14 June

The republic got an airing at the ALP national conference. NSW Premier, Bob Carr, urged a less radical model than that put last year implying that direct election would be more strongly and deeply opposed and had not the remotest chance of being carried (this aligns with one view current among republicans that direct election will be roundly defeated if ever put to the vote but that may lead eventually to revisiting the 1999 model, possibly many years into the future, which would then get up). Carr proposed retention of “Commonwealth of Australia” and “Governor-General”. Leader, Kim Beazley, said that he would let people power drive his attempt to get a republic if he were Prime Minister. He proposed a plebiscite (note: this is non binding on the Government), held when he sought a second term, asking people whether they wanted a republic. A YES vote would be followed by a second plebiscite presenting a range of republic models before a referendum to change the Constitution. Beazley said he doesn’t have a view on what sort of republic it should be though he expected to argue in favour of one model at the second plebiscite.