A republic would enhance the value of the Australian national identity

The brand values identified in the tourism campaign Brand Australia translate well beyond tourism and into other sectors because they are based in reality. They have credibility because they are features that are generally recognised as “Australian.” And credibility is the other element of a brand image that helps customers make purchase decisions. But while the Brand Australian personality has credibility, we are lacking one element of credibility in our brand. Our national symbols continue to send confusing signals.

Instead of a long, drawn-out public debates about our national identity and whether or not we will become a republic, we would be much more credible if we could achieve soon a clear consensus around our national identity and values. It might be tempting to brush aside the republic issue as a minor footnote to Brand Australia, but talk to business leaders and they will tell you that the failure to resolve the republic issue does remain a mark of our credibility in global markets. It is the flipside of how our failure to resolve the issue also affects our sense of cohesion as a community in uniting around our national symbols.

At present, some of our national symbols are not national symbols at all but quite inconsistent with our values. How can the British queen or her heirs, through no fault of their own, be inclusive or irreverent? While our head of state resides and represents a different national identity, how can they represent our Australian optimism or our ethic of mateship? This is a glaring disconnect between who we are and our existing national symbols. Not only does it make many Australians uncomfortable but it tells the world we are have not got our act together.

The next generation of national political leadership has an opportunity to turn a divisive debate into a discussion about values. With bipartisan support, we could enjoy an inclusive discussion with the whole community, aimed at agreeing national symbols that represent all that we are as a nation.

The outcome would be a strengthening of the values that we share and a more powerful “brand” to represent Australia in the world. We will all feel better for it and profit from the discussion at the same time.