| The description “British Queen” is used by republicans to deride what we are, which is a sovereign and independent nation, ‘under The Crown’. When we refer to The Queen in an Australian sense, we refer to her as Queen of Australia, not as Queen of Canada or Papua New Guinea or any of the other Realms. The fact that Her Majesty is Queen of sixteen Realms does not effect our day to day operations in Australia for, following appointment, the Governor-General assumes the constitutional authority of The Crown in Australia. Furthermore, we do not pay a salary or expenses to The Queen.
The fact that The Queen is Queen of Australia does not mean that we take instructions from the British Government. We do not. It is our Government which makes requests of The Queen in so far as Australian affairs are concerned. Again, the proof that The Queen is subject to the will of the Australian people can be found in the fact that it was they, not the British, who had to decide on whether to retain The Queen or not.
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