Welcome to our new version of our regular e mail Hot Topics circular!
We have be inundated by people wanting to receive this free news
service and are delighted to provide you with regular updates of
issues affecting ACM.
As always we welcome your input and response at any time. Please note
from now on material presented on the ACM Hot News site has been
approved by the ACM national convenor and executive director.
ACM has received many complaints at the inappropriate use by
opposition leader Kim Beazley of the Centenary of Federation
celebration in Melbourne to reignite his republican push .
National office hosted a supporters morning tea last Friday May 25th.
Philip Gibson (AIDC) and Kerry Jones discussed the issue of the
Governor General as our Australian Head of State: a position which has
clearly been confirmed over the last twenty years. Much documentation
was tabled which will feature in the next addition of the national ACM
constitutional news.
Please find below interesting information provided by Philip Gibson
regarding the serious deficiencies of the republican model presented
at the November 1999 referendum and as provided by leading
republicans.
The next national ACM function will be the Queen’s birthday luncheon.
The guest speaker will be Professor David Flint who will address us on
the new appointment of The Most Reverend Peter Hollingworth as our
Australian Governor General. (for more information look up our events
link on our web site www.norepublic.com.au )
Keep tuned to this service for the latest news updates.
Best wishes from ACM.Philip Gibson’s contribution follows
If you voted YES at the November 99 referendum – were you aware of of
the serious deficiencies of that model, so strongly criticised by top
republicans?
50 of these 58 criticisms were made exclusively by Australia’s leading
and respected republicans, and 8 by former Chief Justice of the High
Court, Sir Harry Gibbs.
Why were we not told about these published criticisms? Because a
totally biased and irresponsible media refused to publish them, to
their great discredit, even disgrace. One wonders why the media
refused to give a balanced viewpoint so that voters could be properly
informed and vote in the best interests of Australia.
That the electorate, in spite of the failure of journalists to present
both sides of the discussion, saw through the propaganda and voted NO
to that republican model is to their everlasting credit.
Now the ALP leader, Kim Beazley.(but not all the 63.6% ALP/ Democrat
electorates which voted NO and certainly not all of the 66.3% in his
own electorate who voted NO) seems not to understand which part of the
word NO means NO.
Mr. Beazley has committed to a further disingenuous proposal of
holding a vastly expensive and cascading series of probably 14 Federal
and State non-committing and legally and constitutionally
non-effective plebiscites and 7 referenda asking "do you want an
Australian Head of State?" – or similar. These will divert hundreds
of millions of dollars away from matters of real concern to
Australians such as unemployment, drugs, health, environment etc. etc.
to a matter never listed in any poll or research as being even in the
first 40 items of community concern, i.e. a republic.
We use the word disingenuous advisedly because were he honest enough
to present us with his design of a (third attempt at a ) presidential
republican constitution, one which represents the *united aspirations
of a group of 9 or more diverse republican factions (see below) all
seeking something different, then we could examine and discuss that
model to determine whether it was better or not. But no, we are asked
to agree that hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted asking us to
vote ‘blind’. Blind because there is no model on the table to see.
Thus they propose that this outrageously expensive and emotional
question be asked "Do you want an Australian Head of State?, or
similar – WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE ONE!
The Queen is the Sovereign. Our Australian Head of State is the
Governor-General.
RELEVANT REPUBLICAN QUOTE –
"As a matter of tactics, those who want a republic in place for the
new millennium must take the direct-electionists head on! We must
make it clear that far from being united, the direct-electionists are
irreconcilably divided." ARM Leader Neville Wran in "The case for
Yes" (Federation Press) p.22.
List of some Republican factional Groups
Australian Republican Movement (ARM)
Ted Mack
Clem Jones Queensland Republic
Team
Real Republic
Safeguard the People
Elect the President
Alternative Three
A
Just Republic
The Republican Party of Australia
"No one should consider changing something they don’t fully
understand"
Andrew Imlach Editor Parliamentarian Magazine