Don’t wait until the Queen dies to become a republic

But wait, there’s more. It is also practically the wrong course to pursue. The cold hard fact of life, and death, is that we are not going to somehow automatically become a republic the day after Elizabeth dies or abdicates, even if we all agree it is desirable. We have no control over either of those alternatives and it is ridiculous (and actually a bit morbid) to wait for an event to happen over which we have no control before we do something about our own national future. In a sense, it is an affront to our sovereignty that we would even consider it.

In an even more practical vein, when Queen Elizabeth does die or abdicate we are not going to start the process to lead to a republic the next day. That would be touted as disrespectful and, certainly with her death, there will be months of official mourning and ceremonies before we start doing anything really meaningful on the republican front.

We need to start the process now - in the next term of Parliament - so that the facts have been presented, the preferences of the people sought and considered, and the required referendum held before either of the alternatives happens. That is, before her death or abdication.

If PM Julia Gillard is serious about Queen Elizabeth being the last monarch, we must start now to make sure we get the process finished in time. Time and tide waits for no man, so they say, and neither will the Windsor clan. There will be a new monarch the minute Elizabeth dies or abdicates and we will have no say at all in whoever it may be.

The “wait until the Queen dies” argument is a convenient delaying tactic for the naturally apathetic and the historically timid among us. For our national pride, Elizabeth must be the final monarch of Australia. We owe it to ourselves and we have no time to spare.