Bulletin n. 2-3/2012 | ||
October 2012-February 2013 | ||
Patmore Glenn |
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The Head of State Debate: A Response to Sir David Smith and Professor David Flint | ||
in Australian Journal of Politics & History , Volume 58, Issue 2, June , 2012 , 251-267 | ||
In the 1990s political leaders debated a constitutional amendment that would make Australia a republic. That debate continues to the present day. Republicans believe that becoming a republic means having an Australian as head of state instead of the Queen. Constitutional Monarchists see no need for Australia to become a republic since Australia, they argue, is already an independent nation-state. They contend that the head of state, the Governor-General, is an Australian citizen and has been since 1965, and that the Queen of Australia is the Sovereign. The purpose of this article is to provide a republican response to recent arguments of two leading Constitutional Monarchist, Sir David Smith and Professor David Flint. | ||