Anthony Albanese has been accused of trying to make Australia a republic ‘on the sly’.
The Australian Monarchy League has compiled a list of eight ways the Albanian government has subtly alienated the country from the British royal family since it was elected just over a year ago and vowed to hold a referendum on Australia’s constitutional monarchy.
“The campaign may not have been formally announced, but it surely started around the time Anthony Albanese appointed an Assistant Minister for the Republic,” Philip Benwell, the group’s national chairman, said in an email to members.
Benwell noted that the Albanese removed the Queen’s figure from the doors of Kirribilli House after her death in September 2022, in a move that went largely unnoticed.
‘He has no intention of replacing it with the King’s [cipher],’ he claimed.
The figure is usually a combination of the monarch’s name and title interwoven with the crown.
Anthony Albanese (right) represented Australia at the coronation and pledged allegiance to King Charles III (left) and the monarchy during the ceremony, despite his outspoken republicanism.
The Australian Monarchy League fears that the Albanese is taking steps to minimize the sovereign’s role and presence in Australia before any referendum can take place.
In February, the government announced that a new design for the $5 bill was in the works. It will honor Indigenous Australian culture and history, rather than the head of state, and will be designed in consultation with First Nations peoples.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has not yet revealed when the new note will be in circulation.
Prior to this release, $5 bills had long featured a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The other side of the bill will continue to show the Australian Parliament.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke publicly in favor of the decision, noting that it would be “some time” before the notes rolled off production lines and into back pockets.
Benwell also noted that no official coronation coin circulated in May, despite Queen Elizabeth receiving one when she acceded to the throne in 1952.
He told his fellow royalists there was a similar lack of ceremony for the King’s historic coronation, with no civil or military coronation medals, seals or government-sponsored celebrations.
In February, a new design for the $5 note was announced, honoring Indigenous Australian culture and history rather than our head of state. (Pictured: the $5 bill with the image of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September)
The newly appointed NSW Premier Chris Minns opted not to light the Sydney Opera House candles for the coronation as a cost-saving measure, but more than 100 prominent public buildings and monuments were lit purple in celebration.
And Albanese represented Australia at the coronation, pledging allegiance to King Charles III and the monarchy during the ceremony, despite his outspoken republicanism.
I swear that I will pay true allegiance to His Majesty and to his heirs and successors in accordance with the law. So help me God,’ he and other guests said.
After the archbishop yelled “God save the king,” officials in the crowd responded, “God save King Charles.” Long live King Charles. May the King live forever.
Philip Benwell of the Australian Monarchist League noted that Albanese had removed the Queen’s cipher from the doors of Kirribilli House after her death in September 2022.
“He has no intention of replacing it with the king’s,” Mr Benwell said. (In the image: the doors of the Kirribilli House without the real figure)
Albanese has indicated that he will not seek to make Australia a republic in his first term as prime minister.
He is already seeking a constitutional change in a referendum by seeking an Indigenous Voice in Parliament later this year.
But the Australian Monarchy League fears he is taking steps to minimize the sovereign’s role and presence in Australia before any referendum can take place.
“Our Australian Constitution is based on the Crown and we will do everything in our power to ensure it is not removed,” the group said in a statement to members.
“It doesn’t matter if people like the King or not, because kings and queens come and go, but our Constitution and our system of government must remain forever and must not be altered.”
Benwell said the list of changes “will continue to grow as the government tries to eradicate any public representation of the King and Crown before the referendum on the republic is held.”
“This is not just a blatant campaign of secret republicanism, it is a warning that the Albanian government is moving quickly and aggressively towards the removal of the king and the governor-general and their replacement by the election of a compliant president,” he said. saying.
The email to members also included a request for donations to help ‘prepare’ for a fight to defend the role of the monarchy in Australia.
