REPUBLICANS DON’T GET IT- Canberra Times letters ARM Chair stirs up readers

                Writing to the Canberra Times on Monday 8 March 2004, Mr Robert Willson expresses the opinion of many Australians. His letter was published under this heading. He begins: "JOHN WARHURST asserts that the love affair of Australians for the Queen has faded since that memorable Royal Visit in 1954 (CT Opinion, March 5, p17). This completely misses the point The "love affair" may have cooled but the mature relationship between Britain and Australia, symbolised by the Queen, is just as strong. "Mr Willson argues that Professor Warhurst should know that there is also remarkable vitality among Australians who support our present constitutional monarchy. He adds that the current newsletter of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy reports that four years after the referendum there are still nearly 18,000 supporters on the national database, all dedicated to maintaining the present excellent system of government Many young people and people of non-British background support our constitutional monarchy. Mr Willson finds it disturbing that the republicans are such bad losers and simply cannot accept the clearly expressed democratic will of the people. Every State voted NO in 1999, and 72 per cent of electorates voted NO. There is, he says, no popular grounds well of opinion demanding that we revisit this issue. Yet republicans apparently want to keep forcing referendum after referendum on the people in the vain hope that they will get the result they want. And we at ACM agree wholeheartedly. And we thank Mr Willson for expressing these views so well.