On 4 October 1994, the newly formed UQ Republican Association (UQRA) invited then Federal Attorney-General Michael Lavarch
to address the issue. More than 50 people gathered inside and outside
to hear Michael Lavarch speak. This had been organised by the inaugural
UQRA President, Johanna Sing who, in 1994, was an 18-year-old arts/law
student who had long been interested in politics. At 17, she had been
the youth representative of the ARM in Queensland. She was present at
the launch in December 1993 and spoke at the first public meeting of the
Queensland Branch at UQ in April 1994. In September 1994, she attended
the Young Leaders Conference in Melbourne, at which representatives of
all political parties and various interest groups debated many issues,
including the republic. By O-Week 1996, the UQ Republican Association
was established on the UQ campus.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the ARM was a presence on UQ
campus, particularly during O-Week. This all changed with the student
union elections in 2008. From this time on, the "Fresh Party" actively
stopped the registration of the UQ Republican Club. However, in late
2012, this changed when the Liberal National Party-aligned "Fresh Party" was investigated.
On 29 December 2012, it was announced that, with the help of the new vice presidents for campus culture, the UQ Student Union had
approved the application for UQRA to become an affiliated member of
Clubs & Societies. This was the final hurdle in a long battle to
have the UQRA reaffiliated at UQ.
Jacqueline Rodgers: 2013-15 President, UQ Republic Club (image by Oscar Green supplied by Australian Republic Movement).
On 25 January 2013, the University of Queensland Republic Club held an Australia Day party
in the Great Court as its inaugural annual general meeting. Ably led by
Jacqueline Rodgers, an undergraduate student in International
Relations/Chinese, the meeting included the official adoption of the
club constitution and voting for executive positions. Despite it pouring
rain and still being university holidays, they managed a fantastic
turnout and easily made quorum for affiliation.
On 20 February 2013, the UQRC held a market day stall during O-Week
which attracted 300 visitors, students, staff and MPs, with overwhelming
support for an Australian republic.
It’s time for a new conversation about Australia, our identity and
our responsibility, and to take the future into our hands as a fully
independent nation. It is heartening to see young Australians of all
political colours (see the T-shirts) and persuasions all around
Australia wrestling with these ideas.
Right across the country this Australia Day, the
Australian Republic Movement is taking to the streets with the message
loud and clear that Australia is well and truly ready to stand on its
own two feet with its own Australian head of state.
Australians are proud of their country and what it means to be an
Australian. Australia has emerged as a prosperous and independent nation
in so many ways. Yet it still carries the embarrassment of having a
head of state that fails to reflect the modern, diverse and independent
country we’ve become. This Australia Day the Australian Republic
Movement (ARM) is calling on all Australians to proudly declare to put
our nation and its people first and support the campaign to have a head
of state who can do the same.
Australia Day is a crucial time to build momentum around the campaign
for an Australian republic. Historically, it has coincided with a surge
in ARM membership, national reflection about what it means to be an
Australian and renewed support for an Australian republic.
Two years ago today,then Prime Minister Tony Abbott almost united
the nation with his decision to mark Australia Day by his infamous
“captain’s pick” knighthood of the Queen’s consort Prince Philip.
Between waving away flies at a traditional barbecue, the nation was
united in scratching its head in wonder and asking: what the ...?
On Australia Day last year,
the nation’s premiers and chief ministers again united the nation, in
calling for an Australian to be our head of state. This time around,
there was no need to scratch heads or ask why. Indeed, it was a
hard-to-argue proposition and time to ask why not? Why doesn’t this
nation – apparently, the most egalitarian on the planet – allow one of
its own to be head of state?
The political landscape in Australia is definitely changing. The push
for a republic has gone from strength to strength in recent years with
support from a resurgent membership, the majority of federal
parliamentarians, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition
Leader Bill Shorten.
On Australia Day 2016, Australia's premiers and chief ministers made public declarations
supporting an Australian head of state. The Prime Minister, Federal
Opposition Leader, six premiers and the Chief Justice are now all
declared republicans. The ARM has now confirmed most Federal MPs and senators want to ditch the monarchy.
Australia Day 2017 for the ARM is all about taking the case for an
Australian head of state to a new audience. We're asking our members and
supporters to pledge their allegiance to Australia over all others
(unlike our politicians, who must pledge their allegiance to the
Queen).
So this Australia Day, before you tuck into your lamb chops (or
vegetarian sausages), please take a moment to consider that Australia
should have a head of state that is one of us.
Better still, once you've signed the pledge, mention it around the
BBQ and see if you can't convince another five of your friends and
family to do the same.
It appears the points of the Southern Cross are coming into alignment.
It's a great time to be a republican in
Australia. The political landscape in Australia is definitely changing. On
Australia Day 2016, Australia's premiers and chief ministers made public declarations supporting an
Australian head of state. The Prime Minister, Federal Opposition Leader, six
premiers and the Chief Justice are now all declared republicans. The Australian
Republican Movement has now confirmed most
federal MPs and Senators want to ditch the monarchy.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy at ARM dinner
The
Guardianstates
that in all, 81 out of 150 members of the House of Representatives, and 40 out
of 76 members of the Senate have declared their support for an Australian
republic, the movement says. According to ARM the number may be even higher as
58 lower house MPs have not stated a position on the republic, with only eleven
lower house MPs listed as committed monarchists. In the upper house, 21
senators were undeclared or undecided and only 15 favour the monarchy. This
Australian Federal Parliament has a 53.5% majority of declared support for the
creation of an Australian republic.
The ARM figures show the
Greens are the most pro-republic, with 100% in support, followed by Labor
(93%). Just 19 Coalition parliamentarians are openly in support of a republic
(17%) although most, 65, are undecided or undeclared. If Labor MPs are bound to
support the republic, support climbs to 86 in the lower house and 42 in the
Senate, or a 56.6% republican majority.
In a new poll released by the ANU
Australian Electoral Study, support for an Australian head of state has hit
53 per cent (reflecting the position of the federal parliament) and outpointed
the 51% result in a Newspoll earlier this year.
“The dinner is also a
moment for the ARM to outline its vision for the future. A vision in which
Australia takes the lead and completes the journey to full and final
independence,” he said.
On Saturday, 17 December 2016 in
the Great Hall at the University of Sydney, he outlined a road map toward an
Australia head of state. If you haven't seen it, you can read the speech here.
ARM Mational Chair, Peter Fitzsimons and Turnbulls at Sydney Uni
As ARM
National Chair, Peter FitzSimons said in response:
"tonight we are re-energised as never before".
However, the
PM also made it clear in his speech that this journey should not begin until
the end of the Queen's reign.
With respect
to Prime Minister Turnbull, we disagree.
Becoming a republic is about Us, the
Australian people. We can only assert our independence by ushering in an
Australian head of state on our own terms and at a time of our choosing.
Our challenge as republicans is to change Malcolm's mind. Luckily, the PM
himself told us how we can do this
"house by house, street by street, and suburb
by suburb, we must make the case to our fellow citizens." So that is the plan for 2017.
Recruit more members, enlist more volunteers, keep the polls shifting ever
northward.
Here are three ways you can help:
If you're not already a
member or your subscription has lapsed, you can join here
On
6 November 1999, the Australian Republic Referendum failed, but now it seems
Australia's youth are beginning to "mend the nation’s heart".
This time last year, I described how November was Australia’s "republican
season". November is the republican end of the year in
Australia - a time of the year full of republican symbolism. The republican
season includes the anniversary of the 1999 republican referendum, as well
as the anniversary of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s dismissal by then
Governor-General John Kerr in 1975. The latter event remains the most
dramatic event in Australia’s political history and began the modern republican
movement. It’s
a great
time to be a republican in Australia. Recent events have
changed the political landscape for the better —and taken the
journey towards an Australian head of state a lot closer.
The
Australian Republican Movement’s membership has surged over the past 12 months.
This had been helped when knighthoods were reintroduced in 2014 and again
after the knighting
of Prince Philip as then PM Abbott's "captain’s pick"
on Australia Day 2015.
On
26 August 2015, the Australian Republican Movement’s chairman, Peter
FitzSimons, entertained
a full house at the National Press Club in Canberra. Membership doubled in the
weeks after Malcolm Turnbull became PM, and have surged over the past 12
months. On Australia Day 2016, Australia's premiers and chief ministers made public
declarations supporting an Australian head of state. The political landscape
in Australia is definitely changing. The Prime Minister, Federal Opposition
Leader, six premiers and the Chief Justice are all declared republicans. It
appears the points of the Southern Cross are coming into alignment.
Every
year since 1995, a series of Schools Constitutional Conventions occur across
Queensland. The Conventions involve secondary students from all three
educational sectors — state, Catholic and independent. They provide senior
secondary students with an opportunity to engage with and debate Australia’s
Constitution and contemporary constitutional issues, as well as the mechanism
to select delegates to the National Schools Constitutional Convention held in
Canberra each March.
The
students listened as experts in constitutional law outlined three possible
republic models for Australia
Model 1: A republic with the
Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President selected and appointed
by the Prime Minister.
Model 2: A republic with the
Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a
two-thirds majority of the members of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Model 3: A republic with the
Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President elected directly by
the electors of Australia.
Each
student was required to deliver a brief address outlining their point of view.
Following discussion and debate, the students took part in a mock referendum
using a preference voting system to determine the preferred model:
Model 2 was favoured by 73.1% of
students;
Model 1 by 18.5%; and
Model 3 by 8.4%.
This
was only the second time in 13 years that delegates to the Convention voted in
favour of amending the Australian Constitution. Decisions taken at the
Convention were presented to Deputy President of the Senate John Hogg,
Senator for Queensland, for tabling in the Senate.
The
16th National School
Constitutional Convention, held at Old Parliament House, Canberra, 22 to 24
March 2011 considered the question, “Should Australia become a republic?”
The
Convention comprised 127 students from government, independent and Catholic
schools from across Australia, covering metropolitan and country areas.
Approximately 55% of students were from government schools, 25% were from
independent schools and 20% were from Catholic schools. After being
presented with arguments for and against by leading experts, the students were
given an opportunity to ask questions, to clarify points and to seek further
information as well as challenge the views put forward by the experts.
When
asked to vote on the question “Are you in favour of the Australian Constitution
being amended to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a Republic?”,
the results were
41 delegates (32%) were opposed to, and 86 (68%) were in favour of, Australia
becoming a republic.
The
2016 Metropolitan Queensland Schools Constitutional Convention was held on
Wednesday, 5 October 2016 in the Undumbi Room, Queensland Parliament House.
There were 13 two-minute speeches delivered by students who were competing for
the National Delegate positions. Each student had to deliver a two-minute
opinionative speech supporting either the "case for" or
"the case against". These had to be prepared in advance.
There were
10 were speeches delivered in favour of the republic (77%) and 3 against
(23%). The student group then voted on their top three. The top three speeches
voted were in favour of a republic.
Students
then voted on the constitutional question as if it was a referendum question.
They were broken into
states with the following results:
State
Total Formal Votes
Formal Yes
Formal No
Majority
RESULT
NSW
15
7
8
NO
YES
VIC
12
11
1
YES
QLD
8
5
3
YES
WA
2
2
0
YES
SA
8
5
3
YES
TAS
5
3
2
YES
ACT
3
1
2
NT
3
1
2
TOTAL
53
33
20
%
100%
62%
38%
If
this had been a referendum of all Australian citizens the majority of
commentators beforehand (77%) would have been in favour of a republic, a
majority of the people (62%), and a majority of the states (5).
Admittedly,
this is a small sample group, however what is very interesting is these results
are from young Australians (16-17 year olds). These results indicate this
demographic is not opposed to an Australian republic. There was a mixture of
state and private school, male and female students. Perhaps these results may
indicate with education young people are open to the idea of a republic,
although 77% of speakers had made up their mind in favour of it before the
Convention. There were no speeches that were blatantly radical and all
addressed the issue in a measured way using the logic of the argument.
The
votes in favour of an Australian republic at the 2008 National Schools’
Constitutional Convention, the 2009 Queensland Schools’ Constitutional
Conventions, and the 2011 National Schools’ Constitutional Convention, begin to
show a pattern in the thinking of Australia’s youth to a support of a
republican Australia. When given quality information on both sides of the
argument, a majority of young Australians see the logic to the removal of the
monarchy.
Every
day we have a foreigner as a head of state, we are telling our children they
are never good enough to hold our top job. That a child living 15,000
kilometres away is more qualified than yours.
It’s
time to stop limiting future generations; we must tell them an Australian
is good enough to be the head of Australia. We need one of our own in the top
job. We are a people who believe in fairness and in a fair go for all. So why
is the top job in Australia limited to someone overseas who was born into it
and never earned it. Our shared national values mean that any Australian should
have the right to our top office rather than complete exclusion from it.
Throughout
most of the 1990s, Malcolm Turnbull led and funded the
Australian Republican Movement. Even though Turnbull has played no active role
in the Australian Republican Movement since the 1999 republican referendum
defeat, for many Australians he is still the
face of the call for an Australian as head of state. It is his name
that many ordinary Australians first mention when the republican argument is
brought up.
As
the then national chairperson of the Australian Republican Movement, Malcolm
Turnbull pinned the 1999 referendum’s defeat squarely on the Prime Minister,
John Howard, when he
said:
“History will remember
him for one thing. He was the Prime Minister who broke the nation’s heart.”
It seems the youth of
Australia may be the ones who “mend our broken heart” and put the pieces
back together again.
Queenslanders will take the day off work today –
not in recognition of their hard work – but to recognise a Monarch who will
most likely be sleeping through the festivities held in her name. It’s the
third such day Australians have put on for the Queen this year, following
Queen’s Birthday public holidays around the country on 12 June and 26 September.
Earlier this year I wrote on how Queensland was to become a little less
"Queenie" with the move of the Queen’s Birthday holiday from the
second Monday in June to the first Monday in October in 2016. While the date of the Queen’s Birthday public holiday has changed
repeatedly in recent years, a bolder reform would have been to change the
holiday completely.
I’ve written before that it has always seemed absurd that Australians
acknowledge the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at a completely different time
to her actual birthday. Like the Queen, Paddington Bear
also has two birthdays a year. The marmalade-loving bear from deepest, darkest
Peru has birthdays on 25 June and 25 December. For Queen Elizabeth II
who turned 90 on 21 April 2016 there was also a weekend of 90th birthday celebrations in Britain over the 10-12 June weekend.
The idea of two birthday celebrations was introduced 250 years ago. Earl
Charles Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana, recently stated the Queen
received a second multi-day celebration thanks to historical tradition. As
Spencer said,
George II was ‘born in the depths of
winter, and they decided they couldn't celebrate his birthday in the winter
every year because there's all sorts of pageantry.’ So George decided he'd have
a second birthday, and the idea stuck. ‘Anyone who's been King or Queen of
England since has a summer birthday, so that we have a hope of some sunshine’.
Since 1748, the monarch's official
birthday has been marked by the parade known as Trooping the Colour — usually held on the king or queen's
actual birthday. But Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910, was born
in November. He celebrated officially in May or June because there was less
chance of it being cold and drizzly during the outdoor event.
The monarch’s official birthday celebrations
(as opposed to actual birthdate) began in Australia in 1912. The monarch after
Edward VII – King George V – helpfully had a birthday on 3
June. Queen Elizabeth II’s father, George
VI, whose birthday was
unhelpfully in December, reintroduced the tradition of an official birthday by
having his official birthday on the second Thursday of June. Elizabeth II has
continued with this tradition. In 1959, after several years on the throne, the
Queen changed it in Britain to the second Saturday in June for convenience.
In 2014, I asked on the public holiday
given for the Queen’s birthday in Queensland, if it isn’t “time to break free?” The Australian Monarchist League line is
that celebrating the Queens’s Birthday, both actual and official, has nothing
whatsoever to do with a republic and everything to do with honouring the Queen
of Australia.
I disagree.
Moving the Queen’s Birthday public
holiday in Queensland from a date that is traditionally relevant to Britain to
an alternate date is a harbinger of the growth of republican sentiment in
Australia. Daniel Fleming wrote
earlier this year with reference to the June public holiday that
“The Queen's
Birthday holiday has become a tradition without ceremony. Most Australians
appreciate the long weekend but prefer to shop, head to the ski fields or go to
the football instead of toasting her majesty.”
He continued:
“public
holidays reveal who we are, and occasionally who we were. They commemorate
great people, events and movements. Australia Day recalls the First Fleet at
Sydney Cove, Anzac Day symbolises sacrifice and nationalism, Good Friday is a
day of Christian mourning and Labour Day celebrates worker’s rights. In the US,
Martin Luther King Day invites reflection on racism and non-violence.”
But why did the Queensland Labor government move
the Queen’s Birthday public holiday from a date traditionally relevant to
Britain and long-held in Queensland? The current Queensland Labor Treasurer
Curtis Pitt stated in June this year:
"we went through a really extensive exercise
when we were previously in government, talking about when people would like to
see it, and having a holiday in the later part of the year, when there is
almost none, was a pretty important point.”
It
appears the main reason for moving the Queen’s Birthday public holiday is to
spread the public holidays throughout the year.
But
what actually happens on this day?
Nothing.
Perhaps
the real benefit for the Queen’s Birthday public holiday in Queensland today is
to give the rest of business Australia time to wind forward their clocks and
get their heads around their own daylight savings confusion. In the meantime
Queenslanders can have the day off, top up the kid’s school stationery, not
worry about time wars, and take their time recovering from the Grand Finals’
weekend.
Surely
this must be the most irrelevant and outdated of public holidays. It’s time it was replaced with a day that celebrated Queenslanders’
achievements and aspirations as a modern, forward-looking State.
You’d think one birthday would be enough for the
Queen. Australians who are out there making a difference in their communities
every day don’t even get one day in their honour – let alone three!
Australia
today, is one of the world’s great nations, with a bright future that must be
100 per cent in the hands of the Australian people. We are ready to move on
from our colonial past and become a fully independent nation with fully
Australian national institutions, including our own head of state.
On 3 September 2016,
‘Australian of the Year’ David Morrison AO delivered the 2016 National Republican
Lecture in Melbourne. In his
acceptance speech on Australia Day this year, Mr Morrison said:
...I will
lend my voice to the Republican movement in this country. It is time, I
think, to at least revisit the question so that we can stand both free and
fully independent amongst the community of nations.
Listen to the 2016 National Republican Lecture delivered by David Morrison AO here
Australians are proud of their country and what it means to be an
Australian. Australia has emerged as a prosperous and independent nation
in so many ways. Yet it still carries the embarrassment of having a
head of state that fails to reflect the modern, diverse and independent
country we’ve become. This Australia Day the Australian Republic
Movement (ARM) is calling on all Australians to proudly declare to put
our nation and its people first and support the campaign to have a head
of state who can do the same.
Earlier this year I wrote on how Queensland was to become a little less
"Queenie" with the move of the Queen’s Birthday holiday from the
second Monday in June to the first Monday in October in 2016. While the date of the Queen’s Birthday public holiday has changed
repeatedly in recent years, a bolder reform would have been to change the
holiday completely. 
