Any call for a republic that is disconnected from addressing the very real social and ecological crises will not be enough, argues Sam Wainwright.
republic
Hundreds rallied on Labor's so-called Day of Mourning, calling for the monarchy to be "abolished". Photos by Alex Bainbridge.
Leading Socialist Alliance member Peter Boyle joins the Green Left Show to discuss the manufactured outpouring of pro-monarchist propaganda, the push for a republic and what real democratic change would look like.
The Australian republican movement’s great mistake was to banish from discussion any reason beyond symbolism to be a republic. Aleks Wansbrough argues it effectively treated the royals as beyond reproach.
There is nothing better in these times than reading the words of James Connolly, the Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader, executed by the British firing squad on May 12, 1916, writes Sam Wainwright.
The release of the Palace letters between the governor general and the Queen have given renewed impetus for a republican movement, writes Jim McIlroy.
Do we need to debate whether Australia should become a republic?
After all, it is not just parties that say Australian society should be transformed (Socialist Alliance) or reformed (the Greens) that want a republic. The national leaders of the major capitalist political parties and all the state premiers agree on ending the situation where a British monarch is Australia's head of state.
I suspect this is in line with what most Australians think: who gave birth to you should not make you the head of state, even nominally. So why is there an argument about this?