Fellow Commonwealth commoners rejoice, for Prince Charles is set to blossom into King Charles III at his coronation ceremony this Saturday! His wife will become Queen Camilla.
It would seem an opportune time for ’Stralia to consider its future, given the significance.
At what point does this country become a grown up, learn how to budget, cook and clean for itself and leave home?
While we rummage under the couch for a sense of maturity and identity, the Windsor family, as they are now known, have enormous influence on Australia as our ‘Head of State’.
The Constitution provides the Governor-General powers to act in the interests of the UK monarch.
The GG can, and does, intervene with Australian affairs.
It happened in 1975 with the Gough Whitlam dismissal.
Current Governor-General, David Hurley, secretly appointed the former Liberal PM to multiple ministries a few years back.
This was only made public after Murdoch-employed courtier ‘journalists’ – Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers – went public with that info to sell their shitty book.
Hurley has avoided any real scrutiny or consequence for this act, which in a just world could be considered treason, because it undermines democracy and enables tyranny.
If that’s not a good reason to abolish the position of Governor-General, then what is?
Another reason, perhaps, is that Hurley’s wife, Linda, has a fondness for a bit of a sing-song at functions and insists guests participate.
Anyway back to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.
King George V (1865–1936) changed his family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917, because pledging allegiance to a German king while being at war with the Germans is a confusing message.
Thankfully, for the king, the British subjects forgot, weren’t told, or just didn’t care because they were busy with World War I.
Perhaps this was the greatest flaw of his faithful British subjects – they valued loyalty over common sense.
As crazy as the French are, they would never have put up with that.
A guillotine would be rolled out in a heartbeat.
The Brits, on the other hand, seem to need a figurehead to look up to, and are unwilling to search for the kingdom within.
For Saturday’s king-and-queen coronation, The BBC reports that the public are invited to swear allegiance to the king and his heirs.
In response, The Australian Republic Movement proposes its own pledge:
‘I swear that my loyalty is to the Australian people and Australian values of equality, democracy and meritocracy.
‘I pledge to stand against hereditary entitlement and commit to the realisation of these values in our Constitution so that all elected offices under the law, including our Head of State are accountable to the Australian people.
‘As I pledge today, I look forward to the day when Australia’s Head of State is also bound to swear loyalty to us, rather than the other way around’.
Hans Lovejoy, editor
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