Queens Birthday described as “irrelevant to Australians”
9 June 2008THE Queen’s Birthday is not a good excuse for Australians to enjoy a long weekend and should be replaced immediately, it was claimed today.
And honouring the achievements of Australians on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend is anachronistic and a flawed relic of days gone by, republicans say.
Australian Republican Movement chair Michael Keating says announcing the honours list this weekend devalues the awards by linking them to the British empire.
“It’s really some kind of flawed relic of days gone by,” Mr Keating told ABC Radio. “The honours are Australian honours and by announcing them on this particular holiday … devalues the special Australian character of the awards. “Particularly for the majority of Australians who are Republicans at heart.”
The Australian honours system was established in 1975. Before that Australians were honoured through the British imperial awards.
“The days of empire and imperial awards are over and this practise of announcing our Australian awards on this particular day should be over too,” Mr Keating said. “It’s anachronistic.”
Mr Keating went further, saying the Queen’s Birthday holiday should be renamed. The day should celebrate “something about our land, culture, values or history”, he said.
But monarchists ridiculed the suggestion. Australians for Constitutional Monarchy says the Queen’s Birthday is the nation’s “first and oldest” public holiday. “As such it is a celebration of our history, our heritage and our great democracy,” national convenor David Flint said in a statement.
“But as with Australia Day, the Queen’s Birthday does not pass these days without some sort of stunt from the republicans.”
on June 9th, 2009 at 9:22 am
The Queen is not Australian. Therefore, she is not special. Australians are at least as good as the Queen. Australians are at least as good as any other people. One of us should be Head of State. The London Agreement of 1949 gave Commonwealth countries the right to establish their own Heads of State and remain in the Commonwealth. In 1950, India became the first Commonwealth country to establish its own Head of State and remain in the Commonwealth. Australia should have followed suit immediately. We should have established an Australian Head of State in 1950. We MUST do it NOW! Un-Australians for Constitutional Monarchy should be ashamed of themselves! Let us immediately begin the process of establishing an Australian Head of State!