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Australia is the greatest country in the World in which to live
Help us to keep it great
What is the Australian Monarchist League:
The Australian Monarchist League was founded in 1943 to support the role of the Crown in Australia's constitutional system. It was originally affiliated with the International Monarchist League, but severed ties with that organization in 1993. (#see our Charter)
The League has some 2,500 members across Australia, and claims an additional 20,000 supporters. Due to its no-nonsense approach on the position of The Crown in the Australian Constitution and its indefatigable support of The Queen and the Prince of Wales, it has, over recent years, attracted large numbers of young people and has been modifying its operations to cater to their particular interests, including the establishment of a Forum at <www.monarchist-league.com.au>.
The Australian Monarchist League has Branches in each State and the ACT, and is headquartered in Sydney. It is a not-for-profit organisation and all office bearers, including the National Chairman/CEO, are elected by the membership and serve on a voluntary basis. The League receives no public or corporate funding whatsoever and is financed solely by subscriptions and contributions from its members. Anyone subscribing to the concept of Constitutional Monarchy in Australia is welcome to join the League. Annual Membership is A$30 or A$15 concession. All monies received are receipted. <see Membership form>
The League recently established a Trust with a number of prominent Australian businessmen as Trustees. The purpose of the Trust is to raise and invest substantial contributions to be used only in the event of a plebiscite and/or future referendum.
It was the third largest grouping at the Constitutional Convention and played a very important role in the 'No Republic' campaign during the lead up to Australia's 1999 Republic Referendum which was defeated with 54.4% of electors voting 'NO' nationally. The Referendum also failed in all States.
The website of the League <www.monarchist.org.au> is a popular source of information on the Australian Constitution and on the Westminster system in general. The League describes Australia is the best country in the World attributing this to its unique heritage and above all its Constitution which was devised and developed by Australians exclusively for Australia.
The National Chairman and (unpaid) Chief Executive Officer of the League is Philip Benwell MBE who is the author of In Defence of Australia's Constitutional Monarchy, (ISBN 0-7734-6696-7) which was published by Mellen Press in 2003. Benwell is also the author of numerous Papers, several of which deal with what he terms the dangers to the British Crown by the European Union. He is a popular speaker at gatherings both in Australia and internationally and has spoken on several occasions to meetings in the House of Lords. Benwell has been the subject of a vicious attack in the Australian media but continues to receive the support and endorsement of the League’s membership.
The Australian Monarchist League has an impressive number of Patrons, the first of which was the late Dame Pattie Menzies GBE, wife of former Australian Prime Minister international Statesman, Sir Robert Menzies.
Contact information is as follows:
The Australian Monarchist League P O Box 1068, Double Bay 1360 Email: secretary@monarchist.org.au Message/Fax line: 02 9328 6274
We unashamedly admit that our Constitution is based on British Principles. We are indeed fortunate that our Founding Fathers had taken the ideal of Westminster as the nexus for our own Constitution and see nothing wrong in having as our Sovereign, the Queen of fifteen other Commonwealth Nations. (#see Commonwealth Realms)
The Australian Monarchist League has committed itself to defending The Crown whenever it may come under attack. We will oppose in whatever legitimate way we can any attempt to destroy the integrity of our Constitutional Monarchy and our democratic way of life. (#see democracy)
Democracy means ‘Government by the People’ taken from the Greek ‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratos’ meaning power.
In those early days democracy was exercised by the elite of the People through popular assemblies, but as that elite grew in numbers and as the privilege of voting was extended to all people, it made sense to elect representatives to make decisions for all. However, as a result of excessive control by Parliaments and politicians, who now generally follow the ‘party’ line rather than the ’will’ of the people, there are in fact very few true democracies, in the proper sense, in the world today.
In the United Kingdom a particular form of Government called ‘the Westminster System’ developed over several centuries based on the concept of the separation of power into independent entities each exercising an individual Authority and each providing a check and a balance on each other.
Australia has, through its Constitutional arrangements (#see The Australian Constitution) achieved a fine democratic balance between the Parliament and the People with power held in trust for the People by The Crown.
The Constitution of Australia came into force on the 1st of January 1901 as an Act of the British Parliament combining the six Colonial States into a one Federation.
The Constitution was drafted by Australians with the specific intention of binding the then separate States into an indissoluble union under The Crown. (#see The Crown)
It was essentially based on the British Westminster System but deviated to ensure that constitutional change could be effected only by a referendum of the people and not by parliament itself, thus ensuring that total sovereignty of the Constitution rested solely with the People. (#see Constitution of Australia)
Republicans say that change to a republic is just a simple matter of changing The Crown for a President.
However of all the former British Colonies, it is only those Dominions, such as Australia, which have retained The Crown, which have been able to keep their freedoms and democracy intact.
What is so important about The Crown that makes republicans and particularly politicians intent on removing it?
In a Republic, Civil and Military Authority is vested in the State, which is controlled by Parliament, whereas in Australia such Authority is ultimately protected from political control because it is vested in The Crown which is responsible to the People. This was why the People and not Parliament alone had to vote on the proposal for constitutional change in 1999.
The Queen and Her Representative, the Governor-General are, in effect, Trustees of our Constitution. The hereditary principle of the Monarchy and the appointment and dismissal of the Governor-General by The Queen, although always on the recommendation and at the request of the Prime Minister, effectively protect the system from total political control.
Whilst the process may seem to be anachronistic and even cumbersome, it is nevertheless a system well tried and proven and one which has made Australia, one of the youngest nations, the seventh oldest democracy in the World.
Who is Australia’s Head of State?
The soundest authority on constitutional matters is, we believe, former Chief Justice Sir Harry Gibbs who has written “There is strong argument that the Governor-General, although the representative of The Queen, is the Head of State of Australia. It must be remembered that the expression “Head of State” does not appear in the Constitution and is an expression which is strictly used in international rather than domestic affairs”.
Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy which does not have a 'Head of State' as such, which is why there is no reference to this term in our Constitution.
Whilst republics have Heads of State, Australia has a Head of Government together with a Sovereign and the Sovereign’s representative, the Governor General, who upon Appointment assumes all the executive and ceremonial responsibilities of The Crown and, as such, exercises similar duties to that of a non executive Head of State in republican countries.
What is a Republic?
The Oxford English Dictionary description of a Republic is “A State in which supreme power is held by the People or its elected representatives or by elected or nominated president, not by monarch etc.”.
Whilst most republics cannot be compared with such former dictatorships as Iraq and Afghanistan, it would be true to say that the majority do not possess the sort of genuine democracy that we enjoy in Australia.
The likelihood for political abuse, as in so many ‘Third World’ countries, and the overt control of the political process by big business, such as in the USA, are far more likely to happen under a republic than under a Constitutional Monarchy. This is because under a Republic politicians have unfettered control of their constitutional arrangements, whereas under a Constitutional Monarchy such as in Australia where power is vested in The Crown, our politicians are restrained from assuming absolute control over our Constitution.
What will change if Australia becomes a republic?
We will have a President instead of The Queen and the Governor-General, but there will be no material benefit whatsoever. Indeed, quite the reverse as no republican has put forward any sensible reason why there should be constitutional change. Some say we must become a republic to enhance trade in Asian , but common sense dictates that in trade only three things really count: quality, availability and price. They also very conveniently fail to recognise that many of our trading neighbours in the Asia-Pacific Region are themselves monarchies! Others say “we want an Australian Head of State”, but ignore the fact that many senior republicans, including former Prime Minister Paul Keating, say that the Governor-General is Head of State.
What they mean is that they don’t want The Queen and they don’t want Prince Charles to be our future King. In Australia we have what is called an: 'Absent Monarchy' which means that The Queen does not reside in Australia, but then we do not pay for Her Majesty’s upkeep or day to day security, which we would have to do at enormous cost, were we to have a President. In fact the expenses of the Governor-General are far, far less than they would be for a President whose overheads would be many, many millions more than we currently pay.
If the President is to be elected by the Parliament, the foremost consideration would be that he or she would not oppose the political party in power. If the President is elected by the people, however, his or her presidential campaign would need to be well funded which would obviously the support of big business which, quite naturally, would expect a ‘quid-pro-quo’ which in itself would disturb the neutrality of the Office as exists under our current system.
During the recent Visit of The Prince of Wales, the republicans could only harness a handful of people at vantage points to promote their agenda. There were no large crowds in support of a republic anywhere which proves that there is no interest amongst the general public whatsoever for constitutional change.
It therefore does not make sense that whenever there is a Royal Visit, whether by The Queen or as recently occurred, by the Prince of Wales, the Labor Leader, Kim Beasley, in appalling bad taste, proclaims that if he were Prime Minister Australia would be a republic!
What he does not say is that should Australia become a Republic, absolute power will pass to the politicians not from The Queen or the Governor-General, but from the People themselves as this ‘power’ is always exercised by The Crown in the name of the People.
It is because The Crown withholds this ‘power’ from them that Labor proposes to spend many hundreds of millions of taxpayer’s dollars for a series of plebiscites and referendums which they openly admit will be designed to surreptitiously wear down any opposition to their objective.
A Labor Government will have the support of the media and big business to help them achieve their goal to force us to become a republic. The Australian Monarchist League must therefore rely solely upon those who are loyal to Australia and to the Constitution, which is why we appeal to you to support our cause to ‘Keep Australia Great’.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
By joining our organisation (#see Membership Form)
By joining our email information list (#email us with your details)
By making a contribution (#see Membership/Contribution Form)
By gifting:
* A parcel of shares * A property * Other assets * Remembering us in your will (#see bequest information)
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The Charter of The Australian Monarchist League The Australian Monarchist League is a fraternity of like minded individuals who fervently believe that Australia's Constitutional Monarchy protects the democracy of the nation and the freedom of the Australian People as no other system of government can do. It is thus our principal purpose is to retain The (Australian) Crown in the (Australian) Constitution. On this there is and can never be any compromise. The League has no association or involvement whatsoever with any political party or social, religious or cultural organization and exists solely to retain The Crown in our Constitution. In 1999 a Referendum was held to determine the will of the People on the issue of Constitutional Change. The Referendum was defeated by a nation-wide majority as well as by all six States. On no other occasion has a defeated referendum been re-visited on the People and we question the motives of politicians and the media in their attempts to do so. We will use every legal means possible to resist attempts to force a republic upon the Australian People. Until the People may decide otherwise Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy with The Queen as our Monarch. The Australian Monarchist League believes that Her Majesty should be honoured and respected as our Sovereign and we will actively condemn any form of disrespect or vilification of The Queen or of members of the Royal Family. Furthermore we will campaign actively against moves by Federal, State and Local Governments, by government and quasi government institutions, by 'Royal' and other organizations or indeed by anyone, to denigrate our Constitutional Monarchy such as removing monarchical symbols and Oaths of Allegiance to The Queen. We do not accept the 'inevitability' of a republic nor will we entertain any concessions to accommodate republicans which may serve to denigrate the status of The Crown in our Constitution. The Australian Monarchist League is an Unincorporated Association governed by its 'Rules of Performance' (Model Rules). Under these rules the Chief Executive Office is the National Chairman, who is the administrator and principal spokesperson for the League. The National Chairman is an elected and totally voluntary office. State Branches are established in each State and are headed by a State Chairman and supported by an elected Committee. |
