Australian head of state dispute
Encyclopedia
The dispute over who is Australia's head of state centres around the question of whether the Australian monarch or the Governor-General of Australia
is the country's head of state
; the term head of state does not appear in either Australian or international law. The disagreement has continued for decades, usually, though not always, within the debate over an Australian republic
, and involved viceroy
s, politician
s, legal scholars, and the media.
dates from 1901, when the Dominion
s of the British Empire
were not sovereign states, and does not use the term head of state
, which regularly denotes the person who holds the highest rank in government. In practice, the role of head of state in Australia is divided between two people: the monarch of Australia and the Governor-General of Australia
, who represents the Queen and is appointed by her on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia
.
The sovereign
, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is also the sovereign of fifteen other countries informally known as the Commonwealth realm
s, which include the United Kingdom
(UK). As with the other former Dominions, Australia gained legislative independence from the UK by virtue of the Statute of Westminster 1931
, which was adopted in Australia in 1942 with retroactive effect from 3 September 1939. By the Royal Style and Titles Act 1953
, the Australian parliament gave the Queen the title Queen of Australia and, in 1973, removed from the Queen's Australian style and titles any reference to her status as Queen of the United Kingdom and Defender of the Faith
. Australia's full independence from the UK was achieved with the Australia Act 1986
.
Section 61 of the Constitution states that "The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor‑General as the Queen's representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and of the laws of the Commonwealth." Section 2 provides that a governor-general shall represent the Queen in Australia. In practice, the governor-general carries out all the functions usually performed by a head of state, without reference to the Queen; though the governor-general is the Queen's representative, he or she is not the monarch's delegate or agent. Under the conventions of the Westminster system
, the governor-general's powers are almost always exercised on the advice of the prime minister or other ministers of the Crown
. The governor-general may use the reserve powers of the Crown, though these are rarely exercised. One notable example of their use was by Governor-General Sir John Kerr during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975.
The question of whether the Queen or the governor-general is Australia's head of state became a political one in the years prior to the Australian republic referendum in 1999
and remains one within the continuing debate around an Australian republic. Republicans include in their campaign the idea that the Queen is head of state and not Australian and, as such, should be replaced with an Australian citizen; this was summed up in their slogan "a mate for head of state". Opponents of the move to make Australia a republic claim in response that Australia already has an Australian as head of state in the governor-general, who, since 1965, has invariably been an Australian citizen. The governor-general in 2004, Major General Michael Jeffery
, said at the time: "Her Majesty is Australia's head of state but I am her representative and to all intents and purposes I carry out the full role." However, the following year, he declined to name the Queen as head of state, instead saying in response to a direct question, "the Queen is the monarch and I represent her and I carry out all the functions of head of state." The governor-general normally represents Australia internationally, making and receiving state visits.
have not been consistent in the usage of the term "head of state"; some say the monarch is head of state, while others say it is the governor-general. Yet another calls the governor-general the "constitutional Head of State" and the Queen the "Head of State". Presently, the government website states: "Under the Constitution, the reigning British monarch is also the Australian monarch, and therefore Australia's Head of State". However, between 1992 and 1999, the Commonwealth Government Directory listed the governor-general in these terms: "Function: Under the Constitution the Governor-General is the Head of State in whom the Executive Power of the Commonwealth is vested." Prime ministers of Australia have also used the term erratically: in 2009, Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
described the governor-general as the Australian head of state when announcing an overseas visit by Quentin Bryce
; yet, the following year, his spokesperson told the press the Queen "held that position". In a press release issued that year by the Queen's private secretary to announce the Queen would make a speech to the United Nations
, Elizabeth II was mentioned as head of state of Australia, amongst 15 other countries.
In the Department of the Parliamentary Library's publication Research Note, Peter Ireland concluded that "the Constitution can be used to argue either proposition." However, the issue was considered in 1907 by the High Court of Australia
, in the decision of R v. Governor, wherein the court described the governor-general as the "Constitutional Head of the Commonwealth" (and the Governor of South Australia as the "Constitutional Head of the State").
Internationally, the United States Department of State
considers the Queen to be head of state and Central Intelligence Agency
refers to the same person as "chief of state". Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is less clear, listing the names of both the monarch and the governor-general as head of state. Similarly, the Queen's Royal Household
in the United Kingdom has vacillated in the way the term "head of state" is used in relation to Australia: in 1999, the British monarchy website was altered to replace the description of Elizabeth II as head of state of Australia with one that mentioned her only as "sovereign". By 2010, the "head of state" description was restored.
asserted in 1979 that Australia's monarch is the country's head of state. Six years later, however, Professor Colin Howard stated that, as the constitution makes executive power exercisable only by the governor-general, and not the Queen, it is the governor-general who is, "as a matter of law", the head of state. Howard went so far as to say that Australia is not even a monarchy, but a "governor-generalship".
Others followed Howard's view: In 1998, Professor Owen E. Hughes of Monash University
stated that the governor-general is the head of state as "the position is one of great formal power, both legal and political"; Sir David Smith
, a former Official Secretary to five governors-general
, holds that the governor-general is head of state, while the Queen is Australia's sovereign, since the constitution directs the governor-general, and not the monarch, to carry out the duties of head of state; and David Flint
, convenor of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
, feels the same way, believing the High Court's 1907 decision resolves the issue.
Monarchist opinion is not united, however. The Australian Monarchist League
(AML) takes the view that "if we are to have a head of state, then the Queen is Sovereign, or prime, head of state and the Governor-General, upon appointment, assumes the office of effective head of state." The view of the Australian Republican Movement
aligns with that of the AML, their argument being that the Queen alone is the Australian head of state, though not herself an Australian, and that Australia needs to move to a republican form of government in order to have a head of state that is truly Australian. For republicans, the issue has a symbolic element; Professor Larissa Behrendt
of the University of Technology, Sydney
, said in 2011 of Governor-General Quentin Bryce
touring flood-devastated areas of Australia: "the symbolism would be more powerful if that position of head of state was not the Queen of England's representative but the president of Australia."
Malcolm Turnbull
, a republican, said in 1991 that, at the time of Federation 90 years earlier, the Queen was never intended to be Australia's head of state. In his 1993 book The Reluctant Republic, Turnbull explained that, at Federation, the "Governor-General acted partly as head of state and partly as the local representative of the British Government", the latter being the Queen in her British Council
.
s, the monarch is explicitly defined as the head of state. For example, Section 2 of New Zealand's Constitution Act 1986 states: "The Sovereign in right of New Zealand is the head of State of New Zealand, and shall be known by the royal style and titles proclaimed from time to time." Likewise, in Part V of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea
, the Queen is styled "Head of State of Papua New Guinea".
In Canada, a similar dispute exists over whether the Queen of Canada or Governor General of Canada
should be considered the country's head of state; politicians, scholars, and the media are equally inconsistent in the application of the title to either individual. Canadian monarchists assert the Queen is head of state.
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
is the country's head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
; the term head of state does not appear in either Australian or international law. The disagreement has continued for decades, usually, though not always, within the debate over an Australian republic
Republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
, and involved viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
s, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, legal scholars, and the media.
Background
The Australian constitutionConstitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
dates from 1901, when the Dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
s of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
were not sovereign states, and does not use the term head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, which regularly denotes the person who holds the highest rank in government. In practice, the role of head of state in Australia is divided between two people: the monarch of Australia and the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, who represents the Queen and is appointed by her on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
.
The sovereign
Sovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...
, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is also the sovereign of fifteen other countries informally known as the Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
s, which include the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(UK). As with the other former Dominions, Australia gained legislative independence from the UK by virtue of the Statute of Westminster 1931
Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
, which was adopted in Australia in 1942 with retroactive effect from 3 September 1939. By the Royal Style and Titles Act 1953
Royal Style and Titles Act
In the Commonwealth realms, a Royal Style and Titles Act is passed in order to declare the Sovereign's formal title.The most significant of these Acts is the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, which was passed in the United Kingdom in recognition of the creation of the Irish Free State, a...
, the Australian parliament gave the Queen the title Queen of Australia and, in 1973, removed from the Queen's Australian style and titles any reference to her status as Queen of the United Kingdom and Defender of the Faith
Defender of the Faith
Defender of the Faith may refer to:*Fidei defensor , a title of several European Christian monarchs.*Defender of the Faith, a title of the heads of the ruling Solomonic dynasty of the former Ethiopian Empire....
. Australia's full independence from the UK was achieved with the Australia Act 1986
Australia Act 1986
The Australia Act 1986 is the name given to a pair of separate but related pieces of legislation: one an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia, the other an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
.
Section 61 of the Constitution states that "The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor‑General as the Queen's representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and of the laws of the Commonwealth." Section 2 provides that a governor-general shall represent the Queen in Australia. In practice, the governor-general carries out all the functions usually performed by a head of state, without reference to the Queen; though the governor-general is the Queen's representative, he or she is not the monarch's delegate or agent. Under the conventions of the Westminster system
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, the governor-general's powers are almost always exercised on the advice of the prime minister or other ministers of the Crown
Minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...
. The governor-general may use the reserve powers of the Crown, though these are rarely exercised. One notable example of their use was by Governor-General Sir John Kerr during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975.
The question of whether the Queen or the governor-general is Australia's head of state became a political one in the years prior to the Australian republic referendum in 1999
Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...
and remains one within the continuing debate around an Australian republic. Republicans include in their campaign the idea that the Queen is head of state and not Australian and, as such, should be replaced with an Australian citizen; this was summed up in their slogan "a mate for head of state". Opponents of the move to make Australia a republic claim in response that Australia already has an Australian as head of state in the governor-general, who, since 1965, has invariably been an Australian citizen. The governor-general in 2004, Major General Michael Jeffery
Michael Jeffery
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC was the 24th Governor-General of Australia , the first Australian career soldier to be appointed governor-general...
, said at the time: "Her Majesty is Australia's head of state but I am her representative and to all intents and purposes I carry out the full role." However, the following year, he declined to name the Queen as head of state, instead saying in response to a direct question, "the Queen is the monarch and I represent her and I carry out all the functions of head of state." The governor-general normally represents Australia internationally, making and receiving state visits.
The divided community
Within Australia, opinion on the matter of who should be considered head of state is diverse; Australian newspapers, ministers, constitutional scholars, and the general public are commonly inconsistent in references to either the monarch or the governor-general as the head of state. The Museum of Australian Democracy summed up the situation: "Because the Queen lives in the United Kingdom, she is represented in Australia by the Governor-General, who is in effect Australia's Head of State. Some authorities argue that the Governor-General is Australia's Head of State in every respect: others disagree."Official sources
Sources published by the government of AustraliaGovernment of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
have not been consistent in the usage of the term "head of state"; some say the monarch is head of state, while others say it is the governor-general. Yet another calls the governor-general the "constitutional Head of State" and the Queen the "Head of State". Presently, the government website states: "Under the Constitution, the reigning British monarch is also the Australian monarch, and therefore Australia's Head of State". However, between 1992 and 1999, the Commonwealth Government Directory listed the governor-general in these terms: "Function: Under the Constitution the Governor-General is the Head of State in whom the Executive Power of the Commonwealth is vested." Prime ministers of Australia have also used the term erratically: in 2009, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
described the governor-general as the Australian head of state when announcing an overseas visit by Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
; yet, the following year, his spokesperson told the press the Queen "held that position". In a press release issued that year by the Queen's private secretary to announce the Queen would make a speech to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, Elizabeth II was mentioned as head of state of Australia, amongst 15 other countries.
In the Department of the Parliamentary Library's publication Research Note, Peter Ireland concluded that "the Constitution can be used to argue either proposition." However, the issue was considered in 1907 by the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, in the decision of R v. Governor, wherein the court described the governor-general as the "Constitutional Head of the Commonwealth" (and the Governor of South Australia as the "Constitutional Head of the State").
Internationally, the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
considers the Queen to be head of state and Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
refers to the same person as "chief of state". Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is less clear, listing the names of both the monarch and the governor-general as head of state. Similarly, the Queen's Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
in the United Kingdom has vacillated in the way the term "head of state" is used in relation to Australia: in 1999, the British monarchy website was altered to replace the description of Elizabeth II as head of state of Australia with one that mentioned her only as "sovereign". By 2010, the "head of state" description was restored.
Scholarly sources
Former governor-general Paul HasluckPaul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
asserted in 1979 that Australia's monarch is the country's head of state. Six years later, however, Professor Colin Howard stated that, as the constitution makes executive power exercisable only by the governor-general, and not the Queen, it is the governor-general who is, "as a matter of law", the head of state. Howard went so far as to say that Australia is not even a monarchy, but a "governor-generalship".
Others followed Howard's view: In 1998, Professor Owen E. Hughes of Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
stated that the governor-general is the head of state as "the position is one of great formal power, both legal and political"; Sir David Smith
David Smith (Australian public servant)
Sir David Iser Smith, KCVO, AO, is a retired Australian public servant. He was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia between 1973 and 1990, serving Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen and Bill Hayden.-Biography:David Smith was born in 1933,...
, a former Official Secretary to five governors-general
Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia
The Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia and his staff provide governors-general with the necessary support to enable them to carry out their constitutional, statutory, ceremonial and public duties. The position of Official Secretary was established in 1901, although only...
, holds that the governor-general is head of state, while the Queen is Australia's sovereign, since the constitution directs the governor-general, and not the monarch, to carry out the duties of head of state; and David Flint
David Flint
Professor David Flint, AM, LLM , BSc , DSU is an Australian legal academic, known for his leadership of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and for his tenure as head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority.-Background:...
, convenor of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...
, feels the same way, believing the High Court's 1907 decision resolves the issue.
Monarchist opinion is not united, however. The Australian Monarchist League
Australian Monarchist League
The Australian Monarchist League is a non-profit organisation, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, promoting the monarchy of Australia, and providing information to members of the public about Australian history and the Australian Constitution...
(AML) takes the view that "if we are to have a head of state, then the Queen is Sovereign, or prime, head of state and the Governor-General, upon appointment, assumes the office of effective head of state." The view of the Australian Republican Movement
Australian Republican Movement
The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...
aligns with that of the AML, their argument being that the Queen alone is the Australian head of state, though not herself an Australian, and that Australia needs to move to a republican form of government in order to have a head of state that is truly Australian. For republicans, the issue has a symbolic element; Professor Larissa Behrendt
Larissa Behrendt
Larissa Behrendt is an Australian academic and writer of Aboriginal and European descent. She is currently a Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney....
of the University of Technology, Sydney
University of Technology, Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1981, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD...
, said in 2011 of Governor-General Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
touring flood-devastated areas of Australia: "the symbolism would be more powerful if that position of head of state was not the Queen of England's representative but the president of Australia."
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
, a republican, said in 1991 that, at the time of Federation 90 years earlier, the Queen was never intended to be Australia's head of state. In his 1993 book The Reluctant Republic, Turnbull explained that, at Federation, the "Governor-General acted partly as head of state and partly as the local representative of the British Government", the latter being the Queen in her British Council
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
.
Media sources
Since at least the 1970s, the governor-general has been described in mainstream media as the head of state, in editorial, opinion, and general reporting. In other media, both domestic and international, the Queen has been presented as Australia's head of state, although the matter is sometimes further complicated by accompanying employment of the term "British monarch".Comparison with other Commonwealth realms
In some of the sixteen Commonwealth realmCommonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
s, the monarch is explicitly defined as the head of state. For example, Section 2 of New Zealand's Constitution Act 1986 states: "The Sovereign in right of New Zealand is the head of State of New Zealand, and shall be known by the royal style and titles proclaimed from time to time." Likewise, in Part V of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea
Law of Papua New Guinea
The law of Papua New Guinea consists of the Constitution, ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament or adopted at Independence from overseas and judge-made law.-Constitution:...
, the Queen is styled "Head of State of Papua New Guinea".
In Canada, a similar dispute exists over whether the Queen of Canada or Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
should be considered the country's head of state; politicians, scholars, and the media are equally inconsistent in the application of the title to either individual. Canadian monarchists assert the Queen is head of state.
See also
- Constitutional history of AustraliaConstitutional history of Australia-Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia:After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organised as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all...
- Republicanism in AustraliaRepublicanism in AustraliaRepublicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
- Irish head of state from 1936 to 1949
External links
- Official website of the Government of Australia
- Official website of the Governor-General
- Queen and Australia, from the official website of the British monarchy. The British monarch is also the Australian monarch.
- Australian Republican Movement website
- Australians For Constitutional Monarchy website