Why indeed? Especially when an Australian of considerable note was bumped to provide another Diamond Jubilee commemoration for the Queen of Australia. We have dozens of buildings, hospitals and geographical landmarks named after our monarch. Yes, we are obliged to mark the occasion by the fact of what’s in Section 1 of our Constitution but paying for and staging one major royal visit by the Queen herself in late 2011 was enough. It’s the second time that Sir Henry Parkes has made way for our Queen. She was reinstated on the $5 note featuring Catherine Helen Spence and Sir Henry, “the Father of Federation” after the Centenary of Federation in 2001 at the express direction of Prime Minister Howard. WfaAR has written to the Prime Minister saying that we are unimpressed about the Government’s decision to change the street name and asking for clarification about how the decision was made.
Download: Here is the text of our letter [119KB, pdf]
