Dostoevsky talked about the Nihilist Communists that wanted to destroy all things traditional in The Demons of the 1870's. I guess that Foxy might be edging towards a similar position- if she isn't there already.

CM,

These references to obscure Russians novelists and alike, is that you way of big noting yourself on this little forum. Do you think your far right fan club in the peanut gallery have read your coffee table novel. Heck, they are flat out getting through their Marvel Comic collection, let alone blokes writing in Russian.

BTW, Foxy is not out to destroy all that Britishness of yours.

Foxy,

Most Australians are of British heritage, the language is English, the laws are based on English law, the sports are English. Aus is sovereign and independent as are adult children from their parents.

I am not anti-British.

I am pro-Australian!

There is a subset in this country who consider themselves
"British" by ancestry or birth if they've never been
naturalized or become citizens. But they are NOT -

a) Australian.

or

b) In the majority.

There are many white Australians who have ancestry from the
British Isles but would NOT consider themselves British,
including those who had parents or grandparents born in
England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Then there's
a big proportion of that group who are of Irish ancestry.

Dear Paul,

I can understand these people - who still yearn for the
emotional or institutional connection or identify themselves
with Britain. Their "national pride" can be attributed to a
hang-over from their parents who were force-fed nationalism
at breakfast.

But not everyone is a twat.

The world is full of good and not so good people. We are not
born bad. We are not to be held accountable for the
indiscretions of our ancestors but we must always understand
and learn from their misdeeds in the hope that they will
never happen again.

The British Empire was bad. It's colonialism was bad.

These are not unique to England. These are political power-grab
ideologies that exist all over the world. The majority of us
do NOT favour these histories and their after maths.

The final constitutional ties between the UK and Australia
ended in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986. Due
to Australia's history as a colony of Britain - the two nations
share threads of cultural heritage - many of which are common
to all English speaking countries.

As for Canum Malum?

I feel sorry for him. The sun has set on his glory many years
ago. I pity him. He keeps beating the same old drum. But -
that's all he's got.
Lets let him be.

shadow minister,

Back to the question of - Australia still being under
British rule that you raised:

We are a completely sovereign nation that makes its own
laws and pursues its own economic and social interests in
our region of the world.

Taken from the web:

"Since the 1970s when PM of the time, Gough Whitlam abolished
Privy Council of Britain and established the High Court of
Australia as the highest court of appeal (the High Court
already existed but abolishing the Privy Council in Britain
paved the way for the High Court to become the highest court
of appeal). The monarchy had been stripped back to nothing
more than a ceremonial role and Australia will undoubtedly
become a republic in the not too distant future."

"Technically the Queen still has to sign off on changes to our
laws and to the constitution. But this is not physically done
by the Queen but done by a PM or Premier (at state level),
elected Governor (at state level), and Governor-General at
federal level. All of whom MUST hold full Australian
citizenship (not British)."

"So, basically the Queen's rep is an Australian. In fact there
has been a recent debacle within our Parliament and ministers
who had dual British/Australian citizenship being ousted from
Parliament. That is, any representative in Parliament MUST
denounce their dual citizenship and be a full citizen of
Australia."

I assume to ensure their commitment to the country and to
ensure no conflict of interest.

Britain today is seen as just another allie of our country these
days, like America, NOT as having any REAL or tangible
connection to the running of our country and, as stated earlier,
our economic and social interests in the Pacific.

The Republic debate looms large over Australia. My guess is that
within the next 10 years (or less) we will either be well on our
way to becoming a republic or already BE A REPUBLIC.

Foxy,

There is no conflict between what either of us said.