ACM does have some very active young members.
Now another of the growing number of young supporters of ACM, Michael Shevers, has drawn my attention to something he has discovered while following the current general election in Canada.
(Incidentally, Mr Shevers is to speak on the subject “Knowing our Opponents: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Australian Republican Movement” at a morning tea at ACM national headquarters in Sydney on Friday 3rd March 2006, 10:30am-12:00pm. Just click on events or contact our national office for futher details)
The Conservative Party of Canada, currently leading in the polls and widely expected to be the next government after polling day on 23 January 2005, has expressly committed themselves as a Party to “constitutional monarchy” and “loyalty to a sovereign”. These clauses are listed on their website at http://www.conservative.ca/EN/1141/ As Mr Shevers says, it is “fantastic to see a major party publicly committing themselves to these principles and clearly shows just how important they are to a modern, diverse, and democratic nation”
It is widely predicted that the Conservatives will win the election. If this does occur, Mr Shevers says that ” hopefully,another nail will go into that coffin that is the republican movement in Canada.”
As far as I am aware, none of the major parties in Canada propose that Canada become a republic. The objective of the Quebec seccessionists is to leave Canada, not make Canada a republic. Mr.Shevers recalls that the the Liberal Party of Australia had the same principle of support for “constitutional monarchy” in its list of beliefs and values, but this was removed in the early ’90s “when the republican winds started blowing”.
One of the most ridiculous cliams made in the referendum campaign was that were Sir Robert Gordon Menzies , the founder of the liberal Party, alive today, he would be a republican.
This claim only served to demean its author,Senator Vanstone, who more recently caused a stir by making insulting and disparaging remarks about the Sovereign during a function in Mr Peter Costello’s electorate. This was not only insulting, it was inconsistent on her part as the Senator had been advising republicans not to attack the Royal Family!
Mr Costello, the Treasurer, commendably distanced himself from these remarks as his constituents understandably indicated their displeasure.
The Senator had been calling for yet another of those republican campaigns which sink without trace. This was her Wattle Day campaign.
And moving away from the Liberal Party, we should add that the ALP was , for most of its life , a party which also supported the constitutional monarchy.
In fact, all of its great, the legendary leaders of the Australian Labor Party, our oldest political party, have been constitutional monarchists.
Today, the National Party and the Christian Democrats have retained their principles. They both remain loyal to the Oath of Allegiance that all federal and state politicians have sworn, although some state politicians are attempting to destroy that oath. As to the Liberal Party, Mr Shevers observes that he can only hope that, one day, this principle will return to that Party’s list of core values, too.
Until next time,
David Flint