THE "NO" CASE AGAINST A REPUBLIC ,

AND FOR OUR CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

People do not make constitutions to give politicians power. People make constitutions to deny rogue politicians power. The most important function of a constitution is to give the People the opportunity to get rid of rogue politicians quickly and easily, without a revolution, but with a free and fair election by which the acceptability of the government can be tested.

In days of yore the Crown represented total power. Today it represents the denial of total power. No wonder the republicans want to get rid of it in their grab for power.

The Reserve Powers of our Crown have only been used twice in our history to rid ourselves of rogue Governments - the Lang Government in NSW, and the Whitlam Government in Canberra. On both occasions the People agreed with the use of the Reserve Powers of our Crown as reflected in the subsequent elections.

The key to the success of our Constitution is our Crown. We, the People of Australia, chose our Crown by referendum. It was not forced on us by England. We put our Crown at the head of all our great Departments of State, and while our Crown is there no rogue politician can be the head. This makes our Crown the ultimate and untouchable guarantee of all our freedoms, and this is why the republicans' power grab wants you to get rid of your Crown.

The Queen of England is not our Head of State as claimed by the republicans. This can be verified on the Palace Web Site. The Queen is our Sovereign at our request, and she reigns but does not rule over us.

Heads of State live in their own countries and are paid, transported, housed, feted and defended by their own countries. They have a hands-on daily role in the government of their own countries, and when they travel overseas they represent their own countries. The Queen does none of these things for Australia, our G-G does them all.

The British Queen was stripped of the powers of the Australian Crown on 1st January 1901, and no Monarch visited us for our first 54 years. When she did our Parliament had to return some powers to her so that she could perform the formal functions we had asked of her. She only has these powers when she is personally in Australia and at the same time the G-G keeps all his powers. This situation has never been abused.

The essentials for our free, advancing, democratic society are:-

First: a simple and cheap method of appointing an apolitical Head of State. On appointment by our democratically elected Prime Minister our Governor-General is sworn in to govern for all the People, without fear or favour, without affection or ill-will. If the G-G behaves in an unacceptable or political way, the PM can sack him immediately.

Second: a simple and cheap method of sacking a PM who becomes a rogue. Should this happen our G-G can sack the PM immediately, causing a free and fair election. Few things can be more democratic than a free and fair election.

Third: orderly, prescribed free and fair elections.

Fourth: Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament of almost equal power but with different electorates, to keep checks and balances on rogue Executive Governments.

Fifth: an Upper House specifically to protect the People and the States from a rogue Executive Government by reviewing, amending and initiating Legislation, and denying Supply to a rogue Executive Government.

Sixth: Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion, the Media and the Judicature.

We have all this already. If the republicans want us to throw out our Constitution, our Crown and our flag, then they must demonstrate that they have something better with which to replace them. The republicans must show how they will appoint and dismiss an apolitical Head of State as well as dismiss a rogue PM, without causing a revolution, civil war or festering hatreds.

As a congenial reminder of our remarkable constitutional development, the Queen appoints and removes our G-G and State Governors on the advice of our democratically elected PM and Premiers. This is another subtle little check and balance that would not be available in a republic. A rogue PM can be dismissed by our G-G, resulting in a free and fair election. All this is done at no extra cost, as opposed to the high cost republican models.

No matter what republican model is put up, they all mean that we must throw out our Crown, our Constitution and our flag, and replace them with a complicated, costly, unsatisfactory, unbalanced system, like one of the existing 156 republican countries in the world - none of which can hold a candle to Australia. There is no such thing as a "minimalist change", it is all or nothing.

Our Constitution has given us the most free and democratic country in the world. Unlike all other Constitutions, our Constitution has been put in the hands of the People. We can keep it safe and develop it for ourselves and our children, or we can let it fall forever to a republican power grab. VOTE NO TO ANY FORM OF REPUBLIC.

 

Glenister Sheil.

Queenslanders for a Constitutional Monarchy.