Australian Republic Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Esther Anatolitis and Nathan Hansford |
| National director | Isaac Jeffrey |
| Founded | July 1991 |
| Ideology | Australian republicanism |
| Website | |
| Australian Republic Movement | |
The Australian Republic Movement (ARM) is a non-partisan organisation campaigning for Australia to become a republic. The ARM and its supporters have promoted various models, including a parliamentary republic, and the organisation has branches active in all states and territories. [1]
The ARM was founded on 7 July 1991 and was originally known as the Australian Republican Movement. [2] Its first chairman was novelist Thomas Keneally, with other founding members including lawyer Malcolm Turnbull (later Prime Minister), former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell, film director Fred Schepisi, and author, journalist, and radio and television presenter Peter FitzSimons.
It was formerly headed by Australian retired Socceroo and human rights activist, Craig Foster and Nova Peris. [3] It is currently headed by arts and cultural leader Esther Anatolitis and management consultant Nathan Hansford. [4]
In May 2024 the ARM experienced a split with Peris and Foster both resigning as co-chairs because of Foster and Peris's differing opinions on the war in Gaza. [5] [6]
The Australian republic referendum, held on 6 November 1999, was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. For some years opinion polls had suggested that a majority of the electorate favoured a republic. [7] Nonetheless, the 1999 referendum was defeated due to a range of factors, including a lack of bi-partisanship and division among republicans on the method proposed for selection of the president. [8]
The ARM announced their proposed model for a republic on 13 January 2022, the Australian Choice Model. [9] The model would entail a process where the State and Territory Parliaments each nominate one candidate to be the Head of State, and the Federal Parliament nominates up to three candidates. The list of these candidates would then be put to a vote where the public would elect their preferred candidate and would serve for a five-year term. [10] A majority of ARM members voted to support the policy, however the policy announcement raised concerns and criticisms from the Australian Monarchist League, [11] as well as other republicans, including former Prime Minister Paul Keating [12] and former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr. [13] Critics such as Carr claim that a head of state who is elected by the public could cause conflict with a Prime Minister and Parliament. Then-ARM Chair Peter FitzSimons dismissed these criticisms, claiming that a head of state's powers would be limited and would be unable to dismiss a Prime Minister. [12]
| No. | Image | Chair | Term | No. | Image | Chair | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Thomas Keneally | 1991 − November 1993 | (One chair from 1992−2022) | |||
| 2 |  | Malcolm Turnbull | November 1993 − 20 September 2000 | ||||
| 3 |  | Greg Barns | 20 September 2000 − 2002 | ||||
| 4 | | John Warhurst | 2002 − 2005 | ||||
| 5 | | Ted O'Brien | 2005 − 2007 | ||||
| 6 | | Michael Keating | 2007 − 26 November 2012 | ||||
| 7 |  | Geoff Gallop | 26 November 2012 − 20 July 2015 | ||||
| 8 |  | Peter FitzSimons | 20 July 2015 − 16 November 2022 | ||||
| 9 |  | Craig Foster | 16 November 2022 − 10 July 2024 | 9 |  | Nova Peris | 13 March 2023 − 10 July 2024 |
| 10 | | Esther Anatolitis | 10 July 2024 − present | 10 | | Nathan Hansford | 10 July 2024 − present |
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The federal parliament would be able to nominate up to three people while states and territories would nominate one person each. The ballot winner would get a five-year term and would be responsible for swearing in a prime minister with majority support in the House of Representatives, or calling an election if that support does not exist (duties currently undertaken by the Governor-General, the British monarch's representative in Australia).
Bob Carr has warned the new model for an Australian republic would risk a directly elected head of state viewing their mandate from the people as being superior to that of the PM.
I think apart from the fact that I'm a Republican.
In his later years, Mr Smout was an active campaigner for a republic, and was awarded life membership of the Australian Republican Movement in 2002.
The pro-republican camp was led by Premier and State Liberal Member for Willoughby Gladys Berejiklian.
Senator Payne has spent a life in politics, and before entering parliament had previously served as the federal president of the Young Liberals and as vice-chair of the Australian Republic Movement alongside Malcolm Turnbull.
1993: Keating appointed a Republic Advisory Committee to report on options available to Australia for becoming a republic. Keating had personally become the nation's leading advocate for a republican form of government.
A republican at heart, Hawke also replaced God Save the Queen with Advance Australia Fair as the nation's anthem.
A keen author, he recounted his time in office in several books and remained an active participant in Labor party politics. At times, he joined forces with his old political foe, Malcolm Fraser, to campaign for causes such as an Australian republic.
Mr Beazley — a noted republican and a member of the Australian Republican Movement's advisory panel — said he would be doing "a lot of resigning" over the next few weeks.
Anthony Albanese is a long-known republican and created the role of assistant minister for the republic, upsetting some monarchists, after he became prime minister in May. In 2018, he talked about a referendum on the move to being a republic as an "exciting opportunity".
Prime Minister Julia Gillard describes herself as a republican, but says it is not a priority for the Government at the moment.
