Dear Editor,

Do we really want Australia to become a republic?

Let’s start looking at the alphabet of countries which are republics: Algeria, Belarus, (both) Congos, the Democratic Republic of…, or even more virtuous-sounding, the Democratic People’s Republic of…need I go on?

Surely what we really want is to remove anyone who is not an Australian citizen from the procedures of government while still preserving the Westminster system of government which has ensured the liberty, equality and fraternity (vive l’Australie!) which have made our country one of the most stable and envied in the world?

Under our constitution, our monarch (not an Australian citizen) is empowered to appoint (or terminate the appointment of) the Governor-General of Australia on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

My proposal is that this power should instead be exercised by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Surely we can trust the person at the apex of the judicial branch of government with that responsibility?

All chief justices, like all judges and justices, are supposed to be impartial and to uphold our laws and constitution. It may be argued that this would be introducing political issues into the judiciary but surely this regularly happens with cases brought before the High Court which ask the court to decide on constitutional issues?

Substituting the chief justice for the monarch in this matter need not mean that the concept of the Crown disappears from Australian public life, I would argue that the Crown will now represent the sovereignty of the Australian people over itself.

Queen Elizabeth II (and her successors) will remain as the head of the Commonwealth of Nations, a world-wide organisation in which Australia would remain a leading member.

Am I missing something, because what I see as a straight-forward change of governmental procedure with the minimum of fuss, achieves the twin aims of complete self-government of our nation while preserving the political institutions which have served us so well.

How say you Australia?

Patrick Berends
Parap