New Zealand republicans are confidently protesting about their current royal visit. They challenge William to become a New Zealand citizen and emigrate so that he can properly represent them and say that they will never call him King because before…
The real purpose of royal visits (where princelings prove themselves capable of lasting the distance in trying conditions and win over the Antipodeans) is to convince “the people of Australia that having a royal family is a good thing”. William,…
The Australian Women’s Weekly has issued its April “Royal Visit Souvenir” edition featuring the heir to the heir to the heir to the Australian throne (at eight months) on its front cover. Celebrity cute but irrelevant. Better he had stayed…
Amanda Vanstone, former Howard government Minister and its best-known republican, writes in the SMH that Howard was right to label the Prime Minister’s new knights and dames awards as “anachronistic”. She says she can “find none among her Liberal mates…
So says Sophie Morris, Chief Political Correspondent for The Saturday Paper, noting that “monarchists and republicans are gearing up for the eventual showdown” – WfaAR doesn’t see it quite like that. The small number of monarchists aren’t “the enemy” given…
Rachael White asks why Quentin Bryce didn’t join the distinguished and exclusive group who have refused knighthoods. White says that titles have a long history of causing division – since the 1850s in fact. She also writes, “The outgoing Governor-…
Here is our letter to The Canberra Times published 27 March 2014: “We predicted in these columns before the 2010 election that Tony Abbott would reinstate knighthoods if he became PM. What a clever little starting number, four a year….
In the final program of her TV series about art and national identity (see News of 11 March), Hannah Gadsby talks to Ben Quilty, Rosemary Laing, Jason Wing and Liam Benson and discovers contemporary artists who understand the confusion of…
The Prime Minister’s announces a new highest tier of Australian honours. In fact, it is an imperial honour as all appointments are to be approved by the Queen on the PM’s recommendation (after a perfunctory chat with the Chair of…
After announcing that New Zealand’s next general election will be held two months early in September this year, Prime Minister John Key, also announced that the flag referendum would be delayed until the next term under a National Government but…
