The first ARM ACT Women’s Network event was held in Canberra with about 15 attendees. Guest speaker was Professor Kim Rubenstein from the ANU. Kim talked about the need for an inclusive Constitution that was republican, multi-cultural and included our Indigenous peoples….
As part of a front bench reshuffle, the ALP announces a new Parliamentary Secretary (junior Minister) for the Republic. The title, added to existing shadow Parliamentary Secretary Matt Thistlethwaite’s role as Assistant Treasurer, a bit of a mouthful but intended not to scare the horses…
If this letter to The SMH is anything to go by, women may be favourably influenced in favour of a Republic following “volcanic” revelations of the Queen’s involvement in the 1975 sacking of the federal Labor Government. The evidence is apparently contained in Professor…
The directly elected President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, is making an official visit to Australia and New Zealand from 7 to 24 October. He undertook many official events but they received little publicity, perhaps deliberately so given the close comparison that can be made between the Irish…
An ANU seminar on “Books that Changed the World” opens up the delicious possibility that the opinions of a controversial English historian, the first female English historian – and republican – were carried to our shores at the time of white settlement. Catharine Macaulay (1731-91) argued strongly against the monarchy as the basis of inequality in…
To add to the complexity and plethora of options for the Australia’s post constitutional monarchy governance arrangements, the film “The King’s Choice” reminds us that it is possible to have an elected monarchy and it’s less uncommon than one might…
Polling shows that women not only were the majority of new enrolments on the electoral roll ahead of the same sex marriage vote but are also strong supporters of the proposition, significantly ahead of men’s support, 64 percent to 52…
WfaAR attends a symposium “Narratives of Nations” held by The Australiana Fund and The White House Historical Association at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. This fascinating afternoon with guest speaker, Dr Curtis Sandberg, Director of the David M…
A challenging piece appears on the PBS Newshour website (US public broadcasting, privately funded) about the fundamentals of the US Constitution in hindsight and in the hands of artists and interpreters. We also need to get to grips with what “we the people” implies…
Indigenous activist, Evelyn Scott dies. Her distinguished career and profile as an educator and social justice campaigner for equal rights made her a candidate at the top of WfaAR’s list for Head of State in any Australian Republic. Dr Scott was a…
