This was written by an Australia monarchist, but also applies to Canada.
Republicans need to realise that Constutional Monarchies are MORE democratic than any Republic -
"Whereas the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established" - Australia Preamble.
Australia should remain a Constitutional Monarchy.
Why having a monarchy is better than being a republic.
By Philip Benwell, member of the Australian Monarchist League.
What is the Australian Monarchist League:
The Australian Monarchist League is in many ways a fraternity of like minded people dedicated to retaining The Crown in our Constitution.
The League was founded in 1943 and now has a nation-wide support base in excess of 20,000 persons.
We believe emphatically that Australia is the best country in the World as a result of our heritage and above all our Constitution which, contrary to some comments, was devised and developed by Australians uniquely for Australia.
We unashamedly admit that our Constitution is based on British Principles. We are indeed fortunate that our Founding Fathers had taken the ideal of Westminster as the nexus for our own Constitution and see nothing wrong in having as our Sovereign, the Queen of fifteen other Commonwealth Nations.
The Australian Monarchist League has committed itself to defending The Crown whenever it may come under attack. We will oppose in whatever legitimate way we can any attempt to destroy the integrity of our Constitutional Monarchy and our democratic way of life. (#see democracy)
What is Democracy?
Democracy means ‘Government by the People’ taken from the Greek ‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratos’ meaning power.
In those early days democracy was exercised by the elite of the People through popular assemblies, but as that elite grew in numbers and as the privilege of voting was extended to all people, it made sense to elect representatives to make decisions for all. However, as a result of excessive control by Parliaments and politicians, who now generally follow the ‘party’ line rather than the ’will’ of the people, there are in fact very few true democracies, in the proper sense, in the world today.
In the United Kingdom a particular form of Government called ‘the Westminster System’ developed over several centuries based on the concept of the separation of power into independent entities each exercising an individual Authority and each providing a check and a balance on each other.
Australia has, through its Constitutional arrangements (#see The Australian Constitution) achieved a fine democratic balance between the Parliament and the People with power held in trust for the People by The Crown.
The Australian Constitution
The Constitution of Australia came into force on the 1st of January 1901 as an Act of the British Parliament combining the six Colonial States into a one Federation.
The Constitution was drafted by Australians with the specific intention of binding the then separate States into an indissoluble union under The Crown. (#see The Crown)
It was essentially based on the British Westminster System but deviated to ensure that constitutional change could be effected only by a referendum of the people and not by parliament itself, thus ensuring that total sovereignty of the Constitution rested solely with the People. (#see Constitution of Australia)
What is The Crown?
Republicans say that change to a republic is just a simple matter of changing The Crown for a President.
However of all the former British Colonies, it is only those Dominions, such as Australia, which have retained The Crown, which have been able to keep their freedoms and democracy intact.
What is so important about The Crown that makes republicans and particularly politicians intent on removing it?
In a Republic, Civil and Military Authority is vested in the State, which is controlled by Parliament, whereas in Australia such Authority is ultimately protected from political control because it is vested in The Crown which is responsible to the People. This was why the People and not Parliament alone had to vote on the proposal for constitutional change in 1999.
The Queen and Her Representative, the Governor-General are, in effect, Trustees of our Constitution. The hereditary principle of the Monarchy and the appointment and dismissal of the Governor-General by The Queen, although always on the recommendation and at the request of the Prime Minister, effectively protect the system from total political control.
Whilst the process may seem to be anachronistic and even cumbersome, it is nevertheless a system well tried and proven and one which has made Australia, one of the youngest nations, the seventh oldest democracy in the World.
Who is Australia’s Head of State?
The soundest authority on constitutional matters is, we believe, former Chief Justice Sir Harry Gibbs who has written “There is strong argument that the Governor-General, although the representative of The Queen, is the Head of State of Australia. It must be remembered that the expression “Head of State” does not appear in the Constitution and is an expression which is strictly used in international rather than domestic affairs”.
Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy which does not have a 'Head of State' as such (the same with Britain), which is why there is no reference to this term in our Constitution.
Whilst republics have Heads of State, Australia has a Head of Government together with a Sovereign and the Sovereign’s representative, the Governor General, who upon Appointment assumes all the executive and ceremonial responsibilities of The Crown and, as such, exercises similar duties to that of a non executive Head of State in republican countries.
What is a Republic?
The Oxford English Dictionary description of a Republic is “A State in which supreme power is held by the People or its elected representatives or by elected or nominated president, not by monarch etc.”.
Whilst most republics cannot be compared with such former dictatorships as Iraq and Afghanistan, it would be true to say that the majority do NOT possess the sort of genuine democracy that we enjoy in Australia.
The likelihood for political abuse, as in so many ‘Third World’ countries, and the overt control of the political process by big business, such as in the USA, are far more likely to happen under a REPUBLIC than under a Constitutional Monarchy. This is because under a Republic politicians have unfettered control of their constitutional arrangements, whereas under a Constitutional Monarchy such as in Australia where power is vested in The Crown, our politicians are restrained from assuming absolute control over our Constitution.
What will change if Australia becomes a republic?
We will have a President instead of The Queen and the Governor-General, but there will be no material benefit whatsoever. Indeed, quite the reverse as no republican has put forward any sensible reason why there should be constitutional change. Some say we must become a republic to enhance trade in Asian , but common sense dictates that in trade only three things really count: quality, availability and price. They also very conveniently fail to recognise that many of our trading neighbours in the Asia-Pacific Region are themselves monarchies! Others say “we want an Australian Head of State”, but ignore the fact that many senior republicans, including former Prime Minister Paul Keating, say that the Governor-General is Head of State.
What they mean is that they don’t want The Queen and they don’t want Prince Charles to be our future King. In Australia we have what is called an: 'Absent Monarchy' which means that The Queen does not reside in Australia, but then we do not pay for Her Majesty’s upkeep or day to day security, which we would have to do at enormous cost, were we to have a President. In fact the expenses of the Governor-General are far, far less than they would be for a President whose overheads would be many, many millions more than we currently pay.
If the President is to be elected by the Parliament, the foremost consideration would be that he or she would not oppose the political party in power. If the President is elected by the people, however, his or her presidential campaign would need to be well funded which would obviously the support of big business which, quite naturally, would expect a ‘quid-pro-quo’ which in itself would disturb the neutrality of the Office as exists under our current system.
During the recent Visit of The Prince of Wales, the republicans could only harness a handful of people at vantage points to promote their agenda. There were no large crowds in support of a republic anywhere which proves that there is no interest amongst the general public whatsoever for constitutional change.
It therefore does not make sense that whenever there is a Royal Visit, whether by The Queen or as recently occurred, by the Prince of Wales, the Labor Leader, Kim Beasley, in appalling bad taste, proclaims that if he were Prime Minister Australia would be a republic!
What he does not say is that should Australia become a Republic, absolute power will pass to the politicians not from The Queen or the Governor-General, but from the People themselves as this ‘power’ is always exercised by The Crown in the name of the People.
It is because The Crown withholds this ‘power’ from them that Labor proposes to spend many hundreds of millions of taxpayer’s dollars for a series of plebiscites and referendums which they openly admit will be designed to surreptitiously wear down any opposition to their objective.
A Labor Government will have the support of the media and big business to help them achieve their goal to force us to become a republic. The Australian Monarchist League must therefore rely solely upon those who are loyal to Australia and to the Constitution, which is why we appeal to you to support our cause to ‘Keep Australia Great’.
http://www.monarchist.org.au/charter.htm
Republicans need to realise that Constutional Monarchies are MORE democratic than any Republic -
"Whereas the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established" - Australia Preamble.
Australia should remain a Constitutional Monarchy.
Why having a monarchy is better than being a republic.
By Philip Benwell, member of the Australian Monarchist League.
What is the Australian Monarchist League:
The Australian Monarchist League is in many ways a fraternity of like minded people dedicated to retaining The Crown in our Constitution.
The League was founded in 1943 and now has a nation-wide support base in excess of 20,000 persons.
We believe emphatically that Australia is the best country in the World as a result of our heritage and above all our Constitution which, contrary to some comments, was devised and developed by Australians uniquely for Australia.
We unashamedly admit that our Constitution is based on British Principles. We are indeed fortunate that our Founding Fathers had taken the ideal of Westminster as the nexus for our own Constitution and see nothing wrong in having as our Sovereign, the Queen of fifteen other Commonwealth Nations.
The Australian Monarchist League has committed itself to defending The Crown whenever it may come under attack. We will oppose in whatever legitimate way we can any attempt to destroy the integrity of our Constitutional Monarchy and our democratic way of life. (#see democracy)
What is Democracy?
Democracy means ‘Government by the People’ taken from the Greek ‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratos’ meaning power.
In those early days democracy was exercised by the elite of the People through popular assemblies, but as that elite grew in numbers and as the privilege of voting was extended to all people, it made sense to elect representatives to make decisions for all. However, as a result of excessive control by Parliaments and politicians, who now generally follow the ‘party’ line rather than the ’will’ of the people, there are in fact very few true democracies, in the proper sense, in the world today.
In the United Kingdom a particular form of Government called ‘the Westminster System’ developed over several centuries based on the concept of the separation of power into independent entities each exercising an individual Authority and each providing a check and a balance on each other.
Australia has, through its Constitutional arrangements (#see The Australian Constitution) achieved a fine democratic balance between the Parliament and the People with power held in trust for the People by The Crown.
The Australian Constitution
The Constitution of Australia came into force on the 1st of January 1901 as an Act of the British Parliament combining the six Colonial States into a one Federation.
The Constitution was drafted by Australians with the specific intention of binding the then separate States into an indissoluble union under The Crown. (#see The Crown)
It was essentially based on the British Westminster System but deviated to ensure that constitutional change could be effected only by a referendum of the people and not by parliament itself, thus ensuring that total sovereignty of the Constitution rested solely with the People. (#see Constitution of Australia)
What is The Crown?
Republicans say that change to a republic is just a simple matter of changing The Crown for a President.
However of all the former British Colonies, it is only those Dominions, such as Australia, which have retained The Crown, which have been able to keep their freedoms and democracy intact.
What is so important about The Crown that makes republicans and particularly politicians intent on removing it?
In a Republic, Civil and Military Authority is vested in the State, which is controlled by Parliament, whereas in Australia such Authority is ultimately protected from political control because it is vested in The Crown which is responsible to the People. This was why the People and not Parliament alone had to vote on the proposal for constitutional change in 1999.
The Queen and Her Representative, the Governor-General are, in effect, Trustees of our Constitution. The hereditary principle of the Monarchy and the appointment and dismissal of the Governor-General by The Queen, although always on the recommendation and at the request of the Prime Minister, effectively protect the system from total political control.
Whilst the process may seem to be anachronistic and even cumbersome, it is nevertheless a system well tried and proven and one which has made Australia, one of the youngest nations, the seventh oldest democracy in the World.
Who is Australia’s Head of State?
The soundest authority on constitutional matters is, we believe, former Chief Justice Sir Harry Gibbs who has written “There is strong argument that the Governor-General, although the representative of The Queen, is the Head of State of Australia. It must be remembered that the expression “Head of State” does not appear in the Constitution and is an expression which is strictly used in international rather than domestic affairs”.
Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy which does not have a 'Head of State' as such (the same with Britain), which is why there is no reference to this term in our Constitution.
Whilst republics have Heads of State, Australia has a Head of Government together with a Sovereign and the Sovereign’s representative, the Governor General, who upon Appointment assumes all the executive and ceremonial responsibilities of The Crown and, as such, exercises similar duties to that of a non executive Head of State in republican countries.
What is a Republic?
The Oxford English Dictionary description of a Republic is “A State in which supreme power is held by the People or its elected representatives or by elected or nominated president, not by monarch etc.”.
Whilst most republics cannot be compared with such former dictatorships as Iraq and Afghanistan, it would be true to say that the majority do NOT possess the sort of genuine democracy that we enjoy in Australia.
The likelihood for political abuse, as in so many ‘Third World’ countries, and the overt control of the political process by big business, such as in the USA, are far more likely to happen under a REPUBLIC than under a Constitutional Monarchy. This is because under a Republic politicians have unfettered control of their constitutional arrangements, whereas under a Constitutional Monarchy such as in Australia where power is vested in The Crown, our politicians are restrained from assuming absolute control over our Constitution.
What will change if Australia becomes a republic?
We will have a President instead of The Queen and the Governor-General, but there will be no material benefit whatsoever. Indeed, quite the reverse as no republican has put forward any sensible reason why there should be constitutional change. Some say we must become a republic to enhance trade in Asian , but common sense dictates that in trade only three things really count: quality, availability and price. They also very conveniently fail to recognise that many of our trading neighbours in the Asia-Pacific Region are themselves monarchies! Others say “we want an Australian Head of State”, but ignore the fact that many senior republicans, including former Prime Minister Paul Keating, say that the Governor-General is Head of State.
What they mean is that they don’t want The Queen and they don’t want Prince Charles to be our future King. In Australia we have what is called an: 'Absent Monarchy' which means that The Queen does not reside in Australia, but then we do not pay for Her Majesty’s upkeep or day to day security, which we would have to do at enormous cost, were we to have a President. In fact the expenses of the Governor-General are far, far less than they would be for a President whose overheads would be many, many millions more than we currently pay.
If the President is to be elected by the Parliament, the foremost consideration would be that he or she would not oppose the political party in power. If the President is elected by the people, however, his or her presidential campaign would need to be well funded which would obviously the support of big business which, quite naturally, would expect a ‘quid-pro-quo’ which in itself would disturb the neutrality of the Office as exists under our current system.
During the recent Visit of The Prince of Wales, the republicans could only harness a handful of people at vantage points to promote their agenda. There were no large crowds in support of a republic anywhere which proves that there is no interest amongst the general public whatsoever for constitutional change.
It therefore does not make sense that whenever there is a Royal Visit, whether by The Queen or as recently occurred, by the Prince of Wales, the Labor Leader, Kim Beasley, in appalling bad taste, proclaims that if he were Prime Minister Australia would be a republic!
What he does not say is that should Australia become a Republic, absolute power will pass to the politicians not from The Queen or the Governor-General, but from the People themselves as this ‘power’ is always exercised by The Crown in the name of the People.
It is because The Crown withholds this ‘power’ from them that Labor proposes to spend many hundreds of millions of taxpayer’s dollars for a series of plebiscites and referendums which they openly admit will be designed to surreptitiously wear down any opposition to their objective.
A Labor Government will have the support of the media and big business to help them achieve their goal to force us to become a republic. The Australian Monarchist League must therefore rely solely upon those who are loyal to Australia and to the Constitution, which is why we appeal to you to support our cause to ‘Keep Australia Great’.
http://www.monarchist.org.au/charter.htm
