Joern Utzon, the Danish architect of the Sydney Opera House, one of the greatest buildings of the twentieth century, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. However, in the eyes of its creator, it was the very essence of the spirit of a republican Australia, resounding with the spirit of place, and of the very country in which we live, writes Glenn A. Davies.
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In a recent article, David Donovan and Mike Keating talked about monarchist myths about an Australian republic and, in particular, the specious 'ain't broke, don't fix it' argument.
Symbols matter. They define who we are and can be a powerful way of redressing injustice and building social cohesion around shared goals and values, writes Prof George Williams. The major symbolic agenda left in Australia is the recognition of aborigines in the Constitution and the creation of a truly independent Australia by breaking the link to the British Crown.
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British republicans eagerly await an Australian republic, because the sooner Australia ditches the monarchy, the sooner they can too, according to Graham Smith.
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"As Monty Python said, “You don’t vote for Kings!” So the question is then how do you become the elected King of Australia?" writes Glenn A. Davies.
Professor John Warhurst writes that "...Labor does not believe that the republic is a vote-changer. It does not believe that many Labor-oriented republicans will desert the party over its inaction on the issue. Nor does it believe that, if Labor was actively pursuing the republic issue, that enough Liberal republicans would be attracted across to them."
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Betty Smout writes: "Unity is strength and we should never lose sight of the main objective: an Australian head of state. The great majority of Australians, be they descendants of the original inhabitants, or early colonists, or from the splendid variety of newer Aussies, agree that our head of state should be an Australian citizen."
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As Premier John Brumby signals that his government will take action in Victoria to advance Australia becoming a republic as part of his re-election campaign, a new book was launched by the Hon. Lindsay Tanner MP in Melbourne on June 29, entitled Death or Liberty, which reveals the history of the many British, Irish and North American republicans transported to Australia as political prisoners in colonial times.
Ross Garrad writes:
"During the leadup to the 1999 referendum, there was a concerted campaign to discredit the very word “republic” by linking it to some of the nastiest regimes on the face of the earth, such as Iraq, North Korea, and of course several African dictatorships (guaranteed to push a few racist buttons!). We were told, over and over again, that monarchies are inherently better at protecting individual freedoms, though of course the evidence was either totally lacking, or an insult to our intelligence."
In 1999 Prime Minister Howard made it clear that, though he did not want a republic, the Parliamentary-selection ‘model’ that was proposed was, to him, the least unacceptable model of a republic. One might naturally expect that the voters who habitually vote for the PM’s party and its coalition ally also felt that this was the least unacceptable model, and that if they voted ‘No’ to the model being offered in 1999 they would be even more likely to vote ‘No’ to a more ‘radical’ model.
