Queen of Australia

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Queen of Australia

The Queen of England, who also bears the title of Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II, arrived on Wednesday in Canberra for the 16th official visit to Australia, where she is expected to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth on October 28. She is taking a 10-day visit to Australia along with her husband Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen, which is the head of the Australian state, even though the office is mere ceremonial, had been received by Australian public and press with respect and warmth, in spite of debates about republicanism that have been agitated the country.

According to the reports of an editor to Sydney Morning Herald, there a great amount of respect for the Queen even on the part of those who are republican. Everybody in Australia respects the Queen.

The people like her, the editor said, first off because she is a person which is hard to dislike, and secondly because she has been present throughout their entire lives and the lives of the parents of those who live now in Australia.

The visit is expected to be more emotional this time, considering that it may be the last time the Queen comes to Australia. The assessment that this is the last time she may visit takes into account her advanced age.

Australia had a referendum on the form of government in 1999, and the polls indicated that the Australians favor the monarchy. Since then the issue was put on hold and never appeared on the political agenda until Julia Gillard brought it back during campaign to fain the office of prime minister.

On that occasion Gillard, who became prime minister, said that Australia should become a republic and that Queen Elizabeth II should be the last Queen of Australia.

On that occasion, Gillard said that even though the people of Australia loved their Queen the country should become a republic, and that she would love to see the problem resolved once and for all and the people deciding what kind of regime wanted.

She made those claims during an electoral campaign as she was running against Tony Abbott, which is a supporter of the monarchy. Abbott said that the republican discourse has been present in Australia for quite a while but that the people in this country did not show too much interest toward it. Actually, Australian republican vision has been present in this country since before 1901, when the Commonwealth has been established.

Abbott is the head of the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and in this capacity he expressed confidence that the system in Australia would not change in our lifetime, because it works perfectly.

The organization Abbott leads charges that the republicans in Australia do not have any idea what kind of state they wanted and what kind of republic they are advocating. Abbott also says that there is a “republic by stealth” being installed as more and more the references to the monarchy disappear from the lives of the people in Australia.

He complains that the references to the Crown are being removed from oaths and the legislation, while the position of Queen’s Counsel is being replaced sometimes in the states by Senior Counsel.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy and has Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia. The country is being ruled according to the Constitution and the Letters Patent of the Queen.

Queen of Australia

This is why the visit of the Queen now bares so much importance. The analysts consider that if the republican question is to be brought into debate once again, and it was more than a manipulation Gillard used to get elected, then the most suitable moment to bring it on would be when the throne of England and Australia will pass on to Prince Charles, which is next in line to the throne.

Prince Charles is not half as respected in Australia as his mother is, and his succession to the throne could be a good moment for the Australians to organize another poll to see what kind of form of government is appropriate. The last time such a survey was made 55% favored the monarchy, while only 35% were devoted to the idea of republic.

The Prince Charles moment could be wasted of course should he renounce the throne to his son, Prince William, whose approval among Australians is at least as huge as his grandmother’s.

Prince William’s wedding raised again the interest of the population for the monarchy, and his visit to Australia was very warmly received, especially in Queensland, where the devastations of the floods left a lot of people in a dire situation.

Analysts believe that it would not be enough in order to change the form of government the fact that the next king could be Prince Charles. The next prime minister of Australia is expected to be Tony Abbott himself, who is a staunch supporter of the monarchy, and would have no reasons to foster the republican ideology.

Another reason why republic is not going to be embraced in Australia very soon is that the Aussies are conservative people, and do not like changes.

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