I came across this video, in which a young women states that if the Queen doesn't want to look after australia she should not be the Queen, and to let Australia be an independant country. Do you think Australia should be a republic? Do you think it would benefit Australia?

video

I think what benefits Australia is not the presence or absence of a monarch twelve thousand miles away but the stable, democratic system that was based on Australia's British heritage but then vastly improved by Australians.

The presence of a monarch, if it does anything, contributes to that stability.

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Yes, but that stability can be equally held by a governor general in the monarch's place.

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Isn't that exactly the situation now? Surely the Governor General is the Queen's representative in Canberra.

I think what you meant to say is that the stability can be equally held by a President, in which case I disagree.

After 40 years in England and 20 years in the United States I see more stability in a system where the Head of State is not a political animal.

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If you are not outraged, you are obviously not paying attention!

I think you misunderstand me, i am for minimalist change if any change at all. In other words, scrap the Queen and keep it how we have it. I prefer the Westminster Parliamentarian system above all and so the Gov. Gen would stay a figurehead role as head of state, as he is now.

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For God's sake no! They are descendants of criminals who would run amuck if it were not for strong control of a more civilized Great Briton. Why, they cannot even be trusted with guns. What would they do if they were suddenly forced to govern themselves. They are as willful children who need a strong parental symbol, which the Queen provides.

I agree but it's more than that. The Queen is a symbol of what we are as a nation and while it's up to the Aussies what they do I would suggest that they would be better off keeping her.

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I'm a fluffy bunny and a Muslim

Ha ha ha but I think the reason we kept the queen when there was quite a bit of debate about it in the 80's was because she brought plenty of tourists to London....and thank goodness we don't have your position on guns, but that's another issue entirely!

The Queen holds no significant power, if not any more than symbolic, over Australia. Australia is a sovereign nation. Also, the Queen holds no power over Britain or any of it's colonies, the monarch hasn't had that power for hundreds of years. Brush up on your history, guys.

She actually does, Javert, and she excercised it in Australia in the 1970s when she forced Gough Whitlam to call a general election when he refused to resign after a double dissolution.

She does not have the power to suspend parliament but she most certainly has the power to force a general election. If such power was questioned by the government of the day it would be enforced by the citizenry on her behalf.

Fortunately such a constititional disaster has not so far occurred.

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If you are not outraged, you are obviously not paying attention!