It’s good to talk about a republic, even now

The visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Australia has been delightful, especially since the happy surprise that they are expecting a baby. Back in Britain, however, there is reportedly growing impatience at Australia’s uncomfortable impasse on whether to become a republic. According to a new book, Buckingham Palace is frustrated that out of misplaced respect for Elizabeth II some in Australia are delaying discussion of becoming a republic until after her death. The book calls this approach a ‘‘death watch’’.

The republican debate has been put on the back burner in the past decade largely as a result of Australia’s fissile politics. The failure of the 1999 referendum on the republic underlined how hard it would be to move to a republic without bipartisan support and that has been lacking in recent years.

What the leak from the palace shows is that it is not disrespectful of the royal family to talk about the republic now. It makes sense to run the debate under Elizabeth, who has the experience to manage it. Her reign coincided with the end of the British Empire. Nor is it a sign of disrespect during this visit. The Herald has long advocated that Australia should become a republic as a symbol of the reality that the historical ties to England are no longer the focus of our national identity. It is not the most important issue on the agenda. But there is no reason to delay it out of protocol.