Head of State to Address the UN

Things got feverish when news broke that Australia’s “Head of State” would be addressing the UN.  No, it wasn’t the Governor-General who would be in New York.  The argument over who is Australia’s Head of State was settled for once and for all by the Buckingham Palace statement notifying that the Queen, as Head of State of Australia and 15 other countries, will address the UN General Assembly on 6 July.  According to media reports, the statement “took Australian diplomats, officials and constitutional combatants by surprise”.  A male journalist positively salivating at the prospect writes: “The title fight – pitting the two female leaders, the sovereign and her representative, head to head – revives a debate that raged around the republican debate more than a decade ago” (this isn’t correct, the argument about who is the Head of State only gained traction after the referendum – WfaAR).  Unsurprisingly, there was no comment from Yarralumla although Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said that the Government already knows about the speech and will ensure that the Queen is aware of Australia’s views.  The Palace told The Australian that describing the Queen as Australia’s Head of State was used “in a collective sense to refer to the Queen’s position in relation to the UN member states that are also realms” (of The Commonwealth). [Queen takes on Bryce in Right Royal Title Fight by Tom Dusevic in The Australian]