In a short and pertinent newspaper article, former Cabinet Minister, Ambassador to Italy and genuine republic supporter in the hostile Liberal seas, Amanda Vanstone puts the case for accelerating the move to a republic. She writes that she wants a republic so that our constitutional arrangements will be Australian. The intention is to strengthen our Australian identity, “bringing an end to the Windsor family reigning over us is a consequence, not the motivation”.
She says that those who repeat the “at death or abdication” mantra are opponents of the republic (WfaAR: John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull, the current PM and her senior Ministers). They portray any move during the Queen’s reign as causing some sort of offence and imply that this timetable is intended to show deference and respect. Not so, says Vanstone, it does just the opposite by making the issue personal when it shouldn’t be. While many will be convinced by this, she says, “it fails to give credit to our monarch’s understanding and experience.” Further, it treats her, “like a demented old aunt in the corner of the room, in front of whom we whisper without including her in what’s going on.”
Vanstone comments that we should be looking for ways in the process of change “to acknowledge her majesty as our monarch and include her” not by shutting down the debate but by having it in front of her to demonstrate how stable, free and robust our current system really is. The Queen’s interest as our monarch and head of the Commonwealth, she posits, is that any change is orderly and inclusive and that we remain a stable and resolute member of the Commonwealth. This cannot be achieved “by lying doggo until she dies”.
And here are the best bits. Vanstone suggests that the Queen could open a special sitting of federal Parliament to consider the referendum bill. There would be a ceremonial handover. “The PM could make the speech of the century and a grateful nation could put on record its gratitude and affection. It’s a speech that the Queen is entitled to hear, not one that should be made on or after her passing.” Well said, Amanda Vanstone, commonsense and imagination, a woman’s approach to our future republic. [“No need to whisper, the Queen isn’t offended by the R-word” by Amanda Vanstone, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 March 2011]
