It's time for an Australian republic

[Hairday]

It's hard to defend it rationally, really, but Queen Elizabeth always seemed better than some elected person, but King Charles doesn't. What do you think?

I didn't know Eric Bana was Australian, I thought he was American, I've only seen him in roles where he had an American accent.

Also, stop invoking your DC to make me look bad, I did not insult your DC as I do not know them - or you - and didn't mention anything about anyone's children. I just said I don't like the Australian accent - I am allowed not to. I wasn't insulting or horrible (unlike some of the replies in response).

Common is a pretty loaded word if you didn't mean it as in insult

How is it controversial or offensive to say I don't have a preference for Australian accents?

I think you'll find there is a fairly broad range of Australian accents, in the same way people in the UK may speak like the late Queen, or they may speak like some bloke on Eastenders, or they may have a particular regional intonation, etc. I don't know anyone in Australia who speaks like the cast of Kath & Kim, and pronounces the word nice as "noice".

If every single realm went tomorrow would anyone care? I wouldn't. Countries should determine and decide for themselves.

While I struggle with the concept of a monarchy and am in favour of a republic, we are very dependent on the UK’s responsibility to members of the Commonwealth for defence.

Best suggestion on here by a long way. @Muststopeating for PM.

Although I think that @Keyansier ’s post was offensive and irrelevant, searching people’s previous posts is not on.

I'm Australian.
I think it will be slow but a republic will happen, probably in the next 10 years.
My children ( in their 20s) and most of their age group seem to have zero interest in the royal family and the monarchy.
The Queen was loved by many, so respected for her decades of service.
I just don't think there's the reverence for the rest of her family.

I’m not sure why people think the average Briton is at all invested in whether countries want to remain part of the Commonwealth. I believe that Charles has said that any country who wishes to leave would be helped to do so. It is his stated intention that the monarchy be slimmed down and you would imagine that a reduction in the number of countries in the Commonwealth (given that some do want to stay) would go hand in hand with this. But it is the choice of the countries themselves - no doubt if there were talk of disbanding it the same people who accuse us of “clinging onto” the Commonwealth would be saying that we were deserting them!

Oh, you know you were very insulting, which is why you said it. Haven't you got a bank to be furious with, for paying their respects to the Royal family?

@MrsFezziwig
Yes I remember Charles saying years ago that Australia should break away if its people wanted that outcome and that would be a good thing.
Our Australian PM said yesterday there wouldn't be a referendum in his first term of government ( if I remember correctly) so that's a few years away since he's only been in the job since May.

@Keyansier here you go, Eric is on from 1:28

Gorgeous!😍And I know he's good at accents so it's no problem, as he can just talk in a different one when we're in bed 😂 (a joke before anyone gets offended).

It shouldn't be taken as a rejection of Britain or anything like that. It just doesn't make a lot of sense in this day and age to have a King that doesn't live in the country.

There will still of course be historic and cultural links and really important collaboration on contemporary political issues, defence, the Five Eyes etc.

I think a few posters are mixed up between the Commonwealth and actually having the King as head of state. Australia can still be in the Commonwealth as a republic.

Geoffrey Robertson is in the Herald this morning suggesting we don’t need a head of state at all - interesting idea but would put a lot of political pressure on the High Court.

"If the governor-general is to be no more than a cipher for the prime minister, why not write him – and the royal family – out of the constitution entirely? Our elected leader could be sworn in by the chief justice – as in America – and the democratic process can be left to resolve itself according to accepted Westminster conventions subject to any necessary supervision by the High Court."

LOL. Nice try, Geoffrey. No.

I’m just laughing at the “I hate the Australian accent” as it’s just such a broad statement, like saying “I hate the British accent” when there are so many variants of both! I’ve lived in Sydney, Queensland and the NT and some Aussies have almost RP accents, right through all shades until the “yeah nah, the Roosters are a pile of wank, c’mon caaant, let’s go to the servo an get a sanga”. I love them all! It still makes my day if I hear someone bust out a g’day (rarer than people who haven’t been here, may think) and it made my year when I was in a pub and a bloke walked in to greet his friends with a hearty “hoo roo” (only ever heard that once)
i might be biased as I moved here from UK five years ago and it’s been the happiest 5 years of my life 🥰

I'm all for a republic. It's time to let go of the apron strings and move forward. It will also show that we are serious about having reconciliation with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However now is not the time and even Albo who is a staunch republican agrees with this. At the moment the priority is giving the Queen a respectful send off and the referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament.

As for Aussie accents well I've never said noice in my life (except if I'm doing Kath and Kim one liners).

Our accents are varied due to our multiculturalism.

Some people speak Aussie bogan.

Some speak with such posh accents you'd think they'd got lost on their way to Buckingham palace and ended up in oz.

Lebanese Aussies (as well as those from the Mediterranean) have very distinct accents.

Some people have accents where the words are drawn out more slowly. This is often seen in more country and rural areas. (I have family who speak like this so it was very noticeable when I was growing up and would go visit them) I think it's this type of accent that many people from overseas assume is the main way we talk when really it isn't.

There are many many more variations and some are a mixture of one or more of those variations.

Not to mention those of us who move from full bogan to RP depending on the context. 😜

I lived in Australia for five years and didn’t ever come across anyone with an accent that could be described as posh, there was just one person I can think of, who I would say sounded like he was from SE England but that is it. I also didn’t find big regional variations like we do in the UK, my boss was from Perth, I worked across NSW and Queensland.

Anyways to the question, if Australia wants to become a republic then they should, I cannot imagine anyone in the UK cares. To be honest, I didn’t meet a lot of Australians that cared either.

I also didn’t find big regional variations like we do in the UK, my boss was from Perth, I worked across NSW and Queensland.

Are you kidding? You don’t hear that accents in the outback/NT/far north QLD etc are very different? My kids were born in Aus to Aus parents so themselves had the Aus accent and yet for a number of years they couldn’t understand most of what people were saying when we did outback/rural/far North runs, the people may well have been speaking French for all our kids were concerned as they were only familiar with the metro version of our accent.

Good, it’s a distraction we don’t need. It also feels dangerous when democracy is so fragile across the world, to offer up the opportunity to meddle with ours right now. Conceptually of course we should be but pragmatically please don’t open our model up for editing now!!

No I am not kidding. Why on earth would I kid about what I found regarding Australian accents. 🤨

In Australia's 1999 referendum 54.87% voted to keep the Monarchy, so 46.13% wanted to become a Republic replacing Queen Elizabeth with a President.

The campaign "Thanks, we'll take it from here" is strong and vocal.

Another potential Brexit situation - be careful what you wish for ...

I have Aussie family & we love the queen so no thanks.