Australian Monarchist League -

Less than one percent of Australians, including those who may boast of a keen sense of national pride, have actually read their Constitution from cover to cover.

Most look on the Constitution and matters relating to it as one of the most least interesting subjects and it is no wonder that in 1988 the Hawk Constitutional Commission found that almost 50% of all Australians were unaware that Australia even had a written Constitution and by 1994 the Keating Government's Civics Expert Group found that 82% of Australians knew absolutely nothing about the content of the Constitution.

I liken the Constitution to a clock. You tell the time from it. You rely upon it, but you haven't a clue how to put the different parts together to make it work.

And yet the Australian people, unschooled in our system of Government are being asked to make a decision which will not only affect them, but on how their children and their children's children will be governed.

In an environment where issues need to be explained, we are seeing an increasingly emotive argument revolving around the concept of our system of an Absent Monarchy giving rise to such statements as "We want an Australian as our Head of State".

Whilst this argument did win votes at the Constitutional Convention, Australians now have the chance of realising that what is actually meant is the removal of our Constitutional Crown which essentially contains the power of the Constitution as an independent umpire to protect the People from the excesses of Government and the transfer of that power to a President who will be a cipher of the Prime Minister. The very politicians our present system seeks to protect us against.

My message today is primarily directed towards those who are able to vote in the Referendum to remember that this is the most important vote you will make in your lifetime.

I ask that you study the issues and not just listen to the emotional arguments, however strongly they may appeal to your sense of nationalism for the decision you make will affect generations to come.

I ask that you consider what our Constitution and the Crown actually mean.

I ask that you consider what has made Australia, which is one of the World's youngest nations into one of the World's oldest democracies.

Our Constitution is in reality a contract of Federation uniting our six States which themselves each enjoy total separate sovereignty directly under their own independent Crowns.

It is uniquely Australian - devised by our Founding Fathers one hundred years ago and from the time of the Statute of Westminster of 1931, which followed a series of Imperial Conferences, the British Government has had no formal influence whatsoever over Australia.

Whilst our Constitution has been based on the Westminster system it incorporates the ideal of a Senate from the USA, the principles of Federation from Canada and the concept of referendums from Switzerland.

However the very essence of the Constitution is contained in The Crown of the United Kingdom which from 1953 also became the individual and separate Crown of Australia.

It is a Crown that has been able to separate itself to individually and uniquely embody the principle of democracy protecting the People against the excesses of Government.

It is though our Constitutional Crown that Australians enjoy the Laws and indeed all of the intrinsic rights and liberties enshrined within the practice of the Westminster System.

The proposals to change our Constitutional Monarchy to a Republican Presidential system of Government are essentially a "tippexing" out of The Queen and the Governor General, replacing those words with "President".

Whilst this sort of simplistic format is thought to be easier to "sell" to the People, in reality it is rather like trying to fit a square piece of wood in a round hole.

Constitutional Monarchies and Republics are two entirely different systems and are totally incompatible.

One of the areas of very great concern we have is that should the Referendum succeed and we become a republic implanted onto our existing Constitution, we will be handing all the Reserve Powers hitherto exercised by the independent umpire of The Crown to an unrestrained and potentially "political" President.

For under the proposed Republican Model The Crown will be removed and its powers assumed by a President who will be appointed for a five year term by a two thirds majority of the members of Parliament at a joint sitting on the nomination of the Prime Minister which must be seconded by the Leader of the Opposition.

However under the Model a President can be dismissed by the Prime Minister "at will" subject only to obtaining approval by a majority of the House of Representatives within thirty days - a foregone conclusion as the Prime Minister would already command a majority except in the case of a minority government.

There are also legal issues which I won't delve into too deeply, but suffice it to say that we believe that there are major legal impediments to change to our Constitution.

The first is that our Constitution is in reality a schedule to the Constitution Act of 1901 under which the six former British Colonies had agreed to unite "in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown".

Whilst Section 128 - our Referendum process - allows amendments to be made to the Constitution it has no jurisdiction over the Constitution Act, which is an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

However the British Parliament no longer has any jurisdiction over our laws which means that that body cannot repeal or amend it.

We believe that to become a republic it would be necessary to obtain the agreement of a majority of the people in all States or at least all the Parliaments of all States.

Potentially serious matters that we believe the Government should have attended to before proceeding to a referendum.

Australia Business in Europe has a difficult task ahead of it and whilst it is regrettable that Britain had moved away from its trading arrangements with the Commonwealth and into European Union, do you seriously think that having a President will suddenly make things all right?

Britain is the largest investor into Australia. We are one of the major trading partners with Britain.

We send each other in excess of half a million tourists each year.

Australia is a safe and secure country in which to invest because of our constitutional stability. Change to a republic - especially on the model proposed - has inherent dangers that with the checks and balances on Government removed a forceful Prime Minister may push through legislation which could possibly lead to a constitutional crisis.

You may well say that this could not happen in Australia - but how many Governments - State and Federal have in the past gerrymandered electoral boundaries to remain in power?

The position of the States must also considered for there will doubtless be some States who may wish to remain Constitutional Monarchies even though there may be a Federal Republic.

There is no provision whereby Her Majesty can abdicate Sovereignty over any State and no means whereby the Federal Government can legislate against the wishes of a State.

Remove The Crown. Do you remove the indissolubility of the Union? Certainly unless ALL States agree to re-join under a Republic - we could well have the potential ingredients for secession.

My message to those who are urging us to get rid of The Queen is to develop a model which in every way matches the checks and the balances we currently enjoy under our current Constitution and then move for change. But please don't seek change for the sake of change.

The old nursery rhyme comes to mind:

For want of a nail , the shoe was lost:

For want of the shoe , the horse was lost;

For want of the horse , the rider was lost;

For want of the rider , the battle was lost;

For want of the battle , the kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a nail .

Don't lose the horse and eventually the Kingdom - in other words our constitutional stability - for the want of a nail - for the sake of change for change sake. Think, study and then decide for if we become a republic we will never - ever be able to return to a Constitutional Monarchy for the politicians will then have what they want for they will enjoy total and unrestrained power.

London - the 12th March 1999