A Real Republic

Some of you more astute readers would’ve noticed by now that one of the key hurdles to becoming President of Australia is the need to change our system of government. Those even more on-the-ball will note that this was already tried in 1999, by referendum and was defeated with roughly a 55% majority.

Much of the problem 7 years ago (and to this day) was that republicans were divided over which model of republic they were in support of (see http://www.republic.org.au/6models/). In the end, the referendum proposed a figure-head president, to replace the queen and governor general and to preside over ribbon cuttings the country over. He or She was to be appointed by the parliament, a prospect widely viewed as un-democratic. In retrospect this model was not necessarily the most likely to bring about better governance, but was the middle-of-the-road option that placated the majority of republican factions.

It’s a terrible model and one I’m happy was not implemented. I understand that as a society, we’re largely conservative – but the adoption of a republic provides the first opportunity for real change in over 200 years (I think the monarchists “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is simplistic, at best). I favour the Executive Presidential model, where the President is elected by the people and is both head of the government and head of state. In short, we get a real president, not a symbol. The President elects a cabinet, of experts, who are definitionally not political representatives (career politicians rarely make good managers – or in recent history, good leaders). The two houses of parliament provide oversight of the cabinet and concentrate of legislating and serving their electorates, while the President’s party does not necessarily hold a majority in either house.

I am under no illusions that changing the constitution and the government will be an easy task. However, if we’re ever going to have dynamic leadership and experts in charge of our essential services, it’s a change that we need to make.