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Shaken off
In 1996, an Age poll found that seventy-six per cent of Australians wanted their country to become a republic. The issue had been rapidly gaining momentum since the early 1990s. The creation of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) in 1991, and the active championing of the issue by Prime Minister Paul Keating, turned a fringe issue of the 1980s into a realistic prospect.
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When Australia Became a Republic
by Esther Anatolitis
Monash University Publishing, $19.95 pb, 90 pp
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Comment (1)
The ARM focusses at the nationality of the head of state, not the process for selection or election. I have no problem with a foreign head of state - it could be a useful international sign that Australia is part of the world, and that the world matters more.
Hence, in a republic there should be no limits by nationality on the head of state. Let the people decide directly or indirectly. Almost certainly it would be an Australian - but if not, so what?
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