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MEMBERSHIP BULLETINS & MEDIA RELEASES - 2007
THE QUEEN'S 2006 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE LETTER TO MEMBERS - JANUARY 2007 LETTER TO NSW MEMBERS FROM STEWART HESPE NSW STATE CHAIRMAN & DEPUTY NATIONAL CHAIRMAN - MARCH 2007 LETTER TO MEMBERS - MARCH 2007 LETTER TO MEMBERS - APRIL 2007 LETTER TO MEMBERS - AUGUST 2007 LETTER TO MEMBERS - OCTOBER 2007 THE DIAMOND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY LETTER TO MEMBERS - NOVEMBER 2007
Text of the Christmas Broadcast 2006
I have lived long enough to know that things never remain
quite the same for very long. One of the things that has not
changed all that much for me is the celebration of
Christmas. It remains a time when I try to put aside the
anxieties of the moment and remember that Christ was born to
bring peace and tolerance to a troubled world.
But the pressures of modern life sometimes seem to be weakening the links which have traditionally kept us together as families and communities. As children grow up and develop their own sense of confidence and independence in the ever-changing technological environment, there is always the danger of a real divide opening up between young and old, based on unfamiliarity, ignorance or misunderstanding.
It is worth bearing in mind that all of our faith communities encourage the bridging of that divide. The wisdom and experience of the great religions point to the need to nurture and guide the young, and to encourage respect for the elderly. Christ himself told his disciples to let the children come to him, and Saint Paul reminded parents to be gentle with their children, and children to appreciate their parents. The scriptures and traditions of the other faiths enshrine the same fundamental guidance. It is very easy to concentrate on the differences between the religious faiths and to forget what they have in common - people of different faiths are bound together by the need to help the younger generation to become considerate and active citizens.
And there is another cause for hope that we can do better in the future at bridging the generation gap. As older people remain more active for longer, the opportunities to look for new ways to bring young and old together are multiplying.
As I look back on these past twelve months, marked in particular for me by the very generous response to my eightieth birthday, I especially value the opportunities I have had to meet young people. I am impressed by their energy and vitality, and by their ambition to learn and to travel.
It makes me wonder what contribution older people can make to help them realise their ambitions. I am reminded of a lady of about my age who was asked by an earnest, little grand-daughter the other day "Granny, can you remember the Stone Age?" Whilst that may be going a bit far, the older generation are able to give a sense of context as well as the wisdom of experience which can be invaluable. Such advice and comfort are probably needed more often than younger people admit or older people recognise. I hope that this is something that all of us, young or old, can reflect on at this special time of year.
For Christians, Christmas marks the birth of our Saviour, but it is also a wonderful occasion to bring the generations together in a shared festival of peace, tolerance and goodwill.
I wish you all a very happy Christmas together.
THE QUEEN
LETTER TO MEMBERS JANUARY 2007
The end of 2006 was marked by news of massive bonuses and pay rises and record spending of over $30 Billion over the Christmas Season alone!
However, for us in the Australian Monarchist League, the end of the year brought the usual worries on how we are going to pay our bills. Rather than pay rises and bonuses, I have had to sell even more shares to make our ends meet.
Some may ask “why do we bother”, when year after year we are depressed by continuing financial problems? However, had there not been an Australian Monarchist League, who would have put the case for The Crown prior to 2000, when so many who now embrace it were the first to deny it? Who else would have reproduced and distributed – at our own cost - prints of The Queen when the Keating Government barred its officials from doing so? When so many Monarchists forsook The Queen at the time of ‘Annus Horribilis’, we never wavered in our defence of Her Majesty and were consistent in organising successful campaigns against the attempts of corporate business to vilify her in their advertising (such as the Toyota advertisement 'don’t worry Your Majesty you're not the only British Export to have had its day'). It must also not be forgotten that we were the first to establish a constitutional educational programme and were foremost in protesting when churches discontinued prayers for The Queen. Most importantly it was us who challenged Australia Post and, again at our own expense, conducted a marketing campaign to prove that the Annual Queen’s Stamp would be popular if properly advertised and must continue. Ever since we have worked closely with Australia Post and I personally was honoured to be invited to launch the 80th Birthday Stamp of The Queen last year. These are but a few examples of why we must bother, for we are solely for Crown and Queen regardless of political or financial considerations, and if it is to be our lot to be forever scraping around to pay bills, then so be it.
We have a number of devoted members, without whose support we would not be able to survive and to whom we will always be eternally grateful. These members, however, represent only a fraction of our total membership which in itself is an even smaller fraction of those in the wider community who value and cherish the freedoms we enjoy under our Constitutional Monarchy.
This year will see two Royal Anniversaries, firstly the 55th of the Accession and in November, the Diamond wedding of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh. In March a vital State Election will be held in New South Wales and towards the end of the year the Federal Parliament will go to the polls.
I would mention that I have written to Peter Debnam MP, NSW Leader of the Opposition, seeking his confirmation that a Coalition Government would restore both the Governor to Government House and the Oath of Allegiance to The Queen for Members of the State Parliament.
Given the majority the Howard Government has in the Federal Parliament it is not likely that they will loose the election. However the time will soon be upon us when John Howard retires which could well result in a republican Costello Government, something we should all quite rightly fear. Whilst Kevin Rudd has stated that a republic is low on his list of priorities, constitutional change nevertheless remains Labor policy.
For the first time in over a decade no mention seems to have been made of the Republic on TV and in the major news-papers on the 1st day of the New Year—but we will see what happens on Australia Day! There has, however, been a recent flurry of films and documentaries on The Queen, many of which rather courageously attempt to discredit Her Majesty. I say courageous because Her Majesty enjoys such enormous and well earned respect amongst the people that even ardent republicans such as Malcolm Turnbull admit that they should hold off during The Queen's reign. Indeed, as we said even at the time of the Referendum, the best thing our Constitutional Monarchy has ever had going for it is The Queen herself!
This is possibly why the entirety of the media totally ignore the tremendous good works of the Prince of Wales and widely broadcast misinformation about him as well as exaggerating the sort of human failings they ignore in their own selves.
Sadly, the public is not made aware of the fact that Prince Charles is the hardest working member of the Royal Family and raises more for charity than any other individual in the World. Indeed many Monarchists blame His Royal Highness for the disaster that was his marriage with Princess Diana. Unlike the British press, the Australian media have not been reporting the details that have been coming to light following the tragic death of the Princess, leaving only certain women’s magazines to continue with their scurrilious scandal-mongering. If there is one thing we can be certain of, it is that the intent of the media is to damage the image of the Prince of Wales in the hope that the people will forsake the Monarchy and vote for a republic.
Whatever your opinion may be, I plead with you to look on the reign of King George V11, as His Royal Highness has indicated he will be, as preparing the way for Prince William, whose reign will be in a totally different era than that of his grandmother, our beloved Queen.
The fight which is to come will also be totally different from the 1999 campaign. Many of our supporters at the time have passed on to their reward. The younger generations have never experienced the tremendous emotions evidenced at the time of the Coronation and the 1954 visit. Most have only a superficial knowledge of the Constitution and almost no understanding of the history, the tradition and the glory of our Monarchy.
The duty of the Australian Monarchist League is to prepare the way forward.
The fact the we receive no support or funding from both Government and business is both a curse and a blessing. A curse because of lack of money and a blessing because we owe obligation to no politician or businessman which may interfere with our allegiance to our Queen and to our Crown.
The Australian Monarchist League is a membership based organisation belonging, not to a company nor to individuals, but to you and to the other members. Remember always that the greater our membership, the greater our support and the more secure our future. Please make 2007 the year that you support the League and thus help secure our freedoms and our democracy under The Crown.
With every good wish, Yours sincerely
Philip Benwell National Chairman
LETTER TO NSW MEMBERS FROM STEWART HESPE NSW STATE CHAIRMAN & DEPUTY NATIONAL CHAIRMAN - MARCH 2007
2 March 2007
I am writing to report to you on the General Meeting held on the 14th of February last.
The meeting, which was extraordinarily well attended, unanimously passed the motion to incorporate and we are proceeding to effect this by the target date of July 1 2007.
As we work to expand our activities, particularly amongst the younger generations, it is extremely important that more members volunteer their services to assist in organising functions and fund raising activities, in administration and in generally promoting our Constitutional Monarchy. If you believe that you can do something more to help, please do contact me via secretary@monarchist.org.au.
Within the month we will be facing a State Election. As our National Chairman had informed you in his letter of January 2007, he had written, in December, to Mr Peter Debnam seeking his comments on the position of the Coalition on Government House and the Oath of Allegiance and whilst we are, of course, disappointed that, after a lapse of two months, there has been no reply or even an acknowledgement, we recognise that the track record of the Coalition has been to support our Constitutional Monarchy whereas all Labor, Green, Democrat and Independent Members of the State Parliament, apart from Mrs D.E. Fardell, Independent Member for Dubbo, voted for the removal of Allegiance to The Queen.
The League is not aligned to any political party and we recognise that many of our members are traditional Labor voters. However it must be appreciated that, as long as Labor has the removal of The Crown in its Platform, our interests best lie in the election of the Coalition to Government. We should also not forget that there are members of the League who will become senior players in a Coalition Government. Of the political parties represented in the NSW Parliament, only the National and the Christian Democrat Parties have retained allegiance to The Crown in their Constitutions. One Nation is also pro-Monarchist.
Having said this, I would urge you to contact candidates standing for election in your seat and for the Legislative Council, particularly Independents, seeking a positive statement from them on their position with regard to the Constitution, Government House and the Oath of Allegiance to The Queen for Members of the NSW State Parliament.
Yours sincerely,
Stewart Hespe NSW State Chairman and Deputy National Chairman
LETTER TO MEMBERS - MARCH 2007
On the 20th November of this year Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. This is a major occasion in the life of our Queen and is one which we, in Australia, must also ensure is appropriately and, may I say, enthusiastically, celebrated. We will, of course, be collecting for a present for Her Majesty and Prince Philip and any suggestions you may care to make on an appropriate gift would be most gratefully appreciated. We also hope to produce some commemorative items and a form is enclosed to enable you to list ideas and comments.
In his sonnet ‘It is a Beauteous Evening’, Wordsworth wrote that the Sun was “sinking down in its tranquility”. Whilst the now rather quiescent Republican cause can also be said to be ‘sinking down’, the attitude of its promoting scribblers in the media is anything but tranquil.
Constitutionally speaking, we can be said to be in the calm before the storm, sheltered, so to speak, by the aurora of The Queen. The fact is that all those nations under The Crown, including Australia, have been extraordinarily fortunate over the past century in having The Queen, her father, her grandfather and even her great-grandfather as our Monarchs, but our constitution should never be looked upon as reliant upon any individual for it will always protect our democracy and our freedoms in spite of the person of the Monarch. However, the popularity of The Queen is such that most Republicans now accept that the people will never vote against Her Majesty.
The media always tend to distort downwards the numbers of the crowds who come out onto the streets to cheer The Queen or the Prince of Wales. During this past weekend Sydney experienced the official visit of the Vice President of the United States of America, our great ally in war and peace, and yet there were no cheering crowds in the streets as there are for Her Majesty and even the protestors gave up after a day or so.
Manipulative though the republican media is, there is little they can say when faced with the increasing acceptance, particularly by the young, of our Constitutional Monarchy. On Australia Day - usually the rallying cry of republicanism - all one journalist could say is that he wished he lived on a parallel universe where Keating was still Prime Minister and we were a republic! (May I say we likewise wish he lived on a parallel universe.)
One also wonders what Vice President Cheney would have thought of our inane newspaper advocacy when he read the pitiable reporting in the Sydney Morning Herald of a pathetic comment by, of all persons, an Afghan TV producer, that Australia should have a ‘jihad’ against our Constitutional Monarchy!
Whilst talk of insurrection is both ludicrous and irresponsible, our duty is nevertheless to maintain a watching brief and to prepare for the future and never, ever, be complacent; for like the sun Wordsworth wrote about, one thing we can be certain of is that the Republicans will rise again when the opportunity presents itself and if the polls are right, this could easily be following the Federal Election later this year!
We are working hard to restructure the League to better face what will eventually come. Our (honorary) lawyers are even now in the process of establishing a formal Trust managed by Trustees of impeccable credentials to raise and administer funds for use in a future plebiscite and referendum. As well as seeking substantial contributions, the Trustees will also administer a bequest programme.
Since 1999 we have lost, through natural causes, close on a thousand valued members who must be replaced if we are to properly defend our democracy. Please therefore speak to your friends about the League. Information leaflets can be provided upon request. Indeed if each one of our members does something, however small, our efforts, as an organisation, could be limitless.
May I leave you to contemplate upon the comments of George Linnaeus Banks who could easily have been referring to the League when he wrote some 150 years ago:
“For the cause that lacks assistance For the wrong that needs resistance For the future in the distance’ And the good that I can do”
Yours sincerely,
Philip Benwell National Chairman
RE: ABC BROADCASTS DOCTORED PH0TOGRAPH OF NUDE QUEEN
Although I try not to bother you too often with matters of Monarchy, there are occasions when it is important to keep you informed and also to seek your active support in countering attacks on our Constitution and on The Queen, hence this special letter.
Although seven and a half years have gone by since the Referendum without any further official challenge, your organisation, the Australian Monarchist League, has been relentless in combating republicanism by stealth and in protecting The Crown upon which all our Constitutional freedoms depend.
Over the years we have lobbied against governments as they have introduced legislation to remove the symbols and traditions of our Monarchy and have fearlessly confronted the media as they have propagated their insidious misinformation and lies. Much of this has been handled by me as your National Chairman. However, we have now encountered a situation which requires your urgent help.
Any 81 year old lady should be treated with respect, let alone our Queen. However last Wednesday, March 28 2007, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comedy show, “The Chasers War On Everything” aired a perverted picture doctored by them, showing the face of The Queen imposed onto the aged body of a nude woman wearing Speedo swimming trunks. This vulgarity is totally unacceptable to us all and I appeal to you to help in our protest campaign.
Enclosed is a leaflet providing a copy of my letter of complaint to the Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation together with various contact details. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
It would be appreciated if you would write/phone/fax/email to the ABC and to those others who have been listed as well as to your own Federal Member of Parliament expressing your outrage at this abomination. Please copy the leaflet and forward it on to people whom you know would likewise be horrified at this monstrous act of their ABC.
In seven months or so Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will be celebrating their Diamond Wedding and it is our intention to make sure that we, in Australia, properly celebrate the first occasion that any Monarch has reached sixty years of marriage. I am delighted to be able to advise that, at our behest, the Australian Opal Association is preparing designs for a gift of opals and gemstones which is appropriately symbolic of Australia.
The League has no political affiliations. Indeed the time may come when we may wonder whether a Rudd Republican Government would not be preferable to one led by Costello! However, with the Liberal defeat in New South Wales and Rudd’s increasing popularity, we face the peril of the same political party governing federally and in all States. Collectively, the seven Parliaments, using the insidious Australia Acts, can legislate to upset any existing State or Federal legislation - including the rate of the GST. Far more dangerously the States and the Commonwealth combined can amend the UK Constitution Act of 1900, of which the Australian Constitution is a schedule! We could well therefore be entering a period of grave danger for our Constitution.
It is our duty to do whatever we can to prevent this from happening and your National Council will be considering mounting a public awareness campaign to impress upon the voting public, the inherent danger in giving to one political party such absolute power. We can only hope that one or more wealthy individuals will help us and underwrite the enormous cost of this so very vital programme.
We have received several enquiries from members on how they can contribute regularly to help alleviate our costs. This can be done by arranging for a periodic payment with your bank or by authorizing us to debit your credit card on a monthly basis. A note is enclosed with details in this regard.
I realise it is a heavy burden indeed that we place upon our small membership, but surely there can be no purpose in our existence if we sit idly by and allow our Queen to be so maligned and our Constitution emasculated.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Benwell National Chairman
There has been a media flurry over the break between Prince William and Kate Middleton with the parasitic ‘royal-watchers’ blaming all and sundry, even accusing Kate’s mother, Mrs Middleton of calling a toilet a ‘toilet’! The situation is that the media itself is to blame. The suggestion of an engagement was a media creation because it, a marriage and babies together with marital tiffs, designer clothes etc, would all sell papers. In this age of mobile phone cameras, there can be no privacy for both Princes William and Harry. Whatever the youthful escapades they may get up to, it is they and not the media who need our support.
As you are aware, the Prince of Wales markets his organic products under the ‘Duchy’ brand with proceeds going to his charities. An information leaflet is enclosed detailing retail outlets in Australia which stock these products.
Alongside is a face of the magnificent stamp of The Queen taken during Her Majesty’s visit in March last year for the Commonwealth Games. The Australian Monarchist League works closely with Australia Post and supports it, and other organisations, to maintain our monarchical traditions at our own cost .
Indeed, the prime purpose of the Australian Monarchist League is to retain and educate on our Constitution and to defend the integrity of The Crown and the honour of our Queen. All of our activities are focused on these aims, including our protest to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation regarding the pernicious airing of the Chaser’s doctored photograph with the face of The Queen imposed onto a half naked body of an aged lady. Overleaf is a copy of the picture (not included in this copy), which has been taken from the ABC website. Even though we have blocked out the nudity on the image, I hesitate to show this to members, but it is only when you actually see it that you are able to realise how horrific it actually is, particularly when you compare it to the attractive 2007 Queen’s Birthday Stamp.
Some people say that we shouldn’t be making a fuss and that this sort of sleaze is acceptable by modern standards, but then these things are tolerated only because we allow them to be so. Over recent years, so many values that once held our civilization together have deteriorated, but we must never, ever, accept such denigration of our Queen.
It is thus that following the stereotypical excusatory responses from the ABC speciously claiming that the sordid picture was fabricated in the name of ‘satire’, that I have made a formal complaint on the 19th April 2007 to the Australian Communications & Media Authority contending that: “the subject doctored picture could not in any be considered ‘satire’. To air a semi-nude fabricated photograph of any elderly lady is obscene. To depict the Queen of Australia in this fictitious fashion is totally objectionable and has offended a large number of viewers, many of whom have themselves complained to the ABC. The excuse for concocting the picture was in reference to the issue of a republic, and yet Her Majesty has, at all times, made it clear that she is totally neutral and indeed above any political discussion on this matter.” I further submitted that: “to vilify The Queen in this manner was not only iniquitous and even seditious, but discriminatory, as no prominent republican was so pictured, and was intended specifically to bring the Sovereign of this country into contempt.”
For the complaint to be taken seriously in these dissolute times it is necessary for as many of you as possible to yourselves write to ACMA supporting my complaint and to forward a copy of your letter to me. A draft for you to follow is attached.
If we stand by and do nothing and allow our Queen, whose only wish has been to serve, to be so savaged, we must then ask ourselves, “do we actually deserve her?”
Some members will recall how the League was able, in past years, to influence multi-national corporations, including Toyota, to cease any advertising which lampooned The Queen. We were able to do this because of the strength of our active support. However, to be able to continue to protect our Queen and our Constitution, it is important that we increase our membership. A form is included with the enclosed raffle leaflet. Please cut it out and pass it on to anyone you think may be interested. Further forms can be sent upon request. An increased membership will also assist us in meeting the rising costs of administering our organisation, which, although totally voluntary, still has to meet enormous expenses. Don’t forget that unlike the politically correct and sycophantic we receive no Government or corporate funding.
We all delight in singing ‘God save the Queen’, but now is the time to really mean it. Let us heed these words taken from one of the little known verses of the Royal Anthem:
From every latent foe, From the assassins blow, God save the Queen!
Yours sincerely,
Philip Benwell National Chairman
The recent brutal storms and floods in New South Wales have unfortunately affected several of our members and we send to them our sincere prayers and very good wishes as indeed we do to all others throughout Australia who have been affected by such adversity. In his book ‘Beyond Good and Evil, Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future’ published in 1886, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: "And when you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks back at you" Does this not describe, so very well, the very effect of the constant indoctrination by Marxist inspired socialists in our schools and universities and throughout the media to brainwash our young into accepting a republic. They failed in 1999 because the majority of Australians voting at the time grew up with The Queen and had been taught about our Constitutional system of Government. However, in 2007, this is no longer the case. When young and new Australians look into the abyss which has become our educational system, they see no mention of The Queen and the Constitution nor of our rich Colonial history, but only the demented ravings of republicans seeking to tear down our constitutional security to assuage their in-built angst against the status-quo. The task of retaining our Constitution therefore becomes increasingly onerous, particularly in the absence of major financial support. However, it is a task which we, as Monarchists, can never forsake for at risk is The Crown and our traditions of British Law and British Justice which have protected our liberties and freedoms so well for over a hundred years. Many members ask why do we not receive Government assistance? I suppose that were we a migrant, indigenous or alternative religious group, there would be no problem, but protecting our constitutional integrity seems to be an affront to modern Government and politics. With an aging membership and the need to save on funds, we are asking all members whether they wish to be ‘active’ or ‘passive’. That is, if you wish to receive invitations to functions, raffle applications etc, then please tick ‘active’ on the attached form. However should you wish only to receive important letters and membership renewals, then please tick ‘passive’. The benefit is that we will save on postage but the negative aspect will be that, in not receiving mail - even though it is at your own request, you might forget about us and the important work that we do. As our membership is our valuable lifeblood, we sincerely hope that whatever you may decide, this will not happen. We are hard at work in preparing for the Diamond Wedding Anniversary of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh which falls on the 20th November 2007. I am pleased to advise that H.E. Professor Marie Bashir CVO AC, Governor of New South Wales, is supporting our initiative by attending the Garden Party we are organising on Saturday the 17th November, at ‘Fairwater’, the Sydney harbour-side residence of our Patron, Lady Fairfax. I have also requested each State Committee to likewise organise appropriate activities.
On the 17th July 2007, HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, familiarly known to us all as ‘Camilla’, will celebrate her 60th birthday. We will be sending flowers to Her Royal Highness and provision for a contribution with space for the name you wish to be included on the official birthday card, is on the enclosed form. The Prince of Wales will be celebrating his own 60th birthday in November 2008.
Also on the form is provision to order my latest Paper ‘The Development & the Decline of the Westminster System’, the profits from which are yet another way to help augment our increasing expenses. In this Paper, I have tried to explain something of the development of our system of Constitutional Monarchy and the manner in which politicians have sought to usurp the Authority of The Crown. Whilst several members write in to say how thankful they are for the effort that goes into letters, such as this one, for briefings and for the stream of communications that emanate from our National Headquarters in opposition to the continuous attempts by the media and republicans attacking our Queen and denigrating our Constitution (such as our latest protest against the Melbourne Herald-Sun for their recent heinous attacks on the Royal Family), not many actually appreciate the pressures personally placed on me to maintain our office. Many years ago, as a result of our perpetual lack of funding, exacerbated by the debt carried over from the Referendum (don’t forget not one cent of the 7.5 million dollars government funding came to us) and the legal costs I had to pay for our action against the Australian Electoral Commission challenging their acceptance of various markings seemingly biased against us; a decision was made to close down our Sydney office. This left no alternative but for me to locate a larger residence to accommodate the entire office, including our photocopying/printing and folding machinery, guillotines etc., files, stationery and other basic office utilities. At the time it was proposed that the League share the enormous costs involved with activities held in my apartment, but support for functions has been less than expected and the burden on me continues to be oppressive. This is obviously a situation which cannot continue on indefinitely, but the alternative would be to store the library and our files, and get rid of the photocopier/printer and other equipment, thereby forcing us to curtail many of our activities vital to retaining The Crown in this, our beloved country. In many respects, our existence is therefore as though we ourselves have our own abyss to peer into, but instead of our adversities staring back at us, we see only our undying duty to our Queen and to our country, sustained by the prayers and the encouragement of the many who support us. Yours sincerely, Philip Benwell National Chairman
When, in 1997. Russian President Boris Yeltsin mooted the restoration of the Russian monarchy, he turned to the Grand Duchess Maria and her son, Grand Duke Georgy, but due to his (Yeltsin’s) decline and his eventual retirement in 1999, it was not to be. The Grand Duchess Maria, who is a direct descendant of Tsar Alexander 11, is to visit Australia next month and the Australian Monarchist League has been invited to organise a luncheon in Sydney in honour of Her Imperial Highness on Thursday 20 September 2007. An invitation is enclosed and anyone interested in attending is urged to book as soon as possible as places are expected to be quickly filled, particularly by monarchists within the Russian Community. I am afraid that our many complaints over the doctored photo of a semi-nude woman with the head of The Queen superimposed onto it and placed onto the ABC web-site have not met with success. The Australian Communications Media Authority has now admitted that it has no authority to handle complaints relating to ABC ‘performances’ and that the adjudicating authority is the ABC itself! I find it deplorable that, with its rare control of the Senate, the Federal Government has not brought both the ABC and the SBS under independent judicial supervision, particularly given their extreme Marxist bias. Indeed, the journey of life seems to be evermore twisting and turning, and I am afraid that I like not where it is taking us. The forces of uncertainty are fast gathering around The Crown, not only in Australia but also in the United Kingdom itself. For many these words may seem to be somewhat melodramatic, but should Labor win the Federal Election in Australia later this year, we will again face a campaign for constitutional change. In the United Kingdom, barely a few days into his job, the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has outlined sweeping proposals for radical constitutional change. These changes would seem to include abolishing the Oath of Allegiance to The Queen, changing the National Anthem, disenfranchising all ‘Subjects of The Queen’ making then instead ‘Citizens’ (they are already termed ‘Citizens of the European Union’), amending the Act of Settlement to remove the requirement that the Monarch be a communicant of the Church of England and transferring all of The Queen’s remaining powers, or Prerogative, to the Parliament. Initially, Kevin Rudd was evasive on the issue of a republic but he has now publicly nailed his more than pinkish colours to the republican mast promising a ‘consultative process’ which means that, should Labor be elected to Government later this year, we can expect to see an immediate revival of the blanket denigration of the Monarchy and our Constitution by the media with a plebiscite probably held in conjunction with the next election followed by a referendum during the term of the pursuant government. The wording of the Plebiscite will be carefully contrived to ensure it will delude the people into voting for it. As plebiscites are not governed by any constitutional arrangement, there need be no funding of a ‘No’ case. From recent debates with leading republican constitutional academics I suspect that, whereas the subject Constitutional Act(s) would need to detail proposed amendments, the actual intention is to avoid incorporating this detail into whatever Government literature is disseminated to the people, instead relying upon innocuous jargon and deceptive slogans. Unfortunately, whilst Section 128 of the Constitution sets out the voting arrangements for a referendum, it leaves the process to be regulated by Act of the Parliament. We must also bear in mind that there is no constitutional requirement for a Government to fund a ‘No’ Case. Furthermore, with the potential of Labor governing federally and in all six States for the first time ever, nothing can be certain, particularly as, combined together, they can assume absolute control of the untried powers of the mendacious Australia Acts. I must admit that I do fear for the future. Most of our members adopt the complacent attitude “She’ll be all right” and so many believe the contrived vilification of the Prince of Wales, declaring that they are ‘monarchists’ as long as The Queen is alive but don’t want Prince Charles. I do not say that His Royal Highness is without blame, but then who is? Long before his imprudent admission of adultery he was the vicious target of the Socialist media whose sole intention seems to be the removal of The Crown; and if people, even our own members believe the lies spread by the media, then have they not achieved their nefarious purpose? Fortunately, however, we do have a very loyal band of supporters, but when you consider that the majority are the very same people who were there to help in 1999, can you blame me for my concerns? I am often told that we must concentrate on education. For over ten years I have been lobbying the Government to produce booklets clearly outlining the role of The Queen and the Governor-General. I have sent them publications produced by the Canadian Government along these lines, but my pleas have been ignored. It is no wonder that most people know nothing about the role of The Queen and still think we are ‘ruled from England’. It is so very regrettable that our impoverished situation does not allow us to produce something ourselves. In my letter to members of May 2007, I explained the difficulties faced with regard to maintaining a full time working office within a voluntary environment. Even though we have continually reiterated that we are totally dependent on membership receipts and contributions, less than a third of the 233 members who received renewal notices in June have actually bothered to renew! Plans have therefore had to be put into place to down-size our office facilities and to place the Library into some sort of storage as I find myself unable to continue to subsidise the costs involved. The fact is that unless we increase our membership and attendance at activities, we will not be able to meet our obligations to defend The Crown. Those who receive this letter have a very real obligation to fight for our freedoms, not simply because you are supporters of the Australian Monarchist League, but more importantly because you are all aware of how utterly essential our Constitutional Monarchy is to the continuing freedoms and democracy that have made this, our country of Australia, so very great. We have all seen the encroaching politicisation of every facet of our life, yet that intrusion cannot be made complete as long as The Crown exists. As Polonius says in Shakespeare’s Hamlet “Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't"and that method is to demolish the powers of The Crown of the United Kingdom wherever it may exist. In Australia, its purpose is to facilitate a politically controlled republic and in the United Kingdom it is to facilitate the total ceding of Britain’s sovereignty by the British Parliament to the European Union! With the radical constitutional changes proposed by Gordon Brown in the UK combined with the potential of having to soon face another republican campaign in Australia the future may seem bleak indeed, particularly with the increasing indifference of so many of our members, but however melancholic the future may appear at this time, there will always be hope for the future. In the dark days of 1941, the boys of Harrow School penned a verse for Churchill, an old boy of the school, in which they sang: “Our freedom to defend, Though long the fight we know that right Will triumph in the end” As Churchill later mentioned: “we have only to persevere to conquer.” This is our lot - to persevere and to never give up, particularly at this time when our country and our Queen are so very much in need of our support.
Philip Benwell National Chairman
LETTER TO MEMBERS - OCTOBER 2007
May I take this opportunity to thank all those who sent good wishes following my ill health. Over the past few weeks I have been poked, prodded, scanned, and endured an emergency operation on my eye. I really don’t know what is worse, the stroke or the procedures which followed! I am well, apart from my vision which is still very poor, which means that I do make mistakes in typing.
In talking about vision, I am reminded of the many writers and poets who were visionaries and in particular of Alfred, Lord Tennyson who, in 1859, included in his Ode to Queen Victoria the words ‘crowned Republic’ thereby acknowledging the new supremacy of the Parliament over the instruments of The Crown. However, what he actually said was “crowned Republic's crowning common-sense” and it is common-sense which is sadly missing in today’s governance, which leads me to the decision that I really don’t like the politically correct concept of a ‘Crowned Republic’, particularly when it means that the Governor-General is marginalised and honouring our Queen becomes subject to not offending republicans.
AN OFFICIAL GIFT FOR THE DIAMOND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
As most of our members are aware, I have been rallying against this erosion of our monarchical conventions for many a year, but surely it is going too far when our Australian Government refuses to present our Australian Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, with a gift from the Australian people on the occasion of their Diamond Wedding Anniversary? In a reply to my request, the Office of the Prime Minister states that to do so: “is not the historical practice of Australian Governments.”
This practice seems to have only been established in recent times. The actual historical precedent of gifts to the Sovereign from the people of Australia began in 1902 when Lady Barton, attending the Coronation, presented Queen Alexandra with a large possum fur carriage rug. Before then, of course, the colonies were themselves not reticent in their generosity.
Potential criticism from the media, or from some republicans, should never be used as an excuse by the Government to not honour the sovereign of this nation, a Monarch voted for overwhelmingly by the people. In spending millions of taxpayer monies in defending its legislation, surely the Government can afford a few thousand for a gift for our Queen? I therefore urge you all to write to the Prime Minister asking him to reconsider his decision. Contact details are:
The Hon John Howard MP
Tel: (02) 8226 8400 –(02) 6277 7700 - (02) 9816 1300 An email form can be found on: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
OUR OWN GIFT FOR THE DIAMOND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
On a happier note, I am pleased to advise that the offer of our own gift of two Wollemi Pines has been graciously accepted by Her Majesty and will be delivered, at her request, to Kew Gardens on the 20th November 2007. Sir Robin Janvrin, Private Secretary to Her Majesty has written: “I have shown your letter to Her Majesty who has asked that I thank you for your generous gift. She has requested that the trees be planted in Kew Gardens so that they might be enjoyed by as many people as possible.” Members are invited to contribute towards the cost of the Pines. Names of donors will be inscribed on a card to be forwarded to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness next month.
THE GARDEN PARTY HONOURING THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH
I am pleased to advise that Her Excellency the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO and Sir Nicholas Shehadie AO will be attending the Garden Party to be held at ‘Fairwater’ the Sydney residence of our Patron, Lady Fairfax AC OBE. This will be held on Saturday the 17th November 2007 commencing at 4.30 pm. The new Canadian Consul, Mr Thomas MacDonald as well as other Consuls will also be attending. Further information can be found below together with information on the Service of Prayer and the following Luncheon both to be held in Sydney on Tuesday the 20th November 2007.
THE CONFERENCE FOR THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMONWEALTH REALMS
A Conference on the danger the European Union poses to us in the Realms, will be held on Sunday the 18 November 2007 at the Swissôtel in Sydney. The keynote speaker will be Professor Noel Cox, who is also Chairman of the Monarchist League in New Zealand.
THE 60TH BIRTHDAY OF THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL
As members are aware, we sent flowers to the Duchess of Cornwall on the occasion of her 60th birthday. We did receive a reply from Her Royal Highness which has been copied below:
THE FEDERAL ELECTION
It is now only a matter of weeks before we know which political party the people will have chosen to lead us all into the future. As an organisation, our sole concern is to do what we must to ensure the continuance of our freedoms which we believe are better protected under the current Westminster System of Constitutional Monarchy.
Indeed, our democracy has been so stable and so secure under the protection of The Crown, that today few people give thought to what would happen should The Crown be removed. As it is, politicians are almost daily eroding our freedoms and values have changed so much that people today have scant regard for discipline and virtually no respect for the institutions of Government. This irreverent mood pervading the public, and particularly the younger generations, is the same mood that seems to be bolstering the polls in favour of a Rudd Government. It will be this mood that will also drive the push towards constitutional change regardless of the consequences. It should be noted that Kevin Rudd was recently reported in the UK press as having stated that should he become Prime Minister he will hold a referendum on a republic by 2010, just two years away!
PREPARING FOR WHAT IS TO COME
I believe that the next fight, whether sooner or later, will be fought mainly on the internet and will be decided largely by the younger generations. Ms Pat Woodley will be in charge of training our younger members for media presentations which will occur initially in Sydney and then in the other States. Young people, interested in participating in this programme, are urged to put their names forward.
May I say that, when the time comes, it is my earnest hope and prayer – as it has always been - that those organisations which are opposed to a republic will all work together each in their own way contributing towards a united opposition against those who would seek to destabilise our cherished democracy under The Crown in this our nation where, to quote Oliver Goldsmith “wealth and freedom reign.”
With every good wish, Yours sincerely,
Philip Benwell National Chairman
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