Australian Republic Movement’s “Australia Day” TV advertisement challenges why the Queen is Australian Head of State

Australian Republic Movement’s “Australia Day” TV advertisement challenges why the Queen is Australian Head of State
January 26, 2017 was Australia Day and a controversial new television ad aired which gets viewers to think about why the Queen is Australia’s Head of State.

These lyrics haven’t been part of Australia’s national anthem since 1984: “God save our gracious queen! Long live our noble queen! God save the queen!”. “Advance Australia Fair” became anthem of Australia.

Edward Bond
The Daily Telegraph

The 50-second commercial released by the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) has everyday Australians singing the words to the British national anthem God Save The Queen, which was our own national anthem until 1984 when it was replaced by Advance Australia Fair.

The TV ad is the centrepiece for ARM’s new campaign, which is inviting Australians to declare their own independence by pledging allegiance to Australia and its people rather than the British monarch.

Federal politicians and Australian Defence Force personnel must still declare allegiance to the Queen, something which ARM chair Peter FitzSimons would like to see changed.

“This is Australia. We are Australians. And our national head of state should be an Australian. There’s no credible argument against that,” he said.

“We respect the Queen for her lifetime of service, and we’d love to have her over for a cuppa to oversee the transition to an Australian republic with an Australian as our head of state.”

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Video: Australian Republic Movement -God Save the Queen

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December 16, 2016

Majority support in Parliament for a republic, Australian Republican Movement claims

Fergus Hunter, Deborah Snow, James Massola
Sydney Morning Herald

The move for an Australian republic now attracts majority support in both houses of federal Parliament, according to new figures from the Australian Republican Movement, with several senior ministers in support, as well as some surprising names from the Coalition’s conservative backbench, including maverick George Christensen (a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Dawson in Queensland for the Liberal National Party of Queensland).

Adding fuel to the issue, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling for the pair to work together to “make new progress to an Australian republic”.

The new numbers show a minimum 81 MPs who favour a republic in the House of Representatives, and 40 in the Senate.

According to the ARM, 58 MPs in the lower house remain undeclared or undecided and 11 are monarchists. In the Senate, 21 remain tight-lipped and 15 favour the status quo.

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Video: Why are you a Republican?
Australian Republic Movement

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Video: National Chair Peter FitzSimons

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My declaration of independence
http://declare.republic.org.au