Sydney columnist and Howard favourite Miranda Devine suggests in the Daily Telegraph that ex PM Tony Abbott should be appointed the next Governor-General. This is a totally unsuitable job for Abbott and would only give rise to slumbering but dangerously volatile sympathies not far…
The Athenians 500 to 400 BCE recognised that the way they did democracy had both limits and risks. In particular, they had come to realise that “expressive voting” – where there is only one vote held on a proposition – could and, sometimes, did result in the ‘wrong’…
An illuminating summary of the history of Anzac Day by Carolyn Holbrook from Deakin University. WfaAR comment: In the absence of a Republic, Anzac Day survives and is consistently redefined by all manner of politicians and causes because there is no…
We’re all agog. Is Prince Andrew really dating our Kylie? Of course, an Australian presence on the balcony and a real Aussie link to our first family are just what we need. This is more than enough evidence that we need a Republic, a royals…
Leigh Sales interviews Quentin Bryce, Governor-General 2008-2014, on 7.30 (ABC TV). Neither in her introduction to the program, nor during the interview, did Sales once refer to the former G-G as “Dame Quentin”, the title bestowed on her, as she neared the end of her term, by our Head of State…
British PM Theresa May’s sudden call for a general election on 8 June is widely reported to be the end of Nicola Sturgeon’s attempt to force a second Scottish independence referendum that had already been rejected in London. Sturgeon had been about to announce a timetable for…
The Parliamentary Friends for an Australian Head of State group, first announced by the ARM in August 2015 (see News 28 August 2015) finally had its first gathering over a cup of tea. Co-convenors are Senator Katy Gallagher (Labor ACT) and Jason…
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, succeeds in getting a 10-vote majority in the Scottish Parliament for her plan to hold a second independence referendum around March 2019 when Brexit takes effect. In a later interview with the BBC, the Scottish Secretary elaborates saying that the…
The plan is lengthy, big on detail and protocol, scouted out by a journalist from The UK Guardian. It will see King Charles III proclaimed as monarch within 24 hours after his mother’s death although still months from a coronation (Britain is only European country to still hold…
Scotland First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announces that she intends to hold a second independence referendum between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 as Britain heads towards a tough exit from the EU due to be triggered this month. Recent opinion polls show support at around…
