Never a better time for PM Albanese to sever UK ties

With faith in the Albanese Government dwindling, now is a perfect time to consider action towards establishing an Australian republic, writes Dr Klaas Woldring.

POLITICAL JOURNALISTS are beginning to express concern about the lack of essential action by the Australian Prime Minister. In The Sydney Morning Herald on 24 October, Shaun Carney claims that the scars of Rudd-Gillard leave the PM untouchable. The steadily declining popularity of the Albanese Government is unmistakable and given the serious questions over the alternative of a Dutton Government, this issue is a daunting reality.

Others argue that the options of replacing Albanese seem to have been removed and point out that the desirability is in any case questionable. Even those who regard the purchase of a luxury house on the Central Coast as politically not sensible under the circumstances, do not see it as a hanging offence within the party. Albanese is certainly regarded as a decent and committed senior ALP politician, but they do add that continuing in this fashion places a second period in office in danger. They question why the PM didn't consider this himself. Many others may think likewise.

Effective prime ministers need to be more than decent blokes with plenty of experience in their party.

Political reconstruction vital for Albanese re-election

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needs to consider progressive moves toward an Australian republic to boost chances of another term in government.

Just recently, the official visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla has added to the concerns that major issues surrounding the continuation of the unresolved colonial ties are postponed further and could take many more years to finalise. How long has this been going on now? Why should there be a problem at all? The Prime Minister is to stand up and fix this issue, not postpone it any further and put it in the “too hard basket”.

Albanese is the one who needs to speak to Australians who still seem to have this as part of their political outlook. The colonial period has long passed for Britain in many other areas. Similarly, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish and the Italians have ended that relationship after WWII, some even earlier.

In reality, the visit of the British royals is for many Australians a non-event, an almost unreal formality that has to be experienced and processed. Senator Lidia Thorpe felt compelled to very publicly ask when stolen land would be returned and a treaty given. A stark reminder of unfinished business. A colony it was, no doubt, in spite of the formation of federation by an Act of the British Parliament in 1901. However, after turning it into an immigration country, especially after World War II, the enormous growth of the population since 1945 has tended to shape Australia into a multicultural country, based now on the Australia Act of 1986, but not following constitutional change.

A royal visit is now experienced by many as a somewhat irrelevant reminder of that colonial history and little more. The Voice Referendum's “No” vote result seems to suggest otherwise, though. For many other Australians, that history does linger on. Many others view this as unfinished business. Therefore, the republic issue and the archaic Constitution need to be tackled — the sooner the better, at the same time.

The republic does need an entirely new Constitution. However, the Albanese Government has apparently shifted the republic, the Constitution and the Indigenous issues as something to be dealt with later, thus of little importance. Add to this the surprising approval of several new gas and coal projects, seriously questioning the genuine concerns about the environment.

The possibility of an even more conservative Dutton Government after the 2025 Election has now become a potential disaster waiting to happen. The timidity of the current leader is increasingly mentioned as a problem. Leader replacement may seem too late now and possibly undesirable for that reason as well. Will the party convince its leader to change his ways? For the moment, this seems not to happen although the need for desirable and effective reforms is growing rapidly.

The King of Australia will easily outlast Albanese's Labor

Albanese’s stinging Voice rebuff and now his Governor-General appointment snuff out any chance of him delivering an Australian head of state.

That need is very obvious. Opportunities galore to move to progressive governance action. Potential for significant governance system change in a new Albanese Government exists aplenty. Why not acknowledge this and start preparing right now? This amazing system conservatism in the ALP must end, the sooner the better. Only in housing construction can it be said that progress is taken seriously. The need in many other policy areas seems obvious but hesitation or no action prevails. The ALP has ceased to be a progressive party federally in any case. But that is exactly where it matters most now.

There appears to be a remarkable fear of change that may have emerged or strengthened after the failure of the Voice Referendum. Yasmin Poole, in a recent article in The Saturday Paper, has recognised this well and suggested that this ‘does not inspire hope that a republic will be on the cards in the next few years’. Good heavens, this is hard to believe.

Poole also suggests that there is an identity crisis happening in Australia. On the one hand, a strong belief in egalitarianism and multiculturalism; on the other hand, ‘enduring allegiance to the British monarchy’. This is exactly where the ALP needs to show leadership and there is not much time left.

While the Dutton Opposition is hardly presenting adequate potential for Government, the ALP fails to effectively tackle obvious opportunities to demonstrate initiative and leadership. What about a treaty with the Indigenous people? Why not revisit the republic issue right now as well and consider rewriting the entire Constitution at the same time? This may look like a difficult approach, but it need not be and would be welcomed, especially by the younger generation.

Furthermore, let's stop spreading the notion that the Australian electoral system is so much better than the U.S. system, views that were given much space in a recent Sydney Morning Herald issue. Yes, the administration of the electoral system is sound, but it is neither fair nor democratic as frequently claimed and often really believed, with the exception of state and territory systems which successfully use proportional representation.

Paying a King's ransom

King Charles-the-whatever is coming to Australia on 18 October until some other date you can no doubt find in your calendar, if you could be bothered.

Reflect again on the “No” vote and compare it to the stunning majority in the 1967 Referendum to count Indigenous people as citizens. The Voice Referendum result in 2023 was clearly caused by the “No” vote officially presented by the Dutton-led Opposition, thus an election system problem. The young people of Australia seek to be inspired particularly by bold leadership and steps to improve democracy. What we are seeing is a further decline of the major parties, but more support for Teals, other Independents and the Greens.

The natural system of democratic representation of a greater variety of interests should be proportional and that applies even more in a multi-cultural society. If the ALP wants to generate new support, it needs to provide effective ways to ensure such representation. Instead, it adheres to system conservatism. Even the emerging leaning toward a minority ALP Government does not present a fundamental change. That would still be based on the same single-member district system.

When it comes to the Constitution and the republic, immediate action is needed now, not further postponement. The present hesitation can only result in the further decline of the ALP. The migrants after WWII have come to political maturity and many do not adhere to the colonial extension of the Westminster system.

Yes, Australia was a British colony but why should it still cling to the ways inherited from the UK? Even in the UK itself, the values of the political system are widely rejected and significant changes can be expected to happen there as well.

The time for more extensive political education in Australia has well and truly arrived. It would not be a bad idea for the ABC to recognise that as well.