What Australian women think about the royal family

[AcrossTheGrain]

I fell down a rabbit hole on an Australian women's forum last night and ended up reading pages of a long-running royal thread. It was honestly quite something seeing how the RF looks from that far away.

They go from talking about velvet dresses and very over-the-top earrings to being incredibly blunt about Charles, the Duchies, Andrew, and the money side of things. No dancing around it at all - they just say exactly what they think.
There’s a bit of NHS talk too, more in a “how does this all appear from the outside?” way, especially when the health system here is struggling while the monarchy still looks so well funded.

Plenty of strong views on William/Kate vs Harry/Meghan as well - it seems to be a full contact sport over there too.

If anyone wants a look, this is the page I landed on.

Made me wonder if Australians are just saying out loud what a lot of people here think but don’t quite say.

No doubt

I spend time on that forum, and am Australian. I don't care enough about the royal family to participate in that thread.

It's a very small online community, and and quite different to Mumsnet. Quite upfront and open discussion.

Is it reflective of the wider community? Honestly, most Australians under 60 think the RF is outdated and irrelevant and we don't care beyond thinking we should be a republic. Only people like my 78 year old DM think they're worthwhile.

I think it's only about a quarter of the people in the UK that think they aren't important or should be abolished entirely. The younger the person, the less likely they see it in anyway useful and would much prefer and elected head of state.

I know that forum and it’s a spinoff from a much larger forum that since closed down. Very small, predominantly left-wing, quite a lot of greens voters. Very much an echo chamber. I’d say they’re representative of their kind but,
thinking about the huge welcome Charles and Camilla had in Sydney, I’m not sure I’d draw many conclusions from them about Australians feelings more broadly towards the royal family.

They also harrass and ban anyone even remotely gender critical or mildly conservative and posters often get threads shut down by complaining their mental health is being affected by them. It’s an odd place.

@MermaidMummy06 if that’s the case why does there seem to be no meaningful pressure in Australia to hold a referendum on becoming a republic, especially with a Labor government in power?

Because the last referendum (on the voice to parliament) was defeated so badly that the Labor government won’t risk another one. Australia’s constitution was deliberately made difficult to change. Nearly every referendum fails.

With the cost of living and housing crisis. I don’t think Australians want to see hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on another referendum.

@gishgalloping but with over 80% of Aussies aged under 60 wouldn’t it be a walkover if it’s true that everyone under 60 thinks the royals are irrelevant? No need to spend a fortune explaining such a simple binary question.

All referenda cost hundreds of millions to administer, that’s just the cost of runnning them.

As to whether it would be a walkover, I don’t know. As I said upthread, people were surprised by how enthusiastic crowds were about Charles and Camilla. I think there’s a lot of affection there and an appreciation that we have a very stable system of government. People might think they’re irrelevant but does that translate into actively wanting a different type of government? I’m not sure.

I do think a referendum on a republic would be divisive and that’s the last thing people want right now.

Hoenstly majority don't care and think it's a waste of space, waste of money and many blatantly dislike.

The last referendum failed - not because people didn't want a republic but because the model put up was shit. Now nobody would really want to spend any money - i don't think the royal family costs Australians much money and they don't interfere with anything so what's the point of spending anything to get rid of them. Also generally people feel sorry for Charles waiting so long to be king so I don't think anyone will propose a new referendum before he goes.

@Fairgamer well it’s completely up to Australians to do something about it - seems odd that if the Royals are so disliked the Aussies don’t want to take steps to get rid of them.

There are a number of European countries who hold very regular referenda, there’s no innate reason why they need to be so expensive or problematic. And if such an overwhelming majority really are in favour of getting rid the Royals it wouldn’t be difficult to achieve.

@Teddleshon1 - it's not getting rid of the royals that is the issue - is what do you replace them with. Australia still needs a head of state, even though the role is largely ceremonial it still plays a part in the constitution - and the process to work out who that will be is difficult to agree. Will it be a parliamentary appointed head of state (Australians rejected that model already), or a popular vote or keep just the gov-general.
Until there is consensus on the model there is no point in having a refendum.

In the last polling about a republic - directly after the latest Andrew scandal - 43% of people polled wanted a republic. The remainder was split between not caring or staying a constitutional monarchy. The poll before that was split pretty evenly between each option.

There isn’t a consensus on becoming a republic, it would be divisive, no one wants another referendum right now, and, as a previous poster just said, the issue of what model of government to replace the monarch with, would also need consensus.

How European countries do referenda isn’t really relevant. The geographical distances alone of managing a vote, distributing information, postal votes, etc are entirely different.

There are a number of European countries who hold very regular referenda, there’s no innate reason why they need to be so expensive or problematic. And if such an overwhelming majority really are in favour of getting rid the Royals it wouldn’t be difficult to

if you want to understand our referendum process, then perhaps have a gander at the Australian Constitution. Not all countries have the same referenda process. To me, (I’m Australian) a referendum in the UK looks more like a plebiscite here.

There’s a strong republican movement in Australia. Our current PM is a republican, but he understands that Australians (generally) don’t want an extremely costly, and what could be divisive, referendum at this point in time.

Are you Australian or live in Australia?

Yes.

I live in Australia and I find most of the people that I know or listen to in the media don’t think about the royal family or becoming a republic.I would not say they are unpopular but would say the politicians are

After the shitshow that was Brexit I can’t say I blame them. Better the devil you know at times.

I think this is true for a lot of the U.K. too.

I think other people already answered it. Let's be real, the monarchy isn't still around here because everyone loves the royals. It's just that becoming a republic would cost a fortune and be a bureaucratic nightmare. Trust me, it's not out of love for Charles and Camilla.

Ask most Australian women, and you'll get a blank stare. The baby boomers might have some nostalgia, but anyone younger just rolls their eyes. My generation mostly think it's an outdated institution, but also with more immediate things to fry.

@Fairgamer I guess to outsiders it just seems odd to have a head of state and a system of government that most people apparently dislike and not to get rid of it. It’s up to Australians after all, nobody else.

But most people don’t dislike it? Even after the latest Andrew debacle, less than fifty per cent wanted a republic. The majority either don’t have an opinion or are in favour.

@gishgalloping that’s not what was suggested upthread.

Well, that’s one person’s opinion. The polling says otherwise.

I actually agree with you @gishgalloping , in my view the lack of momentum for a referendum on the monarchy in Australia largely reflects the fact there’s little evidence to suggest the majority would vote for a republic. I don’t believe that it’s only the over 60s who feel this way.