Talk about shooting themselves in the foot. When he re-launched the republican campaign on 10 May, 2013, Malcolm Turnbull said republicans had "fundamentally undermined" their own cause by reducing the visibility of the monarchy in Australians' daily life.
"As the Queen and the Crown become less visible, the anomaly of it being there is less obvious," he said.
"I mean the best thing that can happen to republican cause is for the Queen's portrait to be hung in every classroom, for children to line up every morning and swear allegiance to the Queen, for all of us to get letters from the government demanding money for unpaid parking fines marked 'On Her Majesty's Service'."
We warned the republicans it wouldn't work, they had no mandate to do it and it would not help them.
The late Professor George Winterton – a very prominent republican – warned them too. But some republicans thought creeping republicanism was a smart way of circumventing the peoples' vote.
ACM supporters everywhere, in local government, in Parliaments, in scouting troupes and Girl Guides – tell the republicans that the republican commander, Malcolm Turnbull has had second thoughts. Creeping republicanism is now off the agenda.
Restore the portraits and all the signs of the Crown, the Oaths, the Coats of Arms. and fly the Australian Flag.
Don't tell the republicans that it won't make Australians long for some politicians' republic, but let them dream that that will happen if they want to. It will be just another elusive silver bullet.