The arguments in Cooke's article are of the same type that were put by monarchists at the time of the Referendum - throw up so much dust about other perceived problems in the Constitution that it is hoped to confuse the electors . Monarchists argue that , unless all constitutional defects can be removed , it is better to remove none .
Object to a non - elected President , because the people must have their say in who becomes President . Then , object to an elected President , because the President will claim a mandate .
Therefore , Australians must be content with a non - elected foreigner in England for head of state , represented by a non - elected , usually [ but not necessarily ] Australian citizen in Yarralumla .
It is quite simple to amend the Constitution to provide for an Australian Head of State , whether elected or non - elected , who will exercise the same powers as are now exercised by the Governor General ,without posing any risk to democracy .

Given my article on the ABC website was a historical piece on Australia's developing nationhood, and didn't focus on the sort of republic we would have, this article is a beat-up.

Here is the relevant sections of the ARM policy:

"The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) recommends the following framework for an Australian republic.

"1. Australia’s Head of State to be an Australian citizen.
2. Australia’s Head of State to be a non-executive Head of State and to have powers like those of the current Governor-General.
3. Australia’s constitution to have all references to the Queen and the Monarchy removed and replaced with references to Australia’s Head of State.
4. Australia’s Head of State to be dismissed only by a significant majority vote of the Federal Parliament.


"The above framework will ensure that our existing parliamentary and federal system of government will continue to flourish regardless of the selection method. The ARM fully supports Australia remaining in the Commonwealth as a republic, as are the majority of Commonwealth nations.

"Selection Methods
The ARM supports the Australian people deciding on the appropriate selection method for Australia’s Head of State. Any of the following selection methods would work with the ARM’s recommended framework. These are methods that have featured in public debate over the last decade.


"1. Elected by the Australian people from a list of candidates nominated by the community.
2. Elected by the Australian people from a list of candidates nominated by the Federal Parliament.
3. Appointed by a two thirds majority of a joint sitting of both houses of the Federal Parliament.
4. Appointed by a constitutional council of eminent Australians such as former Governors and/or Governors-General.

"At present, polls indicate that a vast majority of Australians support the direct election of the Head of State in a republic. A number of options, including direct election, should be considered in the process leading up to the referendum. The ARM will support the selection method preferred by the Australian people and will campaign for it."

Cooke is also ignorant of our Constitution, in that we have a written Constitution - unlike the UK - which confers specific powers on our head of state, the monarch. As such, the monarch has far greater potential powers in Australia than it does in the UK.

To recap, ARM supports one of:
1. Elected by the Australian people from a list of candidates nominated by the community.
2. Elected by the Australian people from a list of candidates nominated by the Federal Parliament.
3. Appointed by a two thirds majority of a joint sitting of both houses of the Federal Parliament.
4. Appointed by a constitutional council of eminent Australians such as former Governors and/or Governors-General.

All but one of these methods limit the pool of candidates for which the public can vote to those selected by a group of "our betters" and that is something that really angers the majority of the public. The public want to choose, and that includes choosing the list of people from whom they will choose.

Something along the lines of requiring a potential candidate to be supported by a nomination petition of x% of the population would probably be acceptable to the majority. Were Option 1 to be proposed in this way, it will gain approval. However, if "the community" means something else, it will almost certainly fail.

Community means the Australian people.

I believe the key criteria for an Australian republic is restoring true accountability. Its quite clear that recent governments & bureaucracies have done their best to divorce themselves from the will of the people, and the obvious power grab by the PTB involved in the last republic referendum was more than sufficient to ensure its defeat. Personally I'd welcome a republic with open arms, but ONLY if I was assured that the inherent flaws in our systems of representation & justice would be fixed once and for all. Unfortunately I can see the republican issue being highjacked by politicians & bureaucrats focussed on further entrenching their positions, which is why I intend remaining on the monarchist side of the fence UNTIL OR UNLESS there is a very definite move to the better rather than the worse.