Australian PM raises prospect of referendum on ditching Queen

Newly elected Albanese creates role of ‘minister for the republic’ on eve of jubilee celebrations

AUSTRALIA’S newly elected leader yesterday created the role of “assistant minister for the republic”, raising the prospect of a referendum on whether to replace the Queen as head of state.

Anthony Albanese, the centre-left Labor prime minister, took the step towards a possible vote just two days before Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Her Majesty begin tomorrow.

Matt Thistlethwaite, a Sydney MP, will take up the new post, which was greeted by the Australian Republic Movement.

“We are on our way!” Peter Fitzsimons, a prominent republican, author and former rugby international, said.

“For the first time in the history of the Commonwealth, Australia has a member of the Government singularly devoted to removing the Crown, and helping Australia become a republic,” he added.

Mr Albanese named his cabinet after it was confirmed that the Labor Party had a majority in parliament. The 23 members include a record 10 women.

Previous Labor leaders have promised a referendum on removing the Queen but a vote was not part of Mr Albanese’s manifesto. Mr Albanese, a long-time republican, has previously described the change as “inevitable”.

Some 55 per cent of Australians voted against becoming a republic in a referendum in 1999. The victory for the monarchy was put down to disagreement over a proposal that the Queen’s replacement would be chosen by politicians in parliament and not the public.

Mr Albanese said yesterday that Labor had secured enough votes in the May 21 federal elections to govern in its own right and without the support of minor parties and independents. The new parliament will open on July 26.

“We had a good story to tell,” he told the Labor caucus as he outlined plans to form a federal anti-corruption commission, review wasteful spending and announce a budget in October.

“We weren’t intimidated by anyone, we didn’t get distracted, we stayed on course and the discipline we showed was magnificent.”

Any move towards a referendum on the republic is not expected until after another national plebiscite on giving aboriginals an institutional role in policymaking. A Vote Compass poll for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation this year showed a slight increase in support for Australia becoming a republic since elections in 2019.

About 43 per cent agreed ties with the monarchy should be cut, compared with about 39 per cent in 2019. The same poll found a slim majority were opposed to the Prince of Wales becoming king when Queen Elizabeth II dies.

Labor won 77 seats, a majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives.

The previous conservative coalition government conceded after the vote but close results in some seats and high levels of postal voting had kept the final tally uncertain until now.

The two parties which make up the defeated coalition, the Liberal Party of Australia and the rural-focused National Party of Australia, elected new leaders after entering opposition for the first time in nine years.