A LEADING constitutional monarchist has hit back at misleading claims that Queen Elizabeth is Australia’s official head of state.
Responding to an article by high-profile Labor Party historian Troy Bramson, the National Convenor of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, Pro David Flint, said Mr Bramson’s assertion was provably untrue.
- Australians aren’t lying awake at night wondering who is the head of state.
- Media is muddying water to trick voters into backing floored republican model.
- Current constitutional system protects our democracy and has done so for over a century.
In an article appearing in The Weekend Australian titled “Seventy years of duty, dedication and service to Australia”, Mr Bramson suggested most Australians weren’t aware the Queen was head of state.
“This is because she isn’t,” Pro Flint responded in a letter to The Australian’s editor, which was subsequently published.
JUDGE
“This is according to the unanimous view of an Australian for Constitutional Monarchy team headed by a judge so respected he served on five appellant courts in Commonwealth countries,” he wrote.
“Also on the team were experts in constitutional and international law and vice-regal practice.
“That the governor-general is our constitutional head of state was confirmed unanimously by a 1907 High Court headed by founding chief justice Sir Samuel Griffith.
“He should know – he led the drafting of our Constitution.”
Pro Flint said ever since State visits had begun, all Australian governments have recognised the governor-general as head of state.
“Obviously, Australians aren’t lying awake at night wondering who is the head of state,” he said.
“This esoteric question is only important because in the 1990s, the reasons republicans used to justify their massive change became sillier by the day.
“[Labor’s] Al Grassby even accused the Crown of causing [Keating’s] recession.
“So they changed tack to claim that only under their republic could we have an Australian as head of state.
“This dog whistle even pops up in some dubious opinion polls.”
TRICKERY
Pro Flint suggested in an explanatory message to ACM supporters this week that this was a known tactic by pro-republicans to win by trickery.
Another leading constitutional monarchist has also criticised recent media distortions.
National Chair of the Australian Monarchists League Philip Benwell said radio presenter Kyle Sandilands was “wrong” in his new pro-republic stance.
A headline in the Daily Mail this week said “Major win for the Australian Republic Movement as high-profile monarchist Kyle Sandilands denounces royal family and will no longer support them after the Queen dies”.
In response, Mr Benwell said the radio presenter had missed the point.
“Mr Sandilands forgets that it is not about the individual who is monarch, but more about Australia’s constitutional system which protects our democracy and has done so for over a century,” he said.
“It has made Australia, one of the youngest nations, into one of the world’s oldest democracies.
“It is absurd that, just because someone may disagree with something the Prince of Wales may say, they will want to destroy a system that works and replace it with an unproven system that, from the models presented by the ARM, will most definitely not work.” PC
If it’s not broken don’t try to fix it.
If republicans believe the system is broken demand that they explain why they believe it is and what they would do to fix it.
Never agree to allow politicians to make changes without consulting we the people.
The reading of Sections 2 and 4 of the Constitution are quite clear that the Queen appoints a GG as her representative in Australia. Convention has modified this by way of the advice of the Prime Minister to appoint the next GG. Seems pretty clear that the wording of these Sections of the Constitution declare Her Majesty the head of Australia (in high theory) and the GG carries out the day-to-day duties here in Australia on her behalf. Good system. Quirky, perhaps. But safe. Don’t mess with it.
The monarch is – without question – the UK’s head of state
And the GG is -without question – the monarch’s appointed representative, as clearly set out in the constitution.
So Australia’s (so-called) head of state is, by definition, inferior and subordinate to the UK’s head of state.
And you spineless monarchists think that is ok?
Never once in 120 years has the monarch ever acknowledged their appointed representative from Australia as their peer and their equal as a fellow head of state.
Which they should have, given what you fools are suggesting.
So either the monarch is rude and undiplomatic, or she doers not buy in to the pathetic attempt to rebrand the monarch’s appointed representative a a head of state.
Why are monarchists such spineless cowards? Why do they lie about the constitution?
A Governor-General appointed by the Queen shall be Her Majesty’s representative in the Commonwealth, and shall have and may exercise in the Commonwealth during the Queen’s pleasure, but subject to this Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be pleased to assign to him.
No GG has ever said I am head of state.
No monarch has ever acknowledged their appointed representative is a head of state, and their peer and their equal.
But that is is the ridiculous proposition these spineless monarchists want you to swallow.
The weasel-word duplicity of monarchists is utterly staggering, matched only by their disgraceful hypocrisy.