mate as
our constitutional umpire. Our republic proposal builds
on the present system, but makes it better, fairer and
more democratic.
By giving every Australian a real say in nominating
our Australian President, we have the opportunity to
have a say for the very first time. Then Prime Minister,
Leader of the Opposition and two thirds of Parliament
will have to agree on the choice.
This guarantees our President will not be chosen in
an expensive, abusive, American style popular contest
where the candidate with the biggest bankroll wins.
Our president will be chosen on merit and because he
or she will need the support of both sides of politics,
our President will not be a politician.
Today our Head of State is the Queen, chosen by nobody
but the accident of aristocratic birth. Our Governor
General is chosen by the Prime Minister. He does not
need to consult his cabinet or his party room let alone
the Opposition. It is a personal, private choice of
the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has absolute
power to appoint, remove and replace the Governor General.
Our Australian President will have the same powers as
the Governor General. Our stable system of Parliamentary
government will be preserved and enhanced, not challenged.
If the Prime Minister were to remove a Governor General
today, he could put anyone he likes in his place. Under
the republic the Prime Minister can never replace a
President. If the President is removed, or dies, or
suddenly retires the senior State Governor automatically
takes his place until a new President is appointed.
Our opponents have based their campaign on two big lies.
The first is that this is a politician's republic. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
The President will never be a politician, because Labor
won't support a Liberal and Liberal won't support a
Labor person. A directly elected president however,
would inevitably be a politician elected in a bruising
political contest costing taxpayers at least $60 million
every five years.
The second big lie is that if you want to elect the
President, vote No. If we vote No, the only consequence
is that our next head of state will be King Charles
III. Nothing will change and that's what the No case
want. The monarchists behind this big lie are opposed
to any form of republic.
A directly elected President will mean complex, radical
changes to our system of Government. It would politicise
an office that is designed to be non-political.
If this referendum fails, the next republican proposal
will take many years, maybe decades, to be formulated,
to get broad political support and then go to a referendum
with no guarantee of success.
This is the best chance in our lifetimes to have an
Australian republic. It is the best model for Australia.
It is safe and it is workable. With love of country
in our hearts and common sense in our head we should
seize the day and vote Yes for our Republic. Vote Yes
for Australia.
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