David Dale’s column in the Sun-Herald on 2 December, 2007 ”When we grow up, we would like to be a republic,” was a self indulgent attack on religion and the constitutional monarchy. It opened:
“At my primary school, a decade or three ago, we had to do this chant, with appropriate gestures, before the headmaster addressed the weekly assembly: "I love my Queen, I honour my God, and I salute the flag". On election night, a week ago, there was a fair bit of flag saluting, in the form of assertions about the greatness of our nation. But where was God and where was Her Majesty? And was their absence a sign that Australia has achieved political maturity?”
After God, he said “The other external authority missing from all the election discussion was Elizabeth Windsor. We were told that on Sunday Kevin Rudd spoke to US President George Bush, British PM Gordon Brown, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Last time I looked, Australia's head of state was the English monarch, and the protocol after an election was for the leader of the winning party to seek the head of state's commission to form a government. Last week, the Queen seems to have been ignored.”Last time you looked Mr. Dale?
Before you write such twaddle, look at sections 61 and 62 of the Constitution. These say:
“61. 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. “62. There shall be a Federal Executive Council to advise the Governor-General in the government of the Commonwealth, and the members of the Council shall be chosen and summoned by the Governor-General and sworn as Executive Councillors, and shall hold office during his pleasure.”
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