Opinion

It's not a personal popularity poll

We like Queen Elizabeth, but that isn't enough for the British monarch to be Australia's head of state, says Martin Drum.

It is rare for a place like Perth to find itself in the international spotlight. With the recent Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM), however, we saw this.

CHOGM was an opportunity for leaders of 54 nations to come together to seek resolutions to problems which affected a range of countries in the Commonwealth. Rather than CHOGM, however, the presence of Australia’s head of state dominated much of the coverage in Perth.

One issue which always finds itself in the spotlight during a visit by the queen is whether we should have a republic

Opinion polls show the public is split roughly 50-50 on the issue. I don’t have a problem with people who either want to change to a republic or retain the monarchy; there are valid reasons to argue for both.

What surprises me, however, is how focused many of us are on whether we like the British royals rather than the broader issue of what kind of political system we have.

Many of those who support a monarchy argue that our Queen has been a good representative and carries out her duties with dignity and grace.

The question of a republic, though, should ultimately be about the viability and relevance of the British monarchy as a whole, rather than whether we like one individual or not. Likewise, there are prominent republicans who try to argue that the prospect of King Charles and his wife Camilla should make us rethink our allegiances.

Again, such sentiments overlook the fact that we should focus on whether we have the best political system currently for Australia, and whether any proposed alternatives would work better.

I, for one, believe we should have a republic one day, but this view is not based on whether I like the queen or not, or any future monarch, but rather that our head of state should be an Australian.
There are many thousands of Australians who would excel in the role and who should be given the opportunity to fill it.

Dr Martin Drum is a lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle.

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