The following is an opinion article on behalf of The Hon. Scott Buchholz MP:
This week I had the honour of attending reception for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Canberra. What a journey for a kid who grew up playing in the streets of west Rockhampton.
There are not too many jobs whereby in order to discharge your duties, you must first swear allegiance to the Crown. In my case it was the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2010.
I was proud to be able to represent my community of Wright (and my Mum) in a room full of dignitaries, including former Prime Ministers, Heads of Clergy, diplomats, ambassadors, High Commissioners, defence personnel and leaders of industry. These people, young and old, from a wide range of our multi-cultural communities, came from across political divide and varying viewpoints on the monarchy and the republic and united to show our Head of State the warmth of the relationship that exists between our two countries. United to show respect – except for one. What a disgraceful display.
The inevitable arguments about our colonial past and our future as a nation have been raised again as Charles makes what may be his last trip to our shores.
I struggle to understand how our current system is broken or failing us. What liberties and freedoms do we not enjoy? What example of a stable, functional democracy is there that outshines what we have in Australia – I look to the greatest republic of them all – the United States of America – and I can’t say that I aspire to that for our great nation. Do we want to pop the bonnet on the vehicle that has given us over 200 years of prosperity if it is travelling so well? It seems like we are proposing a solution in search of a problem. And if it is a problem, I am not sure I trust to the levels of bureaucracy that provided the ‘expert’ advice about the horrendous lockdowns such as we saw in Victoria during COVID.
There may be more support for a republic among younger Australians – a few conversations with my own children have been interesting. Maybe this is because they are farther away in experience from those who have the evocative and emotional experiences of fighting for our freedoms in the name of King and Country.
In any event, the political reality is that a change to the status quo would require us to embark on a referendum process – and this will be a challenging journey in the wake of the disastrous and divisive Voice referendum, which still leaves a bitter taste for both sides of the campaign.
For me, I continue to support the monarchy and proudly represent all of us, respectfully, when the opportunities to celebrate the institution which has been fundamental part of the way in which this great nation has been able to develop into a thriving multicultural democracy- one which I would argue is the greatest in the world.
God save the King.
