- There's one episode in the latest season of "The Crown"
that sparked a fresh interest
in Australia becoming a Republic.
It's not that surprising that a show about the monarchy
has made people question our relationship
with it in the future.
But where does Australia even stand on republicanism?
In the episode that's caused a stir,
a young Prince Charles and Princess Diana,
come on a tour down under, back in 1983.
At the time, anti-royalist Bob Hawk
was Australia's prime minister,
and he was pretty desperate to break away from the monarchy,
even though we were, and still are,
one of the most important members
of the Commonwealth.
The trip was a total triumph for the royals,
much to Hawk's dissatisfaction.
And the monarchy's popularity
really early went up from then on.
But now through The Crown,
watching everything that happened,
has raised a lot of questions for people.
And one of the biggest is how relevant it still is
for Australia to have a head of state
who inherits the role,
and lives out of Australia.
Some people think the show could lead to a new push
for republicanism like the Australian Republican movement
who say that they've seen a spike
in membership inquiries since the show aired.
And others think the rising sentiment
has always been bubbling away,
but it's definitely resurfaced.
Earlier this year,
professor Jenny Hocking won a court case
that publicized infamous palace letters.
They revealed the crown was involved in the dismissal
of the Whitlam government back in 1975,
and confirmed the political power the queen had
over the decision.
It reminded every one of the power
the monarchy still has over Australian politics.
And according to professor Hocking,
there are movements in place to overcome this
with a new Republican plan over the next two years.
But do people actually want to separate from The Queen?
Well, we haven't really asked that question properly
since a national referendum back in 1999,
when 54.9% of people voted no,
possibly because the alternative
meant that the Parliament could elect the new head of state,
rather than the people.
A much smaller scale poll was done this year by YouGov,
who found that 62% of Aussies now
want Australia's head of state
to be an elected Australian,
and definitely not a king or queen
living in the UK.
Commentators think that last summer's bush fires, COVID-19,
and the consequent economic hardships,
could have all had an impact,
because Australians might want someone
living through these things in real time with us.
And more broadly than just 2020,
people pushing for republicanism
think it could see Australia shake terra nullius narrative
of British invasion,
and fully recognize itself as a multicultural society
in its own right.
That could bring a real opportunity
to extend further recognition of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people.
But we've never successfully transitioned
to become an independent country before.
And the people opposing republicanism
argue that if the system isn't broken, why fix it?
They have concerns that giving an Australian head of state
unconstitutional power,
could disturb the existing system of government
by bringing a power imbalance
between a prime minister and a president.
Some even fear giving more power to one person
could lead to a dictatorship,
which throughout history,
is a pattern that has followed countries
leaving colonial rule.
Australia could also lose a lot if it became a republic.
Not only do plebiscites and referendums
for something this big cost a lot of money,
actually around half a billion dollars.
But if we did vote in favor of republicanism,
we'd then miss out on things like military support
that we currently get by being tied to Britain.
Ultimately whether Australia should become a republic or not
is an ongoing debate.
And what Netflix has done with The Crown,
which has become a real hit
with both older and younger generations,
is re-ignited simmering conversations
about Australia's future,
that every Australian can now be a part of.