28 July

The Joint Select Committee on the Republic Bills is winding up its hearings before reporting back to Parliament in the next few days. Professor Cheryl Saunders of Melbourne said that the proposed question did not fairly represent what the republic would be like. She warned the Committee that there was “tremendous confusion” about the changes and the present system of government. Committee member, Nicola Roxon, Labor MP for Gellibrand (Vic), claimed that the wording of the question was biased, commenting that almost the only people supporting the proposed question are “monarchists and supporters of the NO case”. ACT ARM Convenor, Anne Witheford, told the Committee that the question must make it clear to people that the key issue is whether Australia continues to have the Queen as Head of State or not. Drawn from the report by Michelle Grattan and Lindy Edwards in the SMH.