Republic

The octogenarian husband of the Australian head of state has done it again – he asked a young female sea cadet if she worked in a strip club! 

Known for his habit of putting both his feet in his mouth, the 88 year old Danish/Greek Prince Philip is saved this latest   gaffe for a young woman who devotes her spare time to naval training.

It would be bad enough if one of his sons made such a remark to a young woman but when a man of Philip’s age gets so out of hand it’s a sign he’s either in his dotage or he’s becoming a bit too dangerous to be let loose in public.

Continue reading "Royal palaces crumbling" »

In an extraordinary attack on the memory of the late Governor-General Sir John Kerr, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser claims the Governor-General telephoned him on the morning of 11 November 1975 before the then Prime Minister EG Whitlam saw the Governor-General to seek an early half Senate election.

The states were unlikely to offer their necessary co-operation in holding an early half Senate election and in any event the new senators would not take office for eight months. The Governor–General could not see this as a solution to the Senate’s withholding of of supply to the government.

Accordingly, he dismissed Mr. Whitlam on the ancient principle that no government may rule without supply being granted by Parliament. Shortly afterwards, the Governor-General commissioned the Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister pending an election on 10 December.

Continue reading "Fraser’s late swipe at a man unable to defend himself" »

If things are looking good for 2010, just think about where we will be by 2020 in Kevin Rudd’s Australia.

In 2020, I will be 31 and the Prime Minister will be exactly double that.

Rudd will be at his peak having surpassed John Howard as the second longest serving PM only a few months beforehand. A good consolation prize, after his failed bid for the UN Secretary Generalship in 2016.

Continue reading "Looking forward to a sterile life in Rudd’s 2020 Australia" »

Amid the continuing debate about our national identity and our constitutional arrangements, readers might be interested in this piece written this weekend for English newspaper The Mail on Sunday about our response to Prince William’s visit. It’s obviously written for an English audience, and it ended up being an embarrassingly positive piece where my republicanism almost abandoned me.

The last thing we need over here in Sydney is another cashed-up foreign interloper buying into the hyper-inflated property market to further jack up prices in the Harbour City.

But Prince Williams’ joking suggestion that he had so fallen in love with Sydney that he intends to buy a house here was not so much condemned as applauded.

Continue reading "How a likeable Prince undermined the republic" »

Don’t think for a moment that last week’s visit by Prince William was anything other than a stunt by the House of Windsor or, at the least, those whose survival depend on its.

Prince William was said to have been “mobbed” as he moved through Victorian country towns. The Beatles were mobbed. The future king was watched. “King of the kids” was the headline. You’ll get that during school holidays, and how fortunate was he to chance upon those?

We aren’t the only nation still constitutionally tied to the old colonial master – there a more than a dozen - but we are the jewel in the crown.

Continue reading "Counterpunch: Wills’ visit was a stunt and a farce" »

After a week of fiery debate that covered everything from our right to a national holiday and whether we should be a republic to what we’d like on our flag we can be sure of one thing: we can’t agree on any of it.

Scroll down to see a collection of twenty or so comments from Punch readers on all of these contentious topics. But whatever you end up doing today we hope you’ll stay safe and have fun.

Continue reading "All things Australian according to Punch readers" »

The last time I thought about an Australian republic was in 1999. I was 12 years old and too busy thinking about how hot Prince William was to really care about the republican movement.

Eleven years later, Prince William arrives in Australia. The only time I come into contact with the Royal Family is seeing Willy’s grandma on the $5 note and her head on all the Aussie coins. While I’m interested in the republic v monarchy debate, the dramas of the Royal Family appeals to me even more.

There was a time where the Royal Family were treated with near-universal respect. Now? The walls behind Buckingham Palace are producing scandals the writers of The Bold and the Beautiful wish they could come up with. The Queen must feel a twinge of nostalgia on the days where the family’s dirty laundry wasn’t aired to the press.

Continue reading "Young Australia’s choice: royal soap opera or republic" »

Well our local monarchists have worked themselves into a royal frenzy and the hyperbole is coming thick and fast - so let me try to help them get a few things into perspective.

William and his brother Harry - thanks to their gorgeous mother Diana - are the only really normal members of the world’s most dysfunctional family.

Granny Queen is locked into yesterday with her appallingly rude and insensitive husband.

Continue reading "Wills’ visit proves he’s more celebrity than statesman" »

The arrival of young Willie Windsor in the Antipodes has brought renewed attention to the white elephant sitting in Australia’s lounge-room.

The republic has stirred, goaded by the media frenzy surrounding the Prince and the cheap point-scoring by monarchists heralding Willie as the man to save them from well-deserved irreverence.

It is nice to see him out there in Redfern, a slight change of pace from the official welcoming at Admiralty House. It is nice to see him mixing with the kids at Kirribili for lunch (Michael Clarke’s timely ton just snuck him onto the list).

Continue reading "Don’t be distracted by the balding royal" »

It’s time we shooed off our Royal parasites. I don’t want the Queen as Australia’s head of state, and nor do I want her untrustworthy, dysfunctional, self-serving family of heartless opportunists to have any say in our future.

For too long this racist, sexist and unworthy institution populated by dangerously inbred Europeans has arrogantly wielded power it does not deserve – just last week it was revealed the next King of Australia campaigned against the Coalition of the Willing and sarcastically abused “his” Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Prince Charles son, His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter may be a more pleasant chap – and he may not - and, at least by royal standards, he is quite well educated.

Continue reading "Dysfunctional royal weirdos have no place in Australia" »

AS soon as I can, probably within a couple of years, I hope to take the oath of Australian citizenship. It’s something I take seriously, not least because of the relief of finally being able to cast a vote on who gets to spend my taxes. But it will also place me in the naggingly uncomfortable position of being a citizen of a country whose head of state comes from a family with a long-standing tradition of doing cruel and unusual things to Irish people.

I use the word “naggingly” quite deliberately because despite my qualms about the British royals’ connections with lopping off Irish people’s heads and trying to wring the life out of Ireland’s language and sporting traditions, for some time I have been developing an increasing admiration for the Windsors. On balance I’m looking forward to having some ownership over the monarchy.

Prince William’s arrival this week compounds it. I’ve decided I’m jealous. I have crown envy.

Continue reading "Will could save the monarchy" »

On Tuesday 19th of January, Prince William – the 2nd in line to various thrones – will visit Australia for just the second time. It has been reported that he is doing this to “get to know Australia”.

Since this tour was announced in December, as Media Director for the Australian Republican Movement (ARM), I have been busy with requests from English broadcasters and newspapers.

The interest should have been surprising, since William is only stopping in on Australia for three days for a “semi-official” tour on his way to New Zealand. Moreover, he is visiting only two cities: Sydney and Melbourne. However, given that there has been a massive PR campaign by the Palace to present William as the youthful – cuter – face of the monarchy, it was inevitable that the English press would be awash with expectation about whether Australia would warm to the Prince like good little subjects.

Continue reading "Prince William’s Australia tour - who cares?" »

Prince William’s coming visit seems to have resulted in the dramatic conversion of a republican celebrity. This is none other than the editor and media personality Ms. Ita Clare Buttrose AO OBE, who campaigned for the politicians’ republic during the 1999 referendum.

Readers of the Wentworth Courier, which circulates in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, were surprised then by her harsh dismissal of the No case and indeed of constitutional monarchists.

Ms Buttrose was the founding editor of Cleo which, with its nude male centrefolds, was aimed at young single women. She later edited the more conservative Australian Women’s Weekly and the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs.

Continue reading "The Prince William effect: republican celebrity converts" »

The secret is out – our next king; unless we come to our senses and become a Republic – will be William, not Charles!

That’s what one of the UK’s most respected newspapers has reported and it’s not journalistic hyperbole;  it’s from a secret document which reveals that the Queen will hand over a substantial part of hers and Prince Philip’s duties to their grandson, by-passing Prince Charles.

But that’s not all. The hapless British taxpayer will be asked to give William more money, and Harry as well, inpsite of the enormous income their father receives annually from the Duchy of Cornwall’s bottomless pit of money.

Continue reading "We’re getting William, whether we like it or not" »

If they weren’t busy washing their hair, watching paint dry or rubbing lard on the cat’s boil, more Australians would have got along to the small soiree in Canberra earlier this month to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the failed republican referendum.

The event was entitled “Ten years on, it’s time to mend the nation’s heart”, taking its cue from Malcolm Turnbull’s pointed referendum night sledge against his eventual boss, Prime Minister John Howard, over his allegedly sinister role in skewering the yes vote.

A small ceremony was held on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra – Canberra being a terrifically appropriate choice as, from all the states and territories, the ACT was on its own in voting yes - where a statement was read urging both sides of politics to revisit the case for constitutional change.

Continue reading "Republican nation bored into apathy by republicans" »

Harry M Miller’s revelation that Prince Charles wondered why Australia remained a constitutional monarchy will come as no surprise to those of us who have been reporting on and watching the British royals for some time.

If there’s one thing that senior members of the royal family detest it’s the fawning and groveling of those they meet, and Australia heads the list of major offenders in that department.

As an example, some years ago the Queen decided that the last century habit of women dropping a curtsy was no longer necessary but the individuals could continue to bend the knee if it made them happy.

Continue reading "If our next King thinks we should be a republic, then…" »

Welcome to Friday @ The Punch

On this day in 1999 Australia held a referendum asking two questions. The first was should Australia become a republic, the second whether the constitution should be amended to include a preamble. Neither amendments were passed.  What did you vote for? Has your opinion changed?

The next time the London Philharmonic Orchestra tours Australia, will somebody please tell the conductor that the playing of God Save the Queen is just not on and certainly not before the National Anthem of Australia is played.

There’s some mad theory around that the British anthem was played because the Duke of Kent was in the audience.

The Duke of who? There wouldn’t be many Australians who have ever heard of him and to put those who haven’t out of their collective miseries here’s who he is:  he’s Prince Edward , a cousin of the Queen’s and is in the first 20 in line to the English throne.

Continue reading "Let us never speak of this unfortunate incident again" »

The Australian monarchists are divided – David Flint and his tightly controlled Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy (ACM) claim the Governor General is the Australian head of state while Philip Benwell and his Australian Monarch League (AML) are with the Republicans – it’s the foreign non resident unelected British Queen who holds this nation’s top job.

Ten years up the track, the debate is simmering away under the surface and right now Flint is holding the trump cards – he is said to pull in half a million dollars a year towards his cause which is remarkable considering ACM has only two members – Flint and his sidekick former Roman Catholic seminarian Thomas Flynn. The movement’s constitution is clever; its run by the pair with the help of would be members, who are non voting “supporters”

Professor Flint’s latest take on the vexed subject of a republic revolves around the quaint notion that if we change the constitution we’ll have a “politician’s republic”. He fails to mention we are now laboring under a “politician’s monarchy” – a point Tony Blair underscored when he pulled the Queen into line over her unbelievable indifference to the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Continue reading "Right royal lie at the centre of monarchists’ claims" »

First, a confession: I love England. The Beatles and Radiohead are my two favourite bands, I daydream about watching Manchester United beat Liverpool at Old Trafford and I love washing down crumpets with a nice cup of tea as much as anyone.

However, in my role as the National Youth Convener of the Australian Republic Movement, I get to speak to a lot of young people about why Australia should become a republic and how our generation can make a big difference in making that goal a reality.

Unsurprisingly, most of the young people I speak to agree: it’s time for an Australian to be our head-of-state, not a foreign monarch who happened to be the first-born of the previous monarch.

Continue reading "It’s not you it’s me: why we should ditch the royals" »

I realise it is incredibly un-trendy to like the monarchy. Heck, sometimes I even wish that the French revolution had never taken place, if only for my personal amusement of watching England and France compete via the insecurities of their ruling leaders, as they did once upon a time.

Think of all the gowns; the pomp, drama and arrogance; and the lavish court parties that could have taken place, and, lest I forget, the option of eating cake when bread was not available.

But, personal amusement aside, watching The Young Victoria just reinstated how much I like having a queen on a throne, even if she’s technically not part of my country and much of a half world away.

Continue reading "Confessions of a young monarchist" »

Yesterday we blew the froth off a couple in honour of our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, and observed her birthday with a package of pieces on the republic which, overall, concluded there appears to be no mass groundswell for another crack at constitutional reform.

Even the republicans are worried that our pollies are simply waiting for the Queen to die so that the issue can somehow resolve itself. Follow the links below to read the pieces.

The losers in 1999 have the utter gall to demand we abandon our oldest public holiday celebrating our oldest institution, one central to our Westminster system.

On almost every Queen’s Birthday republicans usually rush into the media. This year they’re saying putting republicanism on the political agenda will help the nation recover from the recession. Without a scintilla of evidence, they say the growing interest in Anzac Day is because of republican sentiment.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. In the nineties they were saying a republic would overcome unemployment, improve trade, free artistic talent, increase immigration, and enhance our standing in Asia.

Continue reading "Republican losers would scrap our oldest holiday" »

The republic debate has evolved since 1999. Traditional approaches to the question still have bite, including general arguments for or against monarchy/republic as well as the nationalist appeal of a republic in Australia and the cost to the public purse of constitutional change.

But the recent Senate hearings into Senator Bob Brown’s bill to hold a republic plebiscite at the time of the next election displayed a number of new developments.

The inevitable first new aspect of the debate has been about the meaning of the 1999 referendum result. An important thread of monarchist argument, often tried in letters to the editor, has been that the matter has been decided because the people have spoken. Republicans have had their chance and should abandon their cause.

Continue reading "Waiting for Queen’s death soft option for republic" »

Here’s the worst political ad ever made in Australia:

It’s not a very good version, I know. It’s grainy, and the words don’t line up properly.

But you get the general idea: the two worst prime ministers of our modern history, delivering a boring and patronising monologue about something which should have been exciting and inclusive.

Continue reading "Clapped-out baby-boomers have killed the republic" »