Further to our column on Philip Adams’ assertions about CWA and RSL support for a republic, we received this letter from a reader, Jocelyn Maxwell.
“ I’m hopping mad this morning having just read Philip Adams in his column on the final page of The Weekend Australian Magazine. I don’t normally read this column or anything to do with Philip Adams but the word "CWA" caught my eye. This stands for the Country Women’s Association. So I read further and found that Adams was talking about the time he had toured Australia talking to people about what made them proud to be Australian. This must have been in 1999 or 2000. Everyone, he said, signed off on the republic and reconciliation being at the top of the list for 2000 – even representatives of such conservative outfits as the CWA and RSL. They mightn’t have been widely excited about either notion, he went on, but took the view that "it was time to get on with the rest of our lives."
Time to get on with the rest of our lives, for heavens sake! I belong to the Mittagong (NSW) branch of the CWA and I can tell you that we swear loyalty to the throne at each meeting. I suggest that the only people who need to get on with the rest of their lives are people like Philip Adams with their obsession with the republic and all things anti-monarchical.
With kind regards,
Jocelyn Maxwell”
We agree. Mr. Adams is entitled to his views. But his claim that everyone signed off on some vague undefined republic, including representatives of the CWA and RSL is completely inconsistent with their long held positions. To be charitable, Mr. Adams must have been confused by their politeness. And what was the COAG entertainment committee doing taking a decision to throw out the constitution and, presumably, the flag?