Letter: Lonely and lost in Australia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Your report on the visit to Britain of John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister (18 June) referred to "the British monarch as head of state" in Australia. In fact the Queen of Australia is the formal head of state and the Governor-General is the effective head of state.
The British monarch has no constitutional role in Australia and the Queen of Australia has only one constitutional power: the appointment of the Governor-General, which power is exercised on the advice of her Australian ministers. The implication of your report that there may be some vestigial lack of independence from Britain is a frequently encountered misconception.
A republic will eventuate only if a majority of people in a majority of the six states agree at a referendum. It has been notoriously difficult to have radical constitutional proposals accepted by the Australian people, despite the support of opinion polls. Robert Menzies' proposal to outlaw the Communist Party was given 80 per cent approval by opinion polls but failed owing to the common sense of the Australian people.
MATTHEW WHITE
Chairman, Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
(UK branch)
Meldreth, Cambridgeshire
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments