Choking On Republic Red Herring

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday July 8, 1999

WANT a republic? Go to Kosovo. It is one in its own right. Or wrong. It should be available soon but at a very expensive price. Yugoslavia is/was a republic. Now it's surrounded by fragments of itself, such as Montenegro, Macedonia etc, all republics.

Or go perhaps to Ireland, or India or even Italy, full of tenors but short on tenure. They average a new leader about once a year. France is in the throes of its 5th republic and still hasn't got it right. Maybe Russia. Remember the mighty USSR? So many choices, so little time.

In fact, there are about 120 republics on this beautiful planet of ours. All of them are perfect - except for about 100 or so - and the rest haven't the same sense of independence that Australia has enjoyed for about the past 100 years. Now, Australian taxpayers have just footed a bill for over $50million on a ``convention". Just a down payment.

Get your head out of the sand and look at the facts. For example: a ``foreign Queen" does not rule Australia. She has no say in how we run our country. Our Constitution takes care of that. She is British born and bred, as were the vast majority of our own ancestors. The Queen is the perfect symbol because she is non-political and cannot be bought or sold. She doesn't tell the British Parliament how to run England. She doesn't tell us how to run Australia. Focusing on a ``foreign Queen" is a republican red herring which they want filleted. Don't be misled.

I've always felt free and independent, because our system, as we know it, is almost foolproof. I say almost because we can't always be held responsible for the weird vagaries of some of our politicians. But the remedy is firmly in our hands ... through the ballot box. All without bloodshed. There's enough being spilt on the sportsgrounds of the world without adding to it by dividing our nation.

- P A FOSTER, Wollongong.

© 1999 Illawarra Mercury

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