Former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Doug Anthony died, aged 90, on Sunday 20 December 2020.
Doug Anthony
was a “quiet giant of Australian political life” and was known as the nation's
longest-served deputy prime minister and a supporter of an
Australian republic.
Ahead of the 1999 republic
referendum, Doug Anthony surprised many within the National Party by backing
the break from the constitutional monarchy.
“I think the time has arrived for Australia to be truly independent.
While we have the monarch as part of our constitution, we are carrying a relic
of the past.”
Anthony was the member for Richmond for
nearly 30 years, leader of the Country party, later renamed the National Party,
for 12 years and deputy prime minister for nearly 10, influencing Coalition
policies for much of the 1970s and 80s. He served under six
prime ministers, starting with Sir Robert Menzies.
Among
others to pay tribute, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull described
Anthony as 'a great Australian'.
“An eloquent and committed advocate for an
Australian republic often sharing a platform with his Liberal partner Malcolm
Fraser and their old Labor rivals Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke”.
Vale – Doug Anthony, a great Australian republican.
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