NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.republic.org.au/homepagehtml.htm
Well i just wanted to know about some Australians on this forum and if they are for Australia as staying with it's monarch rootes or cutting off all from the U.K and becoming a republic.

BTW I'm personally for a republic

Meh, I am happy for things to stay the way they are.

Could we stand alone as a nation as a republic? Sure, but what benefit will it offer us? A sense of independence? Anything more?

I just don't feel the change over would be worth it. The commonwealth is a guaranteed [and powerful] ally if we are ever attacked [and it's not like we have the largest army with which to defend ourselves either]. Being part of the commonwealth also ensures healthy trade relations with the UK and other commonwealth nations.

Additionally, if we were to become a republic, many things would need to be changed. Our government would need to be over hauled, our flag would need changing and all our currency would have to be redesigned and reprinted. Honestly, these things wont be cheap and I really don't feel severing ties with the commonwealth is worth the expenditure. I would rather that money be kept in hospitals and education, so that there is a bed and a doctor to treat me when I am injured, than for a small feeling of independence from the Queen of England [who is merely a figure head in the commonwealth, her 'rulings' have no effect on the way Australia is ran or on the day-to-day lives of Australians].

Finally, we are a young and lowly populated nation. Our country itself has very little unique identity or culture. There is too low an Aboriginal population and little interest in the Aboriginal culture in our country and unlike countries such as the US, we don't have civil wars or battles for independence to enrich the history of our nation. Our link to England and the first white settlers to this country are one of the few key parts of our heritage and I feel that severing ties with that history would simply further diminish what little culture we have that could actually be considered Australian.

Overall, I just don't see how the benefits of a Republic would outweigh the costs and feel that being part of the Commonwealth still has things to offer our country, while there aren't any problems I can think of that come with being a part of the Commonwealth. Until we are an older and more populated country, I feel our ambition to be independent for the Commonwealth, while admirable, is pointless and at this point in time continuing to be part of the Commonwealth would be a bigger advantage to Australia than becoming a republic.

What's the big deal, one way or another? It's just words.

I'd say a republic, since I dislike the idea of a monarchy, besides, whats the old bag ever done for us lately? :p

And you can still be a member of the Commonwealth if you're a republic.

Nevertheless, I have my problems with the current system too, and not much would change so bleh.

I'm not Australian, but I think that a monarchy of the sort Australia enjoys is preferable to a republic. In the first instance it adds another 'check/balance' to the power of the current ruling party. The check/balance ability is not abused simply because such abuse would result in it's being rejected and a republic put in it's place.
I also think it is a good thing to have a Prime Minister. A Prime Minister is first amongst the Queen/King's ministers, and a monarch's ministers are their servants. I think it is a good thing when you give someone power and a fancy title, to remind them every time they invoke their power (as Prime Minister for instance), that the power is vested not in them personally, but in a role that they have a current claim to. The very phrase Prime Minister is a reminder that the person who holds that role does so as a servant, and not as an authoritive power holder in their own personal right. I believe it is a good thing to have a constant reminder (ie their very title) that although one leads the country, they do so in service; That the country is not theirs, and that their role in leading it, is contingent on their serving in a fitting manner.

The Kiwis should own all of Australia because Kiwis rock like no other.

Becoming independent of Britain does not affect Commonwealth status. To quote the wiki page, "Members are required to have a present or past constitutional link to the United Kingdom or to another Commonwealth member."

I don't see any benefit in not becoming a sovereign nation, so I would vote for a Republic (again).