Australians have elected a new prime minister. Scott Morrison is out after serving about four years in office. Aussies have elected Anthony Albanese as their new prime minister. The Morrison government was conservative, and the Albanese government will likely be center-left. What’s interesting, internationally, is that Albanese has a history of republicanism. As in, he thinks it’s stupid that Australia’s head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. He’s said, in the past, that Australia needs to become a republic.
Australia has elected a pro-republic Prime Minister, raising fears the country will look to remove the Queen as its head of State. Albo won a crushing victory over ScoMo at the weekend, leaving royal supporters anxiously wondering what it meant for the nation’s ties with the monarchy.
Labor’s manifesto does not include plans for a referendum, but anti-monarchy organisation Republic claimed yesterday “a republic will happen” as a result of Mr Albanese’s win. On its official Twitter account, the group said: “Excellent to see pro-republic Anthony Albanese becoming Australia’s PM. Won’t be a referendum just yet as they’re rightly committed to first recognising aboriginal people as the original Australians in the constitution. But a republic will happen.”
The idea of setting up a republic was tested in Australia in 1999 when former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull led a failed campaign during a national referendum, which was lost after almost 55 per cent of voters chose to keep the ties with the monarchy. Mr Albanese’s victory has stirred up discussions among supporters who have looked back on his pro-republic comments and asked whether the monarchy should be more important than the cost of living, homelessness and medical care.
More than 20 years ago, Mr Albanese told a republic referendum committee: “I urge people to support the republic and support it now because it is inevitable — everyone accepts that. We should do it now so we can do it with pride”.
Yeah, I doubt Albanese’s first, second or third priority will be disentangling Australia from the British monarchy. But it will be interesting to see what happens when the Queen passes. And as we saw from the Caribbean Flop Tours, it’s not like many of these “former colonies” are even going to wait until the Queen passes. They’re already making plans and making moves. It might be a situation where Albanese doesn’t even have to persuade his country to make the move, they might already be there. It’s not 1999 anymore, you know?
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I predict a royal tour of Australia will be on the cards in the near future to sweet talk Albanese. I agree a referendum is not going to happen now but it will in the future. The Murdoch press in Australia is going to be trying its hardest to monster Albanese so getting rid of the Queen wouldn’t be advisable at this stage.
Considering there was quite an outcry against it when PWT and Buttons were apparently going to come during the bushfires in 2019/20 to show their “support”, I doubt they’ll be sent.
I think there will be a royal tour soon like you said…..wonder who they’ll send though? anne just went, William and Kate have shown they’re not up to the task, but maybe they could do better in australia than the Caribbean? I feel like Edward and Sophie dont usually do those kinds of big international tours, with lots of travel etc. Wonder if it would be Charles and camilla, maybe in the fall?
Anne was just here?? I had no idea and I consume a lot of news. Apparently no one cared! LOL. As it should be.
Referendums are expensive and we are going to have to have one to get the Uluṟu Statement of the Heart included in our constitution. They often include multiple other questions about other issues together with the core Referendum question, so, who knows, perhaps we’ll get a preliminary question about a republic too (eg: if there was a referendum on a republic, which model of republic would we prefer?)
This article quoted is really poorly worded. Turnbull was PM from 2015-2019. The referendum on becoming a republic was in 1999 when royalist John Howard was PM. At the time, Turnbull was chairman of the Australian Republican Movement; but Howard really didn’t want that referendum and absolutely sabotaged it.
The majority of Australians and 2/3 of politicians at the time wanted a republic. However it was voted against. Why?
First off, it wasn’t a simple yes/no question about whether we wanted to be a republic, it proposed a model of republic that many people disliked or found confusing. Australia is essentially a mix of British and American constitutional elements. There’s a question of how a republic would balance a PM and a President. So they proposed a largely ceremonial president appointed by Parliament. Then they had to persuade the public, most of whom had little or no knowledge of the complexities that lay behind the referendum proposal, to approve it.
The Australian Constitution can be amended only by means of a rigorous referendum process. First, the Commonwealth government must initiate constitutional referenda. Second, the government must submit each referendum proposal as legislation to both houses of Parliament, and an absolute majority of each house must approve it. Third, when a constitutional referendum is finally put to the voters, it must secure a majority of all voters nationally and majorities of voters in a majority of the six states in order to pass. Only a tiny number of constitutional referenda put to the electorate have passed into law.
The Commonwealth government has the sole power to decide whether to propose a referendum, and controls how the referendum is worded and the content of the implementing legislation. Thus Howard (who was basically forced to have it due to a number of reasons) played the dominant role in the referendum even though he was a steadfast opponent of the adoption of a republican form of government. Howard used his position to undermine the referendum’s success.
His government funded YES and NO committees to ‘educate’ the public and the NO committee drastically impacted voter sentiment. The NO campaign railed against the ‘Chardonnay-swilling elites’ who had fomented a republican plot, claimed that the referendum would create a ‘politicians’ republic’ and said that ‘real democrats’ should favour a directly elected president and should therefore vote NO. Some extreme anti-republicans even asserted that the referendum would lead to Australia’s ejection from the Commonwealth of Nations, a new flag and even to a Weimar-like republic with the specter of a ‘Hitler’ hanging over it.
Howard’s choice of wording, the content of the legislation and his open opposition to becoming a republic all played a significant part in the results.
Surveys post-referendum showed only 24% wanted to retain the monarchical status quo. However, the post-referendum surveys show that advocates of direct election out-numbered those favouring a president appointed by Parliament by more than two to one.
I really hope we can become a republic soon. But I do believe they’ll wait until the Queen dies before it happens, to make it an easier run. But it would be great if they included some of the lead-up questions they need answered to do a proper constitutional referendum on a republic as a secondary part of the upcoming referendum on the Statement of the Heart in order to lay the ground and cut associated time and costs.
If the royal family is still convinced they can turn this boat around, Camilla and Charles are their only chance.
To be clear, I think there is zero chance anyone could turn this around, which is as it should be.
there will not be a royal tour that’s crazy. hey don’t cut ice, Aussies don’t love the monarchy, they’ll be pissed. Anne toured and there was barely a mention.. The only tour that counted was Harry /meghan. That was huge.
But who could even sweet talk him? Who has the charm? I think for the longest time people were in awe of the Queen because she was an enigma and they respected her work ethic. But she’s just too old to dazzle anyone now, I know that sounds harsh. Her children don’t have the star power or the charm and right now, neither does anybody else among the working royals. I don’t despise the family as much as others but I don’t see their appeal either. Beyond the soap opera factor.
It doesn’t sound harsh at all. The fact that there is an entire “commonwealth” that hinges on a very old woman sweet talking anyone is absurd.
But who do you send? No one left has the star power and soft skills needed to make it work.
Want Anne just there? Around the Flop Tour time? I don’t think a royal tour will do anything to gain support.
It’s 23 years later and there’s a whole new generation of young voters who DGAF about the monarchy. A referendum might succeed this time.
That’s what I’m thinking/hoping. If it was that close back then…
Go Australia.
I hope it does. Team Australia!
I highly doubt there’ll be a referendum, particularly in Albo’s first term as PM. Firstly, he has not mentioned a republic in I-don’t-know-long, and certainly not during his campaign to become PM. Secondly, he has made it very clear his focus will be on issues that concern most Australians at this time: The cost of living, climate change, Energy crises, cheaper childcare, Long-overdue Indigenous issue, housing, equality, and myriad other more important issues. In saying all that, I can’t see a royal tour either. Albo will not be sinking taxpayer money to host people who bring nothing to the table. He’ll leave that to a future “Dutton Government “ (god help us!) if/when they win at the ballot box.
If Albo 8gets to serve a second term, it wouldn’t surprise me if the republic question and a referendum arose once more. But right now we have bigger fish to fry.
I think if Liz dies during the first term it’s a possibility. Because wouldn’t the Commonwealth countries have to change things from “The Queen’s Whatnot” to “The King’s Whatnot” or “Liz” to “Chuck”? Would be a good time to say hey, since we’re changing things anyway, why not change them to honor our people, not our former overlords?
But if she doesn’t die it will have to wait till the second term.
@ Izzy: it absolutely has NOT been 23 years since 1999, it’s been 5 years tops!!! Do the math, follow the science, I cannot be that old. Nope. It’s been 5 years, we all agree!!!!!!
The voters back then largely didn’t either. Only 24% favoured maintaining the monarchical status quo. But the question asked was about a specific system of republic that many found confusing or disliked – especially after a thorough PR campaign was run by the NO committee and monarchist PM John Howard purposely made the language as confusing as he could get away with and openly campaigned against it. Australians were asked if they wanted a President elected by parliament (and in a confusing way). They said no. Post-referendum surveys showed that people wanting a public-elected President outnumbered those wanting a Parliament-elected President 2 to 1 and many pro-republicans had voted no because they disliked the proposed system.
Essentially a lot of work would need to be done to lay the ground first. Starting with asking the public what kind of republic we’d like if we went to referendum over it. Then a huge education campaign to explain the complexities of the proposed new system and the resulting constitutional referendum question. Changing the constitution is really difficult, so the groundwork would need to be significant.
But having a PM who isn’t actively fighting against it and muddying the waters would definitely help!!
It honestly feels like a fog has been lifted here in Australia. But It will be way down the list of priorities in the first term of Albo’s government, trailing far behind climate change (after years of floods, bushfires & inaction) and the adoption of the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart.
That said can’t wait for the day it happens!
I think you hit on why the monarchy is still around in general: apathy and competing priorities.
People just either don’t care about/notice the monarchy (esp in the commonwealth) in their day to day lives, and there are always more pressing problems to handle.
If removing the Queen as HOS was a snap of the finger, I bet a lot more countries would have already done it.
Yep, this. People don’t notice or care about the monarchy unless they come visit (the less they visit the more chance they have of staying our HoS). As others have noted there are much bigger issues to deal with, plus it’d be expensive and a hassle.
If Albo gets another term it might come up but will take years to actually do – particularly while there’s no agreement on a alternative model of government.
The problem is the requirements for a referendum. It’s hard to pass even when there’s majority appeal. I’ve lived through a number of referendums and they are hard to pass.
My heart sang when Albo committed to the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart
I’m so happy for you all and honestly hella jealous. It must feel so good to see your country moving in the right direction instead of back 200 years like we are. I was speaking to someone I know from Australia and your compulsory voting and whole system just seems so much more logical and fair. I did feel a great sigh of relief when Biden won, my mental health was in the gutter with bone spurs in office, but the absolute insanity of the right has only intensified and we have people in lifetime appointment that will make sure we all suffer for years to come no matter what. It feels like no matter what, they always have the upper hand and I know it’s from corruption and gerrymandering but it’s just like, how do we hope if all of this is allowed to happen? The cruelty to them is the point. Anyway, congrats to Australia.
MadeleineM, you are so right! To not have to look at Smirko’s sneering face, or listen to his arrogant, patronizing and condescending words… There’s a reason he’s called The Liar from The Shire. And let’s not forget to mention the constant references to “Jenny and the girls” and his Pentecostal blather. When he was showing the door, I felt exactly the same as I felt when Donald Trump and Mike Pence were ousted, because the parallels were truly scary. Morrison was so busy moving all his little soldiers into place, that he didn’t notice what Simon Holmes a Court was doing. 😂 The libs really got skewered. Smirko would have loathed that most of those Independents were educated, professional, highly motivated, engaged and committed … women.
I remember the 1999 referendum I was a kid with my parents it was my first memory of voting. I got to have maccas after my parents voted!
I think if we did another vote the it would definitely go against the monarchy but I would prefer the money and effort go toward the the treatment of the aborigines, dealing with all the natural disasters we have been having, dealing with out health care system etc.
I don’t remember Malcolm Turnbull ever suggesting to have one while he was PM, I have a feeling they are waiting for the Queen to pass even tho other countries are not bothered by it.
Does anyone know how much referendums cost?
Yeah, Albo and co. have other priorities right now. Probably won’t happen until their 2nd term 🤞
And no I don’t think Turnbull ever raised the prospect of a referendum. But then he was preoccupied with being white-anted by Abbott and blocked by the right wing.
No idea of the cost, but it’d be pricey.
I agree about it being possible in the 2nd term. Oh yes I forgot about that.
I think Australians would prefer just to click a yes/no button and be done with it. Like someone said above.
Why spend millions on a campaign to see if we want Charles and will to be our king. We are only just recovering from the political ads!!
The last referendum didn’t have much chance of success, because of the wording. Many Australians felt that the wording was confusing, and that the model proposed was not really suited to Australians, our beliefs, indigenous peoples, varied cultures etc. I remember hearing several times that some people believed it was worded in such a way as to fail. We need to do much better next time. Also, I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that in order for a referendum to be successful, it’s not a simple majority-wins situation, but more like a 70-30 thing. I need to check that.
The article stated that the 1999 Referendum was lead by ‘Prime Minister’ Malcolm Turnbull, however that is completely incorrect! Clearly Perth Now’s editing team are asleep at the wheel.
It was actually John Howard who presided over the referendum and he was instrumental in ensuring that the bid to become a Republic failed. I recall it clearly, because I stood out in the pouring rain handing out pro-Republic materials … It was a very bitter disappointment.
Turnbull is a Republican, but during his term there was a referendum on Marriage Equality which notably succeeded. I heard this week that of the 45 referendums that have been held to amend the Australian Constitution, only 8 have been successful.
So, with that in mind, I think it’s important that we pick our battles in terms of what goes forward in a Referendum.
Whilst I’d like Australia to become a Republic, the key priority of the Albanese government’s first term is a Referendum to update the Consitution to include First Nations peoples. This is so much more important than removing what is essentially a mere figurehead here in Australia. Every effort must be taken to make sure it succeeds.
Always Was. Always Will Be.
The last referendum happened while John Howard was Prime Minister, but it was let by Malcolm Turnbull – he was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement.
I agree, we’re likely to have a referendum on changing the constitution quite soon. I can’t see Albo holding a second referendum on becoming a republic in his first term. They are way too expensive and he has higher priorities.
Pretty much all of the Aussie’s (and Kiwi’s) I have met DGAF about the RF.
The Labor party in general is republican.. Morrison was a boot licking moron who loved trump and is a hillsonger and gave hillsong leadership entre into top level of gov. Republicanism will be on the table now Australia moved out of the 1950s.
I was one year shy of being able to vote in that referendum, but it was a topic I was interested in.
It was argued that the referendum was designed to fail due to the ultimately unpopular design of the replacement system. Most of the people in my sphere of influence complained about how the President would be chosen (constituents voted for the party and the party picked their leader) people saw this as having less control over the leader than the current prime minister system (this is in part ignorance to how our current system works) .
I also agree with an earlier comment that there was/ is often talk about waiting out the Queens reign. In the 20 years since the sentiment for becoming a republic has gotten stronger. I think most people are either pro republic or indifferent to the monarchy because they lack relevance, we do like a good commonwealth games though. I know monarchists exist here, but I suspect they are a dying breed. I think tossing out the current head of state is essential to addressing many racial justice/white supremacy issues here not least of which being that of terra nullius.
Referendums cost about 60-70 million on advertising alone and that’s not to mention the cost of changing the stationary.
You’re right that a large part of the reason that the referendum failed was because of the replacement system – the president would be selected by the government, reducing the possibility that the president would act as a check for the government’s actions.
However, there are a few points in the article that are misleading; the Labour party is only center-left in terms of Australian politics. Globally, much like the American Democratic party, they are hard right. The Labour party were perfectly happy to violate the Geneva convention by dragging ships full of refugees back into international waters. The Labour party implemented and supported the genocide of Aboriginal people by removing babies and children from their families. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they’re decent, just because they’re not the Liberal party.
And secondly, the majority of Australians don’t represent the colonized. They are the colonizers. They’re not against colonization per se.
Sara_H your 100% correct about where the Labour Party sit politically. I’m an issues voter and I often struggle to differentiate between the Liberal and Labour policies, I know some people would argue against this point, but honestly they are varying shades of grey. Sadly I live in a staunch Labour electorate, so there’s rarely any decent alternatives, especially for the house or reps. I think one of the biggest take always from this election is how unhappy people are with the two major parties, but based on the commentary coming from their respective camps on election night, neither party have heeded the warning. I’m hoping for a minority government, but I don’t think we are going to get it.
Honestly growing up I used to be super apathetic about the BRF, then I learnt about the true history of Australia at Uni, and my eyes have only been further opened through my work and life experience in the years since. I will admit that what happened to Megan and Harry only confirmed what many of us already knew, but it was/is still awful to watch. I think what it has done though, is magnify the racism surrounding all things BRF to a level that no white person can plead ignorance or apathy anymore.
The conversation the two of you are having is fascinating! Please continue, I am clueless about everything about Australia’s political climate.
Christine, how long you got? 😁 I know this is true for many countries, but the Australian political climate is complicated not least because we decided to borrow from everyone. We are a representative democracy… and a constitutional monarchy… and a federation of states with a compulsory preferential voting system that many people don’t understand. One of my degree majors is Political Science and most days I don’t understand our political climate 😂
Thank gosh Morrison is out. Every person worried about the environment thanks you, Australia.
yaaasss perth now (linked article) represent! thanks Kaiser never thought i’d see my local news rag as a source here on CB! and republican questions aside, can I just say that it’s a great big sigh of relief to have a change of government here, the corrupt conservative cronies are gone! hurrah!
not gossip related, there’s bigger better things already done in the first days of the new govt including for the first time in history – hanging of indigenous flags (aboriginal and TI flags, both officially recognised australian flags) alongside the australian flag on the podium for press conferences. not to mention the greater diversity of new MPs in parliament with more women and POC elected. i’m looking forward to more inclusivity and understanding, and have more hope for progress here in spite of the murdoch press *fingers crossed*
There are bigger fish to fry in our country at the moment. Albanese’s focus in this term will be climate policy and enacting the Uluru statement which requires a referendum because it means we will need to amend the constitution. This means that another referendum on becoming a republic won’t happen in this term of government – perhaps in his next term if they lay down the groundwork for it.
I believe pro-republican sentiment is growing, especially among the younger generation, so I definitely see it becoming a real sticking point in the next 10 years. I know I’ve certainly changed my mind about it in recent years, I was fairly apathetic to becoming a republic most of my life but since this whole Sussex thing, the reality of a ‘King Charles’ and ‘Queen Camilla’, and the fact that the monarchy are becoming more useless by the day – count me out!
I have a few Australian friends and all of them think it’s inevitable that it will happen after the Queen kicks the bucket. Constitutional amendment is a bit of a heavy lift in Australia (a majority is needed in every state as well as an absolute majority vote) but everyone seems convinced it will happen.
My guess is within 10 years of Liz passing, many will become republics.
The BRF is good for tourism and not much else.
Charles will be the last figurehead. Wills will not be King. Still incredibly wealthy but not King.
“raising fears the country will look to remove the Queen as its head of State”
Dear People who are Afraid,
Betty is on her way out, as all people of her age should be. Duck and cover, the next few years are going to be hard for you.
Dear Media,
You cannot convince me with any amount of money that anyone in Australia is afraid the queen will be removed as head of state, please try again.