Why do republicans exaggerate? We have just sent this letter to the Sun Herald:
13 November 2011
Dear Editor,
In his column (13/11) Peter Fitzsimons makes the statement “ is it is also a known fact that broadly half of Australians want a republic.”
This is not so.
According to a detailed survey prepared by Roy Morgan Research, support for a vague undefined republic is around one third, not one half . Support among the young is lower than in the general population: see http://bit.ly/eA6Gyn
Mr. Fitzsimons should also be aware that voting in a referendum is invariably lower than polling would indicate.
He complains about $5000 being spent on the Diamond Jubilee – about half a billion has been spent so far in trying to foist his politicians' republic on a reluctant nation.
Sincerely,
