An Australia Day poll by Newspoll showed 45% of Australians in favour of their country becoming a republic. Thirty-six per cent were opposed and 19 per cent undecided.
The figures suggest that there has been little change in attitudes. Although the poll showed republicans outnumbering those committed to Australia remaining a monarchy, Australian republicans were disappointed by the lack of progress.
They took comfort, however, from the 51 per cent of Australians favouring a republic in the event of Charles Windsor replacing his mother as Britain’s head of state. This suggests that most Australians do not accept in practice the principle of hereditary right on which monarchy is based.
Previous polls have indicated that 95 per cent of Australians would like a fellow Australian as their country’s head of state, suggesting that many have failed to recognise that a republic would give them just that.
Britain’s hereditary head of state, is also the head of state for Australia and a number of other former colonies.