Roy McKeen says the swearing in ceremony of the 43rd Australian parliament left him with a feeling of repugnance that our politicians swear allegiance to foreigners, not the people of Australia.
IT WAS WITH a feeling of repugnance that I watched the swearing in of members of the 43rd Australian parliament on the morning of Tuesday 28th September 2010. Repugnance because of the constitutional requirement for members to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch who achieved her exalted position not because of merit or hard work or diligence but because she was born in the right bed, is a member of the Church of England and swore at her coronation to maintain the protestant faith. Repugnance, too, at the need for members to swear allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II’s heirs and successors none of whom are Australians and some of whom have never even set foot on Australian soil and some of whom are infants.
The requirement that members of parliament swear allegiance to a bunch of foreigners, some of whom of doubtful parentage, is because it is written into the Australian Constitution which, to our eternal shame, is a mere schedule to an Act of Parliament passed by a foreign government in the horse and buggy age. Talk about moving forward!
Her Majesty’s heirs and successors have one thing in common. They all have German blood, that of the late Sophia, Electress of Hanover. That is a legal requirement for becoming head of state of the U.K. and Australia. There is no mention in the laws of succession to the British (and hence Australian) throne that the heirs and successors must have British (or for that matter Australian) blood. My sense of repugnance was even stronger with the knowledge that the British royal family has had close family ties to German Nazis who served the Fuhrer in WWII and in some cases made the Supreme Sacrifice for the Fuhrer and Fatherland.
So that my fellow Australians (and others) may share my feeling of repugnance here are the first twelve in the line of succession to the British (and hence Australian ) throne:-
- HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles; b 1948) son of Queen Elizabeth II
- HRH Prince William of Wales (b 1982) son of The Prince of Wales
- HRH Prince Henry of Wales (b 1984) son of The Prince of Wales
- HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew; b 1960) son of Queen Elizabeth II
- HRH Princess Beatrice of York (b 1988) daughter of The Duke of York
- HRH Princess Eugenie of York (b 1990) daughter of The Duke of York
- HRH The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward; b 1964) son of Queen Elizabeth II
- James, Viscount Severn (b 2007) son of The Earl of Wessex
- The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (b 2003) daughter of The Earl of Wessex
- HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne; b 1950) daughter of Queen Elizabeth II
- Peter Phillips (b 1977) son of The Princess Royal
- Zara Phillips (b 1981) daughter of The Princess Royal.
Not much Australian blood there!
During the forthcoming Ashes series the Barmy Army will taunt us with their chants of ‘God save YOUR gracious queen, long live YOUR noble queen.’ They have got the message. When will we get it?
It IS time that Australia had its own head of state.
