Melleuish, Gregory: Australian head of state but de facto monarchy

Melleuish, Gregory

An Australian head of state won’t save us from being a de facto monarchy‘, The Conversation, 27 January 2016

Prime ministers have become quasi-monarchs (despite their elected status) which is a particular worry given the poor quality of recent PMs. A genuine republic would have dispersed power and greater virtue among the citizenry.

Subsidiarity means that decision-making by central governments should only be in those matters that cannot be performed at a local level. Subsidiarity is crucial for a republican. It enables citizens to enhance their virtue by participating in decision-making in a meaningful fashion. If we are to create a genuine Australian republic, embedding subsidiarity in our political practice is far more important than who the head of state is. Australians should want the reality of a republic. The rest is but window-dressing.

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