Indigenous Recognition Peak Task Force Named

Officially the Voice Co-Design Senior Advisory Group is named by Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt. It has 19 members (too many) and most are Indigenous people with very high public profiles. Excellent to see so many good women on the group including Marcia Langton (co-chair),…

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20th Anniversary of the Referendum

WfaAR cannot believe it is still campaigning. But we are and we won’t be stopping until the job is done. The anniversary was low-key with opinion editorials and interviews in the media; republicans commiserated on Twitter and restated their commitment to…

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Brexit and All Hallows Eve

The date for Brexit came and went to be followed by the inevitable UK general election. We can pause to survey the carnage of the last four months in our so-called mother country, the one that bequeathed our institutions, law and customs…

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Rerunning Arguments on Referendums

WfaAR members amuse themselves watching and  listening to what was supposed to be the final throes of the Brexit debate in The Commons on live-streaming. For some time, there were reprises for and against the running and rerunning of referendums. We seem to have…

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New Plan for Indigenous Recognition

Minister Ken Wyatt says he’s taking a new plan for the Indigenous Recognition referendum to the Prime Minister. This involves a series of propositions for legislating, not enshrining in the Constitution, the Voice to Parliament; truth telling and constitutional recognition. A referendum on the…

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Not A Proper Engagement for Head of State’s Representative

It was highly inappropriate for recently appointed Governor-General, David Hurley, ex Australian Army General, to be speaking – if not spruiking – at the National Prayer Breakfast, Parliament House in Canberra on 14 October. Not only is our country secular but many faiths are represented…

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Stop the Irrelevant Royal Drivel

Amanda Vanstone writing for Nine Media is fed up with the coverage of the banal and usually staged doings of Harry and Meghan. It might be relevant for the Brits but has little to do with us.  She asks, “Why do…

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Britons Despair at Impotence of Crown

We should be paying close attention to how Brexit is playing out in the UK and the role of its Head of State, also ours. There’s not much to see as the Queen has been mislead by the Prime Minister…

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Oh, for a Proper Head of State

Once again, WfaAR sees an excellent example of a properly functioning Head of State, engaged with the interests of his people. Our attention was caught by a statement made by Michael D Higgins, President of the Republic of Ireland who was invited by…

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Oh no, not more Knights and Dames?

According to the press, former Prime Minister and MHR Tony Abbott would still like to reintroduce knights and dames at the top of our honours system if he could. Thankfully, he is highly unlikely to make a return to the federal parliament…

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