Talking about manipulating language to deceive?

Here's another perspective on the same issue:

http://abc.net.au/news/2010-07-28/35542

We've certainly come a long way in this discussion.
From the comments thus far it seems that we still
have a long way to go. I am certain that Australia
will eventually become a republic. To become a
republic that maintains responsible government will take
time, considered thought and debate.

In the very long term an Australian Head of State will be
inevitable. It is important to get it right.

A YouGov poll in July 2020 found that 62% of respondents
supported replacing the monarch with an Australian Head
of State.

What will be, will be.

Thank You to everyone who contributed to this discussion.
Undoubtedly it will continue for some time yet.

Paul,
Whatever it is you’re smoking/imbibing it’s time to lay off a bit.

I still don't see the necessity for a head of state. To mix a metaphor the head is merely another mouth at the public trough.

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Dear David f,

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You wrote :

« I still don't see the necessity for a head of state. To mix a metaphor the head is merely another mouth at the public trough »
.

The head of state of our old colonial Constitutional Monarchy seems to play a largely fairy tale role that apparently pleases many people in Australia.

That’s probably worth paying for.

We would obviously lose that if we created a republic. Instead of the British Crown as the head of state, we would have a president – probably a democratically elected president. With what powers ? That is debatable.

But, again, you could ask : do we need a president ? What for ?

I guess for the same reason that major corporations need a Chairman and CEO, that armies need a general, that ships need a captain, and that airplanes need a pilot, …

We’ll certainly all be heartbroken when our fairy tale queen finally leaves us forever, and we’ll all shed a tear, but the country is strong and robust and will continue to thrive without her.

She inherited us and we inherited her – neither of us had any choice in the matter – and we got along fine together. But that will be the end of the fairy tale. That’s where it will end.

The next phase of our development is not going to be a fairy tale. It will require competent leadership – and biological inheritance in stately palaces on the other side of the world is not the best method of acquiring it.

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Dear Banjo,

I am a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. The United States does not have a head of state. Australia does. The United States at the moment is in a mess.However, they would be in more of a mess if they had a head of state. They would have to find a use for that person.

The United States government is divided into three separate parts - an executive branch headed by the president, a judicial branch comprising the courts and a legislative branch comprising the Congress.

The Australian government is divided into two separate parts - a combined executive and legislative branch called parliament where part of the parliament acts as the executive and all the parliament serves as a legislature and a judicial branch comprising the courts.

Except for the incident in which the governor general turfed out the prime minister I know of no necessary function the ceremonial head of state served in Australia, and it is questionable whether that was a necessary function.

The United States is the result of a revolution which rid itself of the English crown and felt no need to replace it by a ceremonial head of state. If Australia became a republic I see no reason for a ceremonial head of state. It just seems to me a vestige of Ausrlia's status as colony. The head of state does not seem to me to serve a useful purpose.

In the US the president serves as the executive. In Australia a member of parliament serves as executive. If Australia became a republic it would retain the Westminster system, and a member of parliament would contine to serve as the executive. There would be no need for a president.