Professor David Flint is so rusted onto yesterday he is again banging on about titles - anachronistic dividers of communities – which are no longer awarded in Australia. Barry Everingham reports.
IN THE LATEST edition of his ridiculous blog – which is written with the Blue Rinse Set, the Flat Earth Society and the young fogies of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy – he is positively salivating in announcing that in New Zealand the title Right Honourable is being reinstated and applied to Governors General, Prime Ministers, Speakers of the Parliament and Chief Justices.
He laments so sadly that “creeping republicanism" is denying this nonsense in Australia, conveniently forgetting it once applied to members of the Privy Council (of the UK) to which many Australian ministers were appointed when appeals to that foreign body were permitted.
He further alleges that current ministers who are determined as “honourable”when they are sworn in by the Governor General on assuming office forget their republicanism and use the honorific with pride.
Of course they do Mr. Flint; it has nothing to do with republicanism mate, but everything to do with being loyal to this country
Flint allows himself some hyperbole in his current announcement – that’s my word for being cavalier with the truth.
Take the following quote from the blog:
“At The Queen’s request [note: "The Queen"; he thinks he’s writing for the Court Circular] “new rules for granting the use of the title Right Honourable in New Zealand” etc, etc.
Now Flint knows full well the Queen does not make those requests – they are made to her by the colonial government (in this case New Zealand) of which she is titular head and which she of course approves. She has no other choice.
In any case who would believe she would give a fig what titles are used in used in New Zealand or any of the other countries in the Commonwealth.
The blog contains some other heart racing information.
Flint’s protégé, a young man called Jai Martinkovics who runs – under Flint’s total control the young arm of ACM – has breathlessly announced a November talk-fest to be addressed by – wait for it – the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. The fact that more than half of them are republicans seems to escape the boy.
But that's the latest from the professor. Keep watching- there’s always more.
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