For the first time in many years, the Queen’s Birthday passed without at least one republican stunt disturbing the enjoyment of the public holiday.No one this year demanded, for example, that The Queen give back Australia’s Crown Land!(Incidentally,with problems about infrastructure hospitals law and order, the NSW authorities have nevertheless found the time to change the name of Crown Land,and now they are targetting the Oath of Allegiance.)
The weekend was memorable for the London tabloids being caught out for publishing or giving any credence to what is now shown to be a blatant lie about the Prince of Wales: see our columns of 16 and 20 November, 2003.
George Smith, a former Royal Valet was paid 60000 pounds by a tabloid to tell that particular lie. As you would expect, this story is not getting the prominence the lie did: Daily Telegraph, London, 13 June 2004.
In the meantime,Sir David Smith said that Sir William Deane had set a dreadful precedent for a Governor-General stepping down into the political arena. Sir David was speaking aganst the proposal for a series of plebiscites designed to select a republic with a directly elected president . He pointed out that this was just another dishonest attempt to deceive us and frustrate the provisions of the Constitution: Daily Telegraph,14 June 2004. (We hope to publish Sir David’s paper on this site.)
Then Geoff Kitney,in the Australian Financial Review, 12-14 June 2004, says that Australia’s loyalty to the monarchy may baffle republicans, but as recent Royal Weddings show , the institution’s stocks are on the rise! He ends his piece ,The Royal Connection, with these words:
"Republicans despair. The monarchists still have a lot of heavy emotional ammunition over the future constiutional structure of Australia.Perhaps it would be a good idea to take Monday off and rest up for the fight to come"
Until next time,
David Flint