A TIME TO FACE OUR FUTURE
In a statement, the Australian Republican Movement extended a warm welcome to the Queen on what may well be her last visit to our shores, noting that this tour, more than any other, brings into focus the future all Australians need to address — King Charles III or a local ‘good enough’ to be our Head of State.
The statement also said that the CHOGM component of the tour should also serve to correct some of the ‘black and white’ misinformation that has been generated, for too long, around Australia operating as a republic. Australia would remain a member of the Commonwealth, and our own Head of State would welcome the Head of the Commonwealth to CHOGM in Australia.
“It really is time for a grown up discussion about this,” said the ARM Chair, General Mike Keating.
“The British monarchy simply does not represent Australian values in 2011, and it’s time for our elected representatives to stand up on this basic truth.
“We are not opposed to the Queen’s visit. We are not anti-Elizabeth. We are not anti-British. We are pro-Australian, and this discussion is not about the person – it never has been – it’s about the institution. Because, above all else, it’s about our identity as Australians.
“Our world won’t be thrown upside down if we become a republic. But our belief in ourselves, and our standing in the world, will start to properly reflect what Australia has already become — a mature, independent and unique society. It is the step we need to take, and it is time to take it.”
HOW THE ARM SEES THE QUEEN’S VISIT & CHOGM 2011
- The ARM’s goal is the severing of Australia’s constitutional links to the British monarchy, so we can be ‘ourselves’ with an Australian Head of State.
- This should be a positive step into our future, and the Queen would no doubt acknowledge it as a matter for Australians to decide.
- The ARM wants the Australian people, a vast swathe of them having no British heritage or ‘identity’ whatsoever, to have a say in who our next Head of State will be.
- Australia, as a republic, would remain a member of the Commonwealth, and our own Head of State would welcome the Head of the Commonwealth to CHOGM in Australia.
