The Republic Advisory Committee was a committee established by the then Australian Prime Minister
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...
in April 1993 to examine the constitutional and legal issues that would arise were
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to become a republic. The committee's mandate was to "prepare an options paper describing 'the minimum constitutional changes necessary to achieve a viable Federal Republic of Australia, maintaining the effect of our current conventions and principles of government'."
The committee was asked to consider issues such as
* a name for a new elected head of state;
* the method of selection for the head of state;
* what powers he or she should possess;
* the constitutional amendments and legal changes required to replace the
Queen of Australia
The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parli ...
and Her Representative, the
Governor-General of Australia by an elected head of state.
Republic Advisory Committee membership
The Republic Advisory Committee submitted two Volumes (Volume I - The Options and Volume II - the Appendices) to the Australian prime minister in late 1993. Part of Volume II was concerned with the international experience in moving from monarchical to republican headships of state. Six international reports were commissioned from local experts; four of the countries were former
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
monarchies
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
, while two had experienced their own regime change when their own monarchies (the
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
s in Germany, the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
s in Austria) were replaced by republics.
Reports commissioned by the Republic Advisory Committee
The recommendations made by the committee were never voted on by the Australian people. A
Constitutional Convention was held in 1998, resulting in a slightly different proposal which was rejected by the Australian electorate in the
1999 referendum.
Additional information
Copies of the Reports were published under the following ISBNs
See also
*
Republicanism in Australia
*
Bi-partisan appointment republican model
*
Direct election republican model
References
{{Reflist
External links
Republican History - the Republic Advisory Committee
Republicanism in Australia