Australian Citizens' Parliament

Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy, whose Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor-General is the Queen's representative.

The following is taken from the website of the Australian Republican Movement:

What is a republic?

According to the Macquarie Dictionary, a republic is a state in which "the supreme power resides in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them."

In particular, a republic refers to a system of government that has no hereditary monarch - a person who holds political or constitutional office purely as a birthright.

In a monarchy, the Head of State is an hereditary monarch who is the symbolic personification of the nation and the source of all constitutional and democratic authority.

Many people believe that this arrangement is no longer either appropriate or suitable for Australia. We believe that the office of Head of State should be attained on merit, not birthright. We believe that our Head of State should be an Australian Citizen. We believe that our Head of State should live in Australia and know what it means to be Australian.

Australia can reach this goal by becoming a republic, with our own Head of State who is chosen on merit rather than on birthright and who unquestionably represents Australia both at home and abroad. Our own Head of State will meet the Queen and other Heads of State as an equal.

In 1999 a referendum was held on whether Australia should become a republic with a president appointed by Parliament. The referendum failed, mainly because this proposal was opposed not just by monarchists, but by 'direct election republicans' who believed the president should be elected by the voters of Australia.

The argument against direct election is that a president elected by the people would have a much greater claim to exercise real power than a president appointed by Parliament. This would change Australia from being a parliamentary system to being a semi-presidential system, more like France, where power is shared between the President and the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet.

Arguments against a republic include:

The current system of constitutional monarchy has served Australia well, so there is no need for any change.

The monarchy is part of Australian tradition, also emphasising historical links to Britain.

Many of the world's most successful countries, such as the Netherlands and Sweden, are constitutional monarchies (i.e, where the Monarch does not possess real political power and is mainly a figurehead).

The Monarch is a unifying symbol for the nation. Australian republicans would reply that this argument does not apply when the Monarch is from another nation.

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