Will Australia become a republic?
Central bank to remove royals from banknotes as government considers new referendum on cutting ties with the British monarchy
King Charles III will not replace Queen Elizabeth II on Australia’s new $5 banknotes, the country’s Reserve Bank has announced amid growing calls to cut ties with the British monarchy.
The decision to instead adorn the banknote with a design that “honours the culture and history” of indigenous Australians ends a “century-long tradition”, said The Sydney Morning Herald. The swap has also stoked speculation that Australia may opt to end its status as a constitutional monarchy.
In a 1999 referendum, Australians voted by 54.87% to 45.13% against becoming a republic. But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appears to be paving the way for a fresh vote.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the papers say?
The Queen’s death in September “reignited a simmering republican debate in Australia”, said Al Jazeera, and came four months after the Australian Labor Party, “long supporters of the republican movement”, were elected to power.
The country’s republicans view the Queen’s death as “a pivotal moment” for a possible change in their political system, said the Financial Times (FT). The treasurer of Australia, Jim Chalmers, this week welcomed the banknote change as striking a “good balance’” for Australia in the post-Elizabethan era.
Assistant minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Time magazine that “it’s time for us to move into the Australian era”.
A growing number of voters appear to agree. A poll for the Sydney Morning Herald of 1,606 Australians found that support for independence from the UK rose from 35% to 40% in the four months following the Queen’s death.
The fallout from Prince Harry’s memoir has also “seen more Aussies support Australia becoming a republic”, said the Daily Mail, “but not because they agree with the ‘evil Royals’ narrative – they’re just sick of the drama”.
“Why do we still need to keep borrowing a dysfunctional British family to be Head of State of Australia?” asked government services minister Bill Shorten during a television interview last month.
Opponents hope that the new UK monarch may save the day, however. In an article for Spectator Australia, legal academic David Flint insisted that King Charles’s accession had not “opened the gate” to “some dubious politicians’ ‘republic’” in Australia.
There are also practical objections. Dennis Altman, a professorial fellow at La Trobe University, argued on The Conversation that becoming a republic would essentially be a “symbolic” act and that “it is hard to see what effectively would change”.
What next?
Nothing is expected to change any time soon. Following his election win last May, Albanese had “started preparing Australians for a debate on becoming a republic”, said ITV News. But hopes of an imminent referendum were dashed following the Queen’s death, when the prime minister signalled that he would not hold a referendum on whether Australia should become a republic in his first term, which lasts three years.
And when or if a vote is eventually held, victory for republicans is not guaranteed. Turning Australia into a republic will be “no easy task”, said Time, because a successful referendum requires a “double majority” – more than 50% of the total population, and a majority of voters in four out of six states.
Flint argued in Spectator Australia that the monarchy is “more supported and more popular” than ever and that “in a second referendum, a republic would, most likely, suffer a greater defeat than in 1999”.
But with Caribbean countries including Antigua, Barbuda and Jamaica also looking to cut ties with the British monarchy, public opinion in Australia may shift, according to Cindy McCreery, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Sydney who specialises in monarchy and colonialism.
“When those countries become republics, and there are fewer Commonwealth realms, more Australians may look around and think, ‘we really part of a shrinking group of nations…maybe it is time for us to join those countries,’” McCreery told Time.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Who actually needs life insurance?
The Explainer If you have kids or are worried about passing on debt, the added security may be worth it
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Sexual wellness trends to know, from products and therapies to retreats and hotels
The Week Recommends Talking about pleasure and sexual health is becoming less taboo
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Is the AI bubble deflating?
Today's Big Question Growing skepticism and high costs prompt reconsideration
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of
Under The Radar Outer royal 'never expected' to do duties but has stepped up to the plate
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Manipulated' photo of UK's Princess Kate spiked
speed read The first official image of Kate Middleton since January has been retracted
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Modern royal scandals from around the world
The Explainer From Spain to the UAE, royal families have often been besieged by negative events
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The Regency Acts: what happens if King Charles can't perform his duties
The Explainer Monarch's responsibilities could be carried out by a regent or the counsellors of state
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
King Charles diagnosed with cancer
Speed Read Monarch 'remains wholly positive about his treatment', during which senior royals are expected to stand in for him
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Princess of Wales to remain in hospital for two weeks as King prepares for prostate treatment
Speed Read The timing of the two royal medical announcements was said to be an 'unavoidable coincidence'
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary: a guide to Denmark's next king and queen
Why everyone's talking about Queen Margrethe II is stepping down after 52 years on Denmark's throne
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
King laughs about his 'sausage fingers' in new documentary
Speed Read Charles's ample digits have long attracted 'attention and concern' but he is often the 'first to poke fun'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published