Republican Gathering 4 was held in Sydney hosted by Democracy First. Other groups attending along with WfaAR were: the Australian Republican Movement; The Copernican Republicans; Foundation for Constitutional Renewal; Patriots for the Australian Republic; Real Republic; Republic Now! and the…
Ten days after the 2020 Summit, the Top Ideas from the Governance Group were changed (the only group of ideas where changes were made). The No 1 recommendation on the republic was changed with Stage 1 to be a plebiscite (a…
The proposal for the Republic gets an rousing ovation at the 2020 Summit from the 1000 summiteers, the only idea to do so. But the recommendation of the Governance Group to introduce a republic with no time line: first by…
Margaret Rolfe writes to The Canberra Times again. This time she says in refutation of David Barnett’s article that “Royalty protects us from tyranny”, that the Governor-General does have independent political power and cites the 1975 sacking of the elected…
Quentin Bryce is announced as our first female Governor-General to take up her job in September 2008. Fantastic to have a woman (finally catching up with Canada and New Zealand) but shame that this reputed republican is beholden to our foreign…
ACT republican, Margaret Rolfe, tells another letter writer to The Canberra Times that the vote against the republic in 1999 was not an overwhelming “no”. She says it was the vote of those who were against a particular method for…
Michelle Grattan writes that even if the Prime Minister does want a republic, he knows that he must tread carefully and ensure that the momentum for change comes from the people not the Government. She thinks some Labor Ministers are…
WfaAR submits three ideas papers to the 2020 Summit. See also the 2020 Summit site at www.australia2020.gov.au (Topic 9 Governance). Download: Women’s Vision for Australian Government in a Republic in 2020 [12KB, pdf] Download: Women’s Manifesto for the Republic [10KB, pdf] Download: Top 10 Ideas for Fast-Tracking the Republic [12KB, pdf]
The Age’s Michelle Grattan accompanying the Prime Minister on his first overseas trip writes from London that the PM is ‘king of cool on the republic” because he would not say that he would push for Australia to become a…
WfaAR is disappointed by George Williams’ article in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Frozen Continent” [SMH 29/30 March 2008], in which he talks down the prospects of the Government’s list of items for constitutional change, particularly those of the Republic. Professor…
