Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reaffirmed his support for an Australian republic and explained how a two-vote system could lead to a successful referendum, though he does not see it taking place during the Queen’s lifetime.
Speaking at the 25th anniversary dinner of the Australian Republican Movement, the Prime Minister called for a two-vote system for residents to decide whether the country should break away from Britain and the monarchy, and how an Australian head of state would be elected.
“I am an Australian and proud to say so. Our head of state should be someone who can say the same,” Mr Turnbull said at the event.
Mr Turnbull co-founded and led the movement ahead of the failed 1999 referendum on Australia’s rule. He said a vote on republican rule should be less confusing than the last attempt, which raised questions over how a head of state would be elected, ABC News reported.
His two-vote model for a new referendum would see Australia first hold a vote on whether an Australian head of state should be elected by MPs or by the public, before holding a referendum on whether or not the country should change the constitution to allow it to break away from Britain.
“We would need an advisory plebiscite which offered a choice of two republican models, preferably direct election and parliamentary appointment [of the president],” he said.
“Australian people need to feel like they chose the model,” he added. “The clear lesson is that you cannot succeed in any referendum, let alone one that goes to touchstones of national identity, if the proposal is not seen and understood by the Australian people as one over which they all have ownership.”
But the Australian Prime Minister said he believed a referendum would not take place in the Queen’s lifetime.
“The vast majority of Australians have known no other head of the state than the Queen,” he said in his speech, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“I do not believe Australians would welcome, let alone support, another public referendum during her reign,” he said.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said on twitter that his offer “still stands” over the issue following Mr Turnbull’s speech, stating: “Let’s work together to deliver an Australian head of state”. But his support on the matter did not stop him criticising the Prime Minister: “Climate change, marriage equality, housing affordability, new Republic too hard for Turnbull. Time for the PM to lead his party, not follow,” he tweeted.
Days before his speech at the anniversary dinner Mr Turnbull’s approval rating was shown to have dropped to its lowest level since he became Prime Minister, The Guardian reported.
