4th Annual Contemporary Europe Learning Community Colloquium
The Australian Monarchy-Republic Debate
Held at the Australian National University, 13/10/2010
'Crown versus Republic: Lessons from Europe'
(Speech made by Professor John Warhurst)
AUSTRALIA has looked to international experience as it has debated the move from a monarchy to a republic over the past twenty years.
Monarchists in general have not relied on the merits of monarchies other than Britain, and recently Denmark. They have instead criticized republics in general, including all European republics, such as France. For them all monarchies are better than any republic.
Republicans on the other hand have pointed out the prevalence of republics in the Commonwealth and in the world at large, including the G20. Australian republicans only aim to establish that republics are in principle at least as good as monarchies. We don’t have to trash the reputation of monarchies around the world as the monarchists do for republics. We merely need to establish that the British monarchy (Australia contains seven British monarchies in each state and the Commonwealth) is not suitable for Australia. Tonight’s discussion helps to do that.
Australia has also been quite clear about the peculiarities of our own situation (federalism and a Westminster parliamentary system in which the PM is head of government) and what we don’t want to change to, including an executive presidency. That shapes our approach to European examples of republics.
Let’s look at some of the key steps in the debate.
The 1993 Report of the Republic Advisory Committee, chaired by Malcom Turnbull, currently shadow minister for communications, commissioned six studies of overseas republics. Three of them were of non-European republics: India, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago. But three were European: Austria, Germany and Ireland. Austria was chosen for its federal system and for a directly elected president with equality with the Prime Minister and the Federal Council. Germany is also federal with a relatively weak President who is elected by a Federal Assembly of federal and state MPs. Ireland is a Westminster parliamentary system with a largely ceremonial President also directly elected. The large Irish-Australian community also makes Ireland especially relevant to this debate.
The 1998 Constitutional Convention drew on some of these international insights. There were four models of electing the president in a future Australian republic put to the vote. They were parliamentary election by two thirds of the Commonwealth Parliament after some public consultation (supported by the Australian Republican Movement); Two types of popular election of the president (with more or less parliamentary involvement in choosing the candidates); Selection by a Council of Elders (the McGarvie model).
The unsuccessful 1999 republic referendum (55:45%) sought approval for parliamentary appointment (“Yes” case), but some republicans who wanted popular election backed the “No” case and ensured its defeat.
The current debates feature Australians for Constitutional Monarchy aggressively contrasting negatively all republics, including major European republics like France, Italy and Germany as well as Ireland, with monarchies. The ARM points to the particular Australian situation and I have been heartened not just by the discussion of the French republic tonight but also by discussion of the Danish monarchy.
The case for the Danish monarchy strengthens rather than weakens the case for an Australian republic. Denmark has a national monarchy. Australia suffers under the tail-end of the imperial British monarchy. All of the arguments for the Danish monarchy made tonight apply to Britain not Australia. These include: that the monarchy fits Denmark’s national image; that Queen Margaret and the Royal Family retain a personal involvement in Danish society and receive affection for that; and that there are clear economic advantages for the Danish nation.
It has been a pleasure to discuss the Australian monarchy-republic debate in a European context. It helps to clarify and strengthen the case for an Australian republic.
