Doormat Australia is too timid to ditch King Charles

Which implies, any new head-of-state referendum could easily fall over once again. Unless, so I claim, the prime minister and opposition leader converge on a prior deal.

I don't see them agreeing on an elected head of state. What's in it for them? Their constituents don't seem mad keen on an "elected president" either.

I'd be very surprised if any head-of-state progress emerged under Albanese and Dutton. The former seems timid. The latter is opposed.

So, Australia looks set to waste more long years over futile "republican debates" and dodgy "republican models". Although a commonwealth is fine - even America has them.

The essential (and difficult enough) step towards a grown-up nation is simply this: Ditch the Palace. That is, legislation to unyoke our governor-general from an unwelcome King and his Palace courtiers.

Some might look askance at continuing with a governor-general role. Morrison's bungled choice of David Hurley has become a dead man walking. Same happened to Howard's poorly chosen Peter Hollingworth.

Determined leaders could turn that argument on its head. The more reason, they'd say, for a parliamentary sign-off on the head of state. Less autocratic, than the prime minister having their own private pick. But more respectful of prime ministerial powers, than an elected head of state.

Yep, strange as it seem, why don't we try for a simpler form of the 1999 proposition? Which might just about have got up at the time, but for Howard's perfidy, and the republicans fracturing.

We could have ourselves a head of state (or governor-general) without the 19^th century Palace ties, but with the (prime minister's) nominee requiring endorsement by a two-thirds majority of a joint sitting.

This, I know, wouldn't sort out our six state governors, who doggedly report back to the Palace. Or our stubbornly British national flag. Or, our stubbornly British national day. After 121 years as a royal doormat, maybe we gotta start somewhere, to get anywhere at all.