Very good article Peter.

Another contrast of integrity between the republicans and monarchists. The republicans said they'd not protest and the monarchists handing out 'God Save the Queen'. If they did coax part of the crowd to keep singing, how does that serve the unifying role the Queen is supposed to have. Knavish tricks indeed.

Can someone please explain to me why we apparently have only two options - monarchy or republic?

Response to Ev:

A constitutional monarchy is where there is a soverign who rules according to law.

A republic is a state which the soverign held authority granted by the people and ruled according to law.

It's the people who are asking to be sovereign, and sofar no other claimants to Australian soverignty.

I am an admirer of a woman who has obeyed the call of duty most of her long life.
There has been a long parade of Presidents who have come and gone during her reign. They are a bunch of no bodies now.[no pun intended]
She has gained the respect of millions, hurt no one in her path and should be an inspiration of how to walk such a difficult path without a wobble.
There is no one who can take her place so it is inevitable that we will become a republic.
Then we will have a parade of short lived Presidents who will become no bodies-but expensive no bodies.
There is a huge difference.

Oh Mick spare me please! Tell me what makes the Queen so noble besides her birthright? She has done Zero for Australia, let alone the world. The entire royal family peddle around doing nothing for the cost of billions and the lessening of possible democracy. Now I am by no means defending the legacy of other political leaders past and present, but great the Queen is not.

I prefer to judge those according to the difference their existence has made. I am sick and tired of people regarding the lives of the famous as significant and worth honouring simply b/c they are famous. It is the same point with Packer. As Richard Walsh said regarding his 'legacy': "it is truly appalling that our residual sense of sadness can be channelled by the Packer interests and its claquers to raise him to the kind of herioc stature that his life doesn't justify. In some ways he unfortunately represents all that is wrong with contemporary Australia". A tad off topic I know, but you see the point.

jkenno, tell me what the long line of recent presidents/prime ministers have done for the world. A fine display of yesterdays roosters, today's feather dusters.
We no longer call the UK 'home' but for many of us, the relationship,as with the USA, is still valid.
We have moved on, grown up,made a new life but some bonds still linger.Bonds not ties. There is a difference.
There are fond memories of a past with a lady we all respect who was, is still our Queen. She has done us no harm.