The leader of the Federal Opposition Mark Latham has. ACM Promoting the opened a can of worms in setting an aggressive Constitution Through timetable to achieve his goal of a popularly elected Education President for an Australian Republic. Through the 1990 's and despite over $150,000,000 of tax payer funds being spent, republicans continually divided amongst themselves and were still unable to demonstrate a republic model that in any way measures up to the safeguards of our current constitutional arrangements. Mr Latham came to the leadership of the Labor Party with a reputation as a street fighter and a divisive political player. He would now propose through rolling plebiscites to create constitutional uncertainty in our Australian Democracy which is recognised worldwide as the best in the world. By pushing an intense republican agenda he will be dividing Australians at all levels of politics as well as republican colleagues and the Australian community. Premier Bob Carr publicly announced in 2003 he would prefer the Constitutional Monarchy to a popularly elected president stating "The President… could become a rival source of power to the parliamentary leader…"
Queen Elizabeth is acclaimed as the world leading stateswoman, as head of the Commonwealth and our Australian Sovereign. There is no need for Mr Latham to create Constitutional uncertainty, at another huge cost to the Australian tax payer when the debate of the 1990's ended with a resounding "NO" vote across all States and the Northern Territory; a vote seen by the world as confidence in the Queen as our Sovereign, the Governor-General as our Head of State and the role that the Crown provides through leadership above politics as an integral force in the Australian Constitution. Thinking Australians must surely be questioning Mr Latham's impulsiveness in raising such a divisive question without first thinking out the massive and complicated constitutional issues involved with calling for a new republican debacle on such a short time line. Thinking Australians must surely be questioning the wisdom of this political stunt.