A proposed Australian vote on removing King Charles III as the country’s head of state to pave the way for a republic has been put on hold. Indefinitely.
Left-wing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has a longstanding policy of holding a national poll on severing ties with the British monarchy, campaigning for office with a commitment to put the future of the monarchy Down Under to a constitutional referendum.
Now one of his own ministers has said a vote is “not a priority” and there is “no timeline” for it, the BBC reports.
The Labor government last week said it was expecting a visit from King Charles and Queen Camilla “later this year.”
File/Britain’s King Charles III speaks with Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, as he receives realm prime ministers in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace on September 17, 2022 in London, England. (Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The prime minister enjoyed a “warm relationship” with Charles, a government spokesperson noted in a statement to the Australian newspaper.
The comments follow last year’s defeat for the government in a separate referendum, in which Australians overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to indigenous people, as Breitbart News reported.
All six states voted against a proposal to amend the constitution to recognise First Nations people to the dismay of the Labor government and Green Party supporters.
Opponents argued it would divide Australians along racial lines without reducing indigenous disadvantages.
Asked over the weekend about the government’s plans for another referendum – on becoming a republic – a government minister told the Australian the issue was currently “not a priority”.
Pressed further on the topic on ABC on Monday, Assistant Minister for the Republic Matt Thistlethwaite said there was “no timeline.”
File/Charles, Prince of Wales using a bush saw to fell a tree during a trip to Timbertop on 1st February 1966, an annexe of the Geelong Grammar School, Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
He instead highlighted the need to tackle cost-of-living issues.
The country rejected cutting ties with the monarchy in a “once in a lifetime” referendum in 1999 with the No vote of 54.9 per cent winning the argument.