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The Crowned Republic Elect model is one of a number of Copernican models for an Australian republic. With the Copernican Framework the change to a republic is achieved through replacing the Queen with a regularly and periodically elected Australian. The Copernican Framework can be contrasted with pre-Copernican Frameworks, such as the proposal put to the people in the 1999 referendum, where both the Governor-General and Queen are replaced by the one Australian as our head of state.

Outline of the Egalitarian Model

This new model is an attempt to democratise the Australian Crowns.

Contents 1 An Outline of the Egalitarian Model 2 Founding Documents 3 Commonwealth of Australia 4 Monarchy 5 Change from monarchy to republic 6 Egalitarian Republic Model 7 Relevant Links

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An Outline of the Egalitarian Model

The approach taken by this Copernican Model is to replace the Queen in our Constitutional arrangements with a regularly and periodically elected Australian citizen. The elected head of state will have the same powers as the Queen does now. The office of Governor-General would remain and the conventions with regard to the Governor-General will be preserved. The Governor-General will be appointed only on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Governor-General will still have the discretion to exercise the reserve powers if needs be. An elected head of state will, however, not be able to dismiss a Prime Minister.

This egalitarian model for a republic proposes that a change to a republican form can be achieved by changing the rules for succession to the seven existing Australian Crowns. The proposed rules for election of our head of state, who will replace the Queen in our Constitution, would be drafted as new Sections of the Constitution and only after passing a referendum vote would these new Sections be added to the Constitution. We would then have to formally request all the other Commonwealth realms (such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, etc) to accept the changes to the rules of succession for the seven Australian Crowns as set out in the new Sections of our Constitution.

Once agreement is granted by all the Commonwealth Realms for these changes to the rules of succession for the Australian Crowns ( and this should be a formality) there will be a date and time where the rules of succession for the Australian Crowns will mean that the Australian Crown(s) will be transferred from the person of the British monarch (Queen Elizabeth II at the moment) to the person who is elected as the first Australian head of state. From that moment on, new titles for the head of state and Governor-General could take effect and we would have an elected Australian as our head of state.

The seven Australian Crowns would be unified through the person who is the elected Head of state at a particular time. This is an important point and forms one of the main reasons for having a Presidential round-robin of the states (and territories). The need for a Presidential round-robin to unify the Australian Crowns is also a justification for have a very short term of one calendar year only for any one person who is elected in a state or territory to act as the Australian Head of state. The seven Australian Crowns, as well as all the Crowns of the Commonwealth Realms, are currently unified in the person of Queen Elizabeth II. Unifying the Australian Crowns through the one person who would be elected to be our Head of state at that particular time is not really a new concept.

The need to personally unify the Australian Crowns also serves to justify the existence of an Australian Head of state once we become a republic. Even if we do away with the Australian Crowns, we would still have to create some legal entities with nearly identical characteristics to the Crown to represent sovereignty of the Commonwealth, states and territories in this continent. If we change the structure of our Federation into a unitary and central legal sovereign entity for a republic, this will completely change the legal architecture of our nation. This is a complex point that must be addressed in the republican movement. Our Federation has been unified through the Australian Crown(s) since Federation in 1901. A republican approach that tries to create a republic by simply doing away with the Crown is naive (and possibly deceptive and misleading at worst).

The egalitarian model for a republic proposes a term of ONE calendar year only for an elected head of state. It also proposes that the states and territories have an equal share of time for the head of state elected in each of the states and the territories combined. The seven equal shares mirror the seven Australian Crowns (one each from the six states and one for the Commonwealth). This means that there would be a state-based round-robin for a rotating presidency (the terminology is still provisional at this stage). The elections for head of state would be conducted in each of the states in turn, and once per round for all the territories combined. A state-based election and term of one calender year means that an elected head of state could NOT claim an effective political mandate. One person could not serve successive terms as head of state.

A voter would only need to vote for the head of state about once in every seven years on average, and this election for the head of state could be made to coincide with another state or federal election if that is considered to be appropriate. This will not add significantly to the number of elections a voter would need to participate in, and this will also be cost effective.

The proposed new Sections of the Constitution could specify the minimal conditions for the election of our head of state and the process of the round-robin. It would be up to the states to determine the methods of nomination and the processes for campaigning within their state.

This model proposes the addition of a Bill of Human Rights into the Constitution as a new Section. The egalitarian model also proposes alternating the office of head state by gender from year to year, and also so that the gender of the representative from a particular state or the territories alternates with each seven year round. The egalitarian model for a republic is about maintaining our system of government as it is while democratising the institution of the Australian Crown.

Founding Documents

English Parliament

• Magna Carta
• Bill of Rights 1689
• Act of Settlement 1701
• Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900
  • Second Covering Clause
• Australian Constitution
  • Section 59
• Balfour Declaration of 1926
• Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
• Statute of Westminster 1931
• His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936

Australian Parliament

• Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942
• Royal Style and Titles Act 1953
• Flags Act 1953
• Australia Act 1986

Commonwealth of Australia

• The Queen
• Governor-General
• Commonwealth Government
• Prime Minister
• Senate
• House of Representatives
• States and Territories
• Westminster Conventions
• The Reserve Powers

Monarchy

• The Queen
• Governor-General
• The Crown
• Succession
• Commonwealth realms
• Commonwealth of Nations
• Queens Birthday Holiday

Change from monarchy to republic

• Constitutional monarchy
• Pre-Copernican Republican Models
• Copernican Models
• Egalitarian Republic Model
• Proposed new Sections for the Australian Constitution
• Proposed new Flag suitable for a republic
• The Process of changing to a republican form
• What advantages does the egalitarian model have
• Why keep both a head of state and the Governor-General
• Why keep the Australian Crowns

Egalitarian Republic Model

• The President
  • Title for the head of state
  • Method of Election
    • Overview of election process
    • State-based rotating presidency
    • Inclusion of territories
    • Gender equality
    • Methods for nominations
    • Setting minimal conditions
  • Term of office
  • Powers of the President
  • Method for removal of the President
  • Step-in in case of misadventure or removal
  • Main office and residence for the President
• The Vice-President (Governor-General)
  • Nature of the Vice-Presidency
  • Method of Appointment
  • Term of office for the Vice-President
  • Powers of the Vice-President
  • Method for removal of the Vice-President
  • Main office and residence for the Vice-President
• The Australian Crown
  • Statute of Westminster 1931
  • Commonwealth realms
  • Relationship with the States
• Public Holidays

Relevant Links

• Republican Groups
• Groups opposed to a republic
• Links to other Republican Models
• Links to relevant news articles

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