Australia: A Crowned Republic
From the definition of the word “republic,” it can be seen that without some qualification, the word is so imprecise that it is almost meaningless. Opinion polls asking peoples’ opinions on whether Australia should become “ a republic” are of little use. Australia was created as an indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown – a crowned republic. The question should define precisely which sort of republic is being proposed. On this site, we distinguish between the two primary forms of republics. One group is “crowned republics” (constitutional monarchies). At the centre of these is an institution above politics, the Crown. The other category consists of “politicians’ republics”. In these, there is no similar institution which provides leadership beyond politics. In such a politicians’ republic, the head of state ( and any state governor) is an elected politician or one appointed by and controlled by the politicians. These categories are not exhaustive. […]