Australia’s left-wing prime minister has said that he will not hold a referendum on abolishing the monarchy – in his first term.
Anthony Albanese, the left-wing, anti-monarchy Prime Minister of Australia, has said that he will not hold a referendum on his country abandoning the British monarchy in the immediate wake of the Queen’s death.
It comes as other figures in Australia and other Commonwealth Realms push to have their countries become republics in response to the Queen’s death, with one Caribbean prime minister announcing he is planning a referendum on removing the monarchy before the late monarch has even been buried.
According to a report by Sky News, Albanese appears to be taking a cautious approach, reportedly telling the broadcaster that he has no intention of holding a vote to abolish the monarchy, at least in his first term.
Instead, the leftist politician said that now is the time to show gratitude to the deceased monarch for her “service to Australia, the Commonwealth and the world”.
“This is a period in which we are sharing the grief that so many Australians are feeling at the moment, showing our deep respect and admiration for the contribution of the Queen to Australia,” the Prime Minister reportedly said, while arguing that “the bigger questions about our constitution are not ones for this current period.”
However, while the Australian said that he would not be holding a referendum on the monarchy during his first term in office, he remained silent on whether or not he would consider such a referendum in the longer term.
Carnegie Mellon University Condemns Prof Uju Anya’s Tweets Wishing Queen Elizabeth II ‘Excruciating’ Deathhttps://t.co/fGpguDG9Z5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 10, 2022
Other leftist Australian politicians do not seem to agree with this tactic of delaying a push towards abolition, however, with Adam Bandt, the leader of the country’s Green Party, even going so far as to use his own statement supposedly expressing sorrow over the Queen’s death to push for his nation to dump the monarchy.
While extending his “thoughts” to the Queen’s “family and all who loved her”, Bandt went on to say that “Australia must move forward” in the wake of her death.
“We need Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic,” the politician wrote online.
Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth II.
Our thoughts are with her family and all who loved her.
Now Australia must move forward.
We need Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) September 8, 2022
Though the message has since been lambasted as “ignorant” and “graceless”, according to a report by The Guardian, anti-monarchists in Britain appear to have sensed blood in the water in the immediate wake of the Queen’s death as well, with one campaigner reportedly telling the newspaper that King Charles could be a softer target for activists when compared to his much-loved mother.
“The Queen was the monarchy for most people and has been all our lives. Charles will not inherit that level of deference and respect, and this really does change the whole dynamic,” one anti-monarchist reportedly said.
“Charles is a very different kettle of fish. If support was dropping anyway, it’s not going to go up,” the added.
he late Queen Elizabeth II warned against “unthinking people” seeking to throw away “ageless ideals” in an age of rapid change in her first-ever televised Christmas message in 1957.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 9, 2022
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