OMEN
03-15-2006, 02:30 PM
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PRINCE Charles may never become king of Australia, Prime Minister John Howard has conceded.
Mr Howard, a staunch monarchist, said he did not believe there would be any move to a republic while Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch.
But the prime minister refused to predict what would happen after her reign ended.
With the Queen in Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games tonight, Mr Howard has given a series of interviews to British television stations about the prospect of an Australian republic.
The Queen turns 80 next month and there is speculation that this may be her last visit to Australia.
Mr Howard said the current system worked well and he would tenaciously oppose any change.
"I do not believe this country would become a republic while the Queen is on the throne, beyond that I don't know," Mr Howard told the BBC.
"I'm not saying it would or it wouldn't. What I am saying, however, is that it's going to be very hard to find a system which delivers such a stable structure as the present one."
Asked whether he thought Prince Charles would become king of Australia, Mr Howard said that was a matter for the Australian people.
"If the Australian people want to change the system they will," he told ITV.
"But if they don't, they won't ... I am not going to hazard a guess either way."
Republicans said his comments showed an openness to the prospect of a future Australian head of state.
"Mr Howard's recognition that it is very unlikely that the country will become a republic while the present Queen is on the throne indicates quite clearly that this may not be the case when Prince Charles takes over from Queen Elizabeth as Australia's head of state," Australian Republican Movement (ARM) chairman Ted O'Brien said.
"While we don't think the prime minister has become a republican overnight, his change of language clearly indicates that even he is now starting to question the future relevance of a British monarch as Australia's head of state."
But Health Minister Tony Abbott, a fellow monarchist, cautioned against reading too much into Mr Howard's comments.
"There's never any guarantee about anything but the prime minister is a staunch supporter of our existing constitutional arrangements," Mr Abbott told ABC radio.
"There were quite a few republicans who turned up at the Queen's dinner in Canberra last night, so there is still some magic in the monarchy.
"And I've got to say when I came to parliament house last night, there was quite a large crowd both outside the building and inside the building, a large and enthusiastic crowd, and I'm sure they weren't there for the politicians."
Last night's dinner was attended by a host of politicians, dignitaries, sports stars and business leaders.
Former prime ministers Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke attended but Paul Keating, reviled by the English tabloids for touching the Queen's back in 1992, turned down the invitation.
News.au
PRINCE Charles may never become king of Australia, Prime Minister John Howard has conceded.
Mr Howard, a staunch monarchist, said he did not believe there would be any move to a republic while Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch.
But the prime minister refused to predict what would happen after her reign ended.
With the Queen in Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games tonight, Mr Howard has given a series of interviews to British television stations about the prospect of an Australian republic.
The Queen turns 80 next month and there is speculation that this may be her last visit to Australia.
Mr Howard said the current system worked well and he would tenaciously oppose any change.
"I do not believe this country would become a republic while the Queen is on the throne, beyond that I don't know," Mr Howard told the BBC.
"I'm not saying it would or it wouldn't. What I am saying, however, is that it's going to be very hard to find a system which delivers such a stable structure as the present one."
Asked whether he thought Prince Charles would become king of Australia, Mr Howard said that was a matter for the Australian people.
"If the Australian people want to change the system they will," he told ITV.
"But if they don't, they won't ... I am not going to hazard a guess either way."
Republicans said his comments showed an openness to the prospect of a future Australian head of state.
"Mr Howard's recognition that it is very unlikely that the country will become a republic while the present Queen is on the throne indicates quite clearly that this may not be the case when Prince Charles takes over from Queen Elizabeth as Australia's head of state," Australian Republican Movement (ARM) chairman Ted O'Brien said.
"While we don't think the prime minister has become a republican overnight, his change of language clearly indicates that even he is now starting to question the future relevance of a British monarch as Australia's head of state."
But Health Minister Tony Abbott, a fellow monarchist, cautioned against reading too much into Mr Howard's comments.
"There's never any guarantee about anything but the prime minister is a staunch supporter of our existing constitutional arrangements," Mr Abbott told ABC radio.
"There were quite a few republicans who turned up at the Queen's dinner in Canberra last night, so there is still some magic in the monarchy.
"And I've got to say when I came to parliament house last night, there was quite a large crowd both outside the building and inside the building, a large and enthusiastic crowd, and I'm sure they weren't there for the politicians."
Last night's dinner was attended by a host of politicians, dignitaries, sports stars and business leaders.
Former prime ministers Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke attended but Paul Keating, reviled by the English tabloids for touching the Queen's back in 1992, turned down the invitation.
News.au