Australian leaders united in push for a republic

Queen Elizabeth II looks on during a boat trip around the Mediterranean island of Malta on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta on November 28, 2015. Australian leaders are united in a push to cut ties with the British monarchy. PHOTO | AFP

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • Ahead of Australia Day on Tuesday, seven of the nation’s eight state and territory leaders signed a declaration calling for an Australian head of state to replace the reigning royal in London.

  • Federal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is already a noted republican, having passionately led the cause ahead of a failed referendum in 1999.

  • Fitz Simons, who wants the process on a referendum over becoming a republic to start by 2020, said the declaration sent a message to the prime minister.

SYDNEY, Monday

Australian state leaders threw their support behind a republic on Monday, with one saying the nation should not have to wait for the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign to cut ties with the British monarchy.

Ahead of Australia Day on Tuesday, seven of the nation’s eight state and territory leaders signed a declaration calling for an Australian head of state to replace the reigning royal in London.

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The only state leader not to sign up, Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett, said he also supported a republic but just did not think “the time is right”.

Federal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is already a noted republican, having passionately led the cause ahead of a failed referendum in 1999, as is opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten.Australian Republican Movement chairman Peter FitzSimons seized on the new enthusiasm.

“All of Australia’s political leaders now support an Australian head of state,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“Never before have the stars of the Southern Cross been so aligned in pointing to the dawn of a new republican age for Australia,” he said, referring to a constellation in the southern hemisphere sky which appears on the Australian flag.

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Fitz Simons, who wants the process on a referendum over becoming a republic to start by 2020, said the declaration sent a message to the prime minister.

Turnbull has previously said that he has more pressing priorities than turning the nation into a republic.

“My own view... is that the next occasion for the republic referendum to come up is going to be after the end of the Queen’s reign,” he said last year.

But South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said it would be “the ultimate act of respect” if the Queen presided over the transfer of Australia from a monarchy to a republic.

“I think that’s something that she could preside over and do it in the elegant and expert way in which she has handled her relationship as head of Australia,” he told the ABC.

“I mean if you think about it, what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for her to die?

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