THE TELEGRAPH: Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, has said Australia should cut its ties with Britain and become a republic when the Queen dies or abdicates.
Ms Gillard, who was born in Wales and moved to Australia with her parents aged five, acknowledged that many Australians had “deep affection” for the Queen, but said that the status quo could not remain.
“What I would like to see as prime minister is that we work our way through to an agreement on a model for the republic,” she said during an election campaign stop in Queensland.“I think the appropriate time for this nation to move to be a republic is when we see the monarch change.
“Obviously I’m hoping for Queen Elizabeth that she lives a long and happy life, and having watched her mother I think there’s every chance that she will.”
While it has its own flag and national anthem, Australia currently operates as a constitutional monarchy, which means that the Queen, as head of state, has the same formal role as she does in Britain. Her representative, the governor-general, is in charge of the army, must give assent to all laws passed by parliament and has the power to dissolve both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The role of the Queen as Australia’s monarch was laid down at federation in 1901 and a complex system of constitutional ties would have to be unravelled for the nation to become a republic. >>> Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Tuesday, August 17, 2010
