Australia will never become mature as a nation until it becomes a republic. For over one hundred years, Australia has been acting and governing itself almost entirely autonomous of Britain. It has developed a significant culture, and national identity of it?s own, vastly different to that of Britain and yet it retains the British monarch as its head of state. The monarch is a now obsolete parental figure, overshadowing Australia, its part in world politics, and the international economy. Having a citizen of an older country presiding over a younger suggests that the younger country is unable to look after itself, and needs supervision. This is clearly not so, Australia is an independent, industrial world power. In addition, the monarchy is at odds with Australian values, as it is an hereditary and inherently sexist title; it is ?unAustralian?.
In the 19th Century, and the early 20th Century Australia was a small, developing nation, still very reliant on Britain and Europe for social and economic reasons, while Asian geographically, Australia was very much a European country socially.
Gough Whitlam
English: President Richard M. Nixon and Australian...
Britains Floral Garden ~ memories from my childhoo...The majority of the Australian population were first or second-generation British migrants, and still saw Britain as their homeland, and remained fiercely loyal to the queen. However, Australian culture began to move away from Britain, and develop an identity of its own, characterised by several landmarks; in 1919 the then Prime Minister demanding that Australia be allowed to choose its Governor-General, rather than the Queen; in 1948, Australia proclaimed that its citizens were now Australian citizens, and not British subjects; the decision by Gough Whitlam to change of the national anthem from God Save the Queen to Advance Australia Fair (Cassidy, 1997). So Britain and the British monarchy are clearly becoming less important to Australia and it?s people. In the eyes...