the australian constitutional thingy

Jim heartfield jim at heartfield.demon.co.uk
Wed Nov 3 03:56:16 PST 1999


Am I being naive, or is it plain obvious that Australians should vote against the monarchy?

The only objections that I have heard are reactionary, like the one that it would be terrible if the head of state was a politician, or someone who was popular.

Is there anything in the alternative proposal that is worse than entrusting Australia's head of state to the chance meandering of the Windsor's gene-pool?

Allowing that the referendum does not contain the third option - a soviet socialist republic of Australia - isn't bourgeois republicanism preferable to constitutional monarchy?

When quizzed by British leftists why his party was called the Irish Socialist Republican Party, James Connolly turned the question around: should it be called monarchist?

Here in Britain, Labour's "alternative" to the House of Lords are depressing (a big quango of appointees). But I would still favour the abolition of the House of Lords. -- Jim heartfield



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