Vale, Tim Fischer - an 'unexpected republican'

The Australian Republic Movement was deeply saddened to hear of the death of former Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Tim Fischer.

Mr Fischer was the Leader of the National Party from 1990 to 1999 and was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade from March 1996 to July 1999. He was the member for Farrer from 1984 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2012 was the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See. 

His life is a story of personal sacrifice and tireless service to his country. From serving in Vietnam, to serving the nation in state and Federal parliaments for 26 years, his humble, intensely warm yet passionate demeanour endeared him to all he met. The Australian Republic Movement recognises in particular his service to the cause of an Australian republic.

Australia has a long history of advocating for an Australian republic; indeed, there were republicans before there was a Federation. Through the 1990s Fischer was involved in the discussions of what Donald Horne called in 1992, the ‘coming republic'.

In March 1995, the alternative model to then Prime Minister Paul Keating government’s two-thirds majority parliamentary vote was backed by the Federal Leader of the National Party, Tim Fischer — that is, a ceremonial president elected by popular vote. In the process, Fischer added legitimacy to a republic and his comments were a tacit acceptance that a republic, sooner or later, was inevitable. Fischer’s entry into the republican issue, along with Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett and a former Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen, who proposed that upon Bill Hayden’s retirement as governor-general in 1996 that Keating should allow the Parliament to vote in his successor rather than choose his own candidate, meant that the conservative side of politics was now involved in a genuine dialogue about the republic.

A vocal advocate for a fair and informed debate during the 1999 referendum, Mr Fischer went on to develop and present potential options for constitutional reform to achieve bipartisan support for an Australian republic after he left political office, including playing a leading role at the Corowa Conference in 2001. In July 2001, Fischer stated:

At one o'clock this day, the Oddfellows Hall is opened following a $750,000 Federation grant at Corowa. That's where in 1893 there was a key public meeting and process which re-railed the federation process. That's a precursor to the Corowa People's Conference set down for early December which involves Richard McGarvey, Zelman Cowan, Jack Hammond QC, and the Corowa Shire Council. And Treasurer Peter Costello will open that hall. And it's an appropriate time to launch.

Fischer was looking at re-railing a process for constitutional change.

As a former minister for trade, he fought fiercely for Australia’s interests and Australian jobs, and decried Britain’s attempts to use the British Monarchy in its delegations to deprive Australia of those same opportunities.

In December 2017 the Australian Republic Movement established a high-level advisory panel, comprising a diverse group from politics, business, academia, media and the law. The group of eminent republicans included former parliamentarians from across the political divide: Labor leader Kim Beazley, Victorian premier Steve Bracks, Nationals leader Tim Fischer and Liberal Senate leader Robert Hill.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “he was an all in conviction politician.” This integrity and resolve were underlined when he came out in favour of an Australian republic.

Mr Fischer will be remembered as a statesman and champion of Australia. 

The former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader died aged 73 at the Albury-Wodonga Cancer Centre on 22 August 2019, surrounded by close family members. A State Funeral for the Honourable Tim Fischer AC will take place at 1.00 pm on Thursday 29 August 2019 at the Albury Entertainment Centre, Swift Street, Albury, NSW.

Vale Tim.