Australia republic ‘no time soon’
28 August 2015 by News Desk
Most people in Australia do not want the country to become a Republic.
Recent polls show only 39.4% of people support moves to replace The Queen as head of state in Australia, a figure that has fallen to a 20-year low, according to a poll by ReachTEL.
More people aged between 18 and 35 are against a republic than support it, with the growing popularity of younger Royals, particularly the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, and Prince Harry fuelling a well-spring of support to maintain the status quo. The poll showed that over 60% of Aussies were either against Australia becoming a republic or had no opinion on the issue.
Calls for Australia to ditch The Queen have been made again this week with government Treasurer Joe Hockey breaking ranks and leading the charge for a republic.
But Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Australia will remain a constitutional monarchy for the foreseeable future. He told reporters: “One of the problems with the republican argument is that it suggests there’s some lack of maturity, some lack of independence in our system, and I don’t believe that most Australians think that’s the case. I don’t think there’s anything small about us now and I don’t think there’s any lack of standing on our own two feet.”
There are more than 100 republic countries in the world. Many are mired by corruption, are dictatorships or one-party states.
