YOUR VIEWS
IN 1998 I was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention held in Canberra to discuss an Australian republic elected on the ticket of the former lord mayor of Brisbane, Clem Jones, who advocated for an Australian head of state directly elected by voters in a national ballot.
After the 10-day convention – which spent little time considering a model for a republic and too much time on futile monarchy-versusrepublic debates – a model sponsored by the Australian Republic Movement emerged that proposed our head of state be chosen by a two-thirds vote of federal parliament.
It failed to secure majority support even among convention delegates, with 73 voting in favour of it, 57 voting against, and 22 abstaining. It was soon labelled “the politician’s republic” and, predictably, was defeated at the 1999 referendum.
After two decades, the ARM has released its “new” model which unfortunately echoes the rejected “politicians’ republic” by offering voters only a pool of candidates chosen for them by federal and state parliaments.
Once again it has already been dismissed in predictable attacks by constitutional monarchists, with one reported as saying the ARM model gives Australians “no choice” over their head of state “as only politicians will decide on the candidates”.
The Real Republic Australia, which Clem Jones initiated and which since his 2007 death continues campaigning for a genuine directly elected head of state, wants to see as little involvement as possible by politicians in choosing our head of state.
The ARM is entitled to put forward its model, but they do not have a monopoly on ideas. In coming months, the Real Republic
Australia will release a discussion paper seeking feedback on our model.
In the end, no pro-republic group should expect to mandate the model put to a referendum.
That’s why we want the next federal government to hold a national plebiscite asking Australians if they want a republic, and also asking them to choose from a shortlist of models.
Whatever model is chosen in that plebiscite should be the one that goes forward at a future referendum to formally change our Constitution so that Australia becomes a republic.
In that way, the final model we vote on will not belong to the ARM or the Real Republic Australia – it will be the Australian people’s model.
DAVID MUIR AM
Chair, Real Republic Australia
HOW nice of Tom Tate now wanting to spend our money on a trip to South Korea to pick up a plane full of RATs. He has been mayor for too long and has lost the plot on this one I believe.
His job is roads and rubbish and sewage, not getting involved in national issues. If he thinks he can get RATs from South Korea, then go online and order them and pay himself, not from ratepayers’ money.
He has got ratepayers to pay for so many losing projects like the driverless bus, the ferry service, the art gallery, the restaurants at the art gallery, feasibility into cable cars and the offshore cruise terminal.
How he loves spending our money on everything except the roads. Not $1 spent on a new roads or widening of existing roads to cope with rising populations and thousands of new apartments. And maintenance of existing roads is disgraceful.