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Revision as of 03:43, 20 February 2003 by Daeron (talk | contribs) (removed derogatory labeling of non-republican voters as uncommitted.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Australian republicanism is a movement within Australia to sever ties with the monarchy of the United Kingdom, whose monarch reigns in Australia as 'Queen of Australia'. Australian republicans wish to turn Australia into a republic with an elected president.
In November 1999 a referendum in Australia on turning the Commonwealth of Austrailia into a republic was defeated. Some supporters of the republican cause claim that the referendum was 'sabotaged' by Prime Minister John Howard, a monarchist. They claim that, rather than being a straightforward question on whether Australia should become a Republic, the referendum was phrased such that voters had to choose one of three proposed forms of government (even though one form had already been decided on at the Constitutional Convention the previous year), or vote against Republicanism altogether. Others allege that the form of republic proposed by the Constitutional Convention was unworkable, or that republicans themselves alienated uncommitted voters.
In the end, the referendum was defeated by a combination of
- voters who were unconvinced of a need to change;
- constitutional monarchists, who want to keep the constitutional structures as they are;
- republicans who wish to see a directly elected president;
- republicans who were unhappy with the form of republic proposed.
The situation was further complicated by the political history of Australia, where getting any form of constitutional amendment enacted is difficult, most past constitutional amendments having been rejected.
It is expected that a further referendum on declaring an Australian republic will take place. While opinion polls suggest a majority of Australians favour some form of republic, there is no agreement as to the form of republic, the methodology by which a president should be elected, or the resulting constitutional changes in the Australian constitution.