Victorian member Judith Brooks and National Convenor Sarah Brasch attend this seminar at the Berwick campus of Federation University on an icy and gloomy Saturday morning. Most interesting were the presentations and commentary by Professor Emma Lee and Jesse Fleay, Research Associate and PhD candidate, both from the National Centre for Truth, Reconciliation and Justice at the university. It was refreshing and inspiring to hear from two articulate, passionate and thoughtful supporters of the Republic let alone attend a gathering specifically discussing the Republic – have been few and far between, if any, since 2009. They also spoke openly of their pain and distress after the loss of the Voice referendum, something WfaAR experienced again, albeit in a different way, in 2023. We particularly noted Jesse Fleay’s call for the right approach and the right language. Professor Lee went further and wanted the word “sovereignty” dropped from the Republic discussion while opening it up to “blak sky thinking” and humour (WfaAR: sadly lacking to date but not among Australia’s resilient Indigenous population and we can learn from that. Also highlighted in Larissa Behrendt’s review of play “The Visitors” published in The Guardian, 19 September 2023 in which Indigenous expressions and humour were used as a device to assess the arrival of the Europeans on the east coast in 1788 and determine if it could have been prevented). Professor Lee also questioned whether the British monarchy was losing its “social licence”. Both were solidly committed to: “Our Land, Our Country, Our Future” – could be the perfect slogan for progressing the Republic alongside Reconciliation.
The meeting concluded with a recorded interview conducted by LfAR Convenor Daniel White with historian, staunch republican and former member of ARM’s National Council, Professor Jenny Hocking, giving a master class in brevity and clarity on why dropping our constitutional monarchy is not only overdue but essential (out-of-time and out-of-date; no longer suits our way of operating and contemporary beliefs about equity and equality; exhibits strict secrecy pursued with diligence and expensive lawyers; not subject to FOI including the records of our Governor-General etc), making the case that Australia should become a Republic instead.
