Tehran, IRNA – For 120 years, Australia as a Commonwealth country has been dominated by the Queen of England while she has witnessed a republican movement in the country under her rule by approaching the end of her reign.
More than a century has passed since British colonialism and domination of the native Australians with repression, and after popular protests in Australia which indicated their effort to withdraw from the domination of the British Commonwealth union, recently there have been official whispers from the governing body on this issue.
Earlier, the new prime minister and leader of the Australian Labor Party and the main supporter of Australia’s separation from Britain, Anthony Albanese at the Jubilee Platinum celebration for the 70th year of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, said that Australia’s separation from British sovereignty is certain, and the relationship between the two states has changed drastically since 1901, and Australia no longer needs a constitutional link with Britain.
However, after Albanese’s recent stance, his new assistant for republican affairs Matt Thistlethwaite said that the federal government is negotiating with parliament intending to change the country’s political system to become a republic. As the Queen approaches the end of her reign, we think it’s time to move on to the issue.
He added that “I think Australians are now thinking about the future of their sovereign country. I think it is time to have a dialogue once again about the future of Australia after the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign”.
Of course, apart from the ruling Australian Labor Party, the Greens’ approach to the British Queen’s continued sovereignty is negative, since not long ago, Lidia Alma Thorpe (born 1973) as an Australian politician and businesswoman representing the Australian Greens, in the Senate at the inauguration ceremony, raised her fist and called the Queen of England, the head of Australia, a “colonialist”.
So far, some other Australian leaders have sought to pursue the historic demands of native Australian, including Anthony Albanese, who seeks to change the country’s constitution to recognize native Australians and force the government to consult with them in decisions that affect their lives, that is why he added a minister to his cabinet that his mission was to manage Australia’s transition to a republican government.
Thorpe earlier described Australia as a “colonial project” and said that the current Australian flag represents the colonization of this land and should not be here. No agreement has been reached, and no treaty has been signed, so this flag does not represent me.
She stressed that she supports parliament to “challenge the illegal occupation of the colonial system in Australia.”
A week ago, another Australian official said that swearing to being united with the Queen of England is outdated and ridiculous, adding that Australia should become a republic with an independent country. We’re not British anymore.
Under Australia’s current constitution, all senators and members of parliament must swear allegiance to the Queen of England to begin working in Parliament. The elimination of this process is only possible by holding a referendum, and the government of Albanese has recently taken steps in this way.
Australia held a referendum 23 years ago (1999) for running a Republican country, in which the result was a poor majority of 54.87 percent versus 45.13 percent in favor of Australia remaining part of the Commonwealth.
On January 26, 2018, on the occasion of the British colonial aggression on the continent, many native Australians participated in mass demonstrations in various cities of the country, declaring their opposition to the black era of colonialism, and again calling for the change of National Australia Day.
Former Great Britain, the greatest colonialist in history and known as old colonialism after America took power in the world, claimed in its era that the sun would never set in its empire by slaughtering natives. Today, however, it has gradually lost its power and the process of dissolution of this colonialism power is going to be completed with the beginning of a new wave of republicanism and independence in important countries such as Australia, Canada, and even Scotland.
Translated by Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
