Australians still support the monarchy



To the dismay of the arrogant Leftist intelligentsia. Not mentioned anywhere below is the result of Australia's referendum on the subject in 1999. In defiance of all the talking heads, 55% voted for the Monarchy. Even many people of non-British origin voted for it. In my home State of Queensland nearly two thirds voted for the Monarchy: An aptly named State (actually named after Queen Victoria)

Public support for a republic has slumped to a 16-year low with more Australians in favour of retaining the monarchy for now.

A Sun-Herald/Nielsen poll conducted two weeks before the federal election showed that - when asked straight out if Australia should become a republic - 48 per cent of the 1400 respondents were opposed to constitutional change (a rise of 8 per cent since 2008) while 44 per cent said we should change (a drop of 8 per cent since 2008). But when asked which of the following statements best described their view:

- 31 per cent said Australia should never become a republic.

- 29 per cent said Australia should become a republic as soon as possible.

- 34 per cent said Australia should become a republic only after Queen Elizabeth II's reign ends.

Backing for a republic is at its lowest since 1994 - five years before Australia had a referendum on the topic.

Nielsen pollster John Stirton said yesterday that, despite the slump, there was a sense of inevitability Australia would one day become a republic with a large number backing Prime Minister Julia Gillard's stance that the issue should be closely considered after a change of monarchy.

"These results suggest Australians will be more likely to support a republic when Queen Elizabeth II is no longer on the throne," he said.

Our top politicians are divided over the republic issue. During the election campaign Ms Gillard echoed the sentiments of her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, who said a republic was not a first-term priority and would only be considered after a monarch change. Ms Gillard said a Labor government would work towards an agreement on the type of republic model - a sticking point in the 1999 defeat of the referendum.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott - an open monarchist along with his mentor and former leader John Howard - said Australians had shown little desire for change. He would not seek to put the republic question to a vote under a Coalition government.

"The Australian people have demonstrated themselves to be remarkably attached to institutions that work," he said. "I think that our existing constitutional arrangements have worked well in the past. I see no reason whatsoever why they can't continue to work well in the future.

More here

7 comments:

  1. Reading the newspaper today was a pleasure. I can just see the republican journalists publishing this poll result with disgust.

    All the better!

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  2. Given the debacle of the election you'd think there'd be even more people in favour of the monarchy if the survey was conducted now.

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  3. AR, please expand and explain your comment. As per usual you make little sense and seem to be incapable of writing more than one sentence.

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  4. Good luck with that, Anonymous. ar hasn't made an ounce of sense in years. If ever.

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  5. Apply a few brain cells to it for a moment, Anonymous. Two weeks after an election we still don't know who won. Not so with a monarch.

    And thanks, "MK"...

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  6. Australia was a constitutional monarchy before the last election and remains one.
    If you, AR, are proposing an absolute monarchy, I should point out our English brothers fought a war against this idea more than 300 years ago, while our American and French cousins rejected any form of monarchy more than 200 years ago.
    As to the recent Australian election result, the AEC tells us that neither the two major parties won enough seats to form a government out right.
    Ultimately it will be the GG's (the Queen's Representative) decision -- based on the advice of the acting PM and Leader of the Opposition -- on which coalition will form the next government.
    (Congrats on forming two and half sentences.)

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  7. "proposing an absolute monarchy"

    Um, no. Just keep the system we've got.

    "neither the two major parties won enough seats to form a government out right"

    Thanks for the scoop.

    And by the way, that's "neither of" and "to form government" and "outright". But thanks for the encouragement about sentence formation.

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