Failed Republic Not on Government’s List but Lingers in Hearts

Jenna Price uses her weekly ACM media column to canvass the loss of the Republic portfolio from the current Ministry but the sub-headline labels the Republic as “inevitable”. It is so damaging to the Republic to adopt this sense of complacency in public. After all, people have now been saying this for more than 25 years and the goal has not been achieved, not even close. Such complacency always needs to be tempered by sound, practical ideas about how to achieve an Australian Republic and by whom? While Price laments the loss of The Voice referendum because the campaign and the approach was not up to the job, she does make the connection with the impact of its loss on any future Republic referendum and the reluctance of the current, Republic-supporting Government to go anywhere near another vote to change the Constitution in the medium term (at least the rest of this decade). Good to see the Republic get another airing in spite of all the drag and baggage but Price concludes by returning to ARM’s current situation after the shattering events of earlier this year that resulted in the loss of both its leaders and most of its high profile National Council. She quotes new co-chair Esther Anatolitis talking about the way The Voice campaign unfolded: “There were so many bad faith arguments, disrespectful, sensational and lots of outright racism.” Anatolitis says she was “disappointed in the quality of public discussion but is hopeful in her heart about the Republic. For us, it is really about Australia becoming a community, a culture, which makes a republic inevitable”. Price ends, “I love that for her. I love that for us”. WfaAR made contact with Jenna Price after publication but she wasn’t receptive to our stance and reasoning that the Republic shouldn’t be described as “inevitable” and that republic sources in addition to ARM should be contacted. [“Failed Republic is a Crown of Thorns” by Jenna Price, The Canberra Times, 2 August 2024]