
Issue No 35		15 October 1999

Republic

Negative Campaigning

By Peter Lewis

If the Republic fails, one of the main complaints which should be leveled against the ARM is its refusal to play dirty.

As the Monarchists pull every trick in the book to maintain the Crown, the Republicans find themselves trapped in a lawyers argument on the model of change, rather than the need to piss the British out of this part of the world once and for all.

They find themselves being squeezed on one-side by the conservatives, the other by the radicals who say the minimalist model does not go far enough. In the process we have the bizarre situation where the Republicans are cast as the "elitists" and the Monarchists advocate a No vote for the people's Republic.

They have to be kidding. But do the ARM blow them out of the water? No way, just another advertisement with kids singing "we are ost-rail-ee-un".

You only have to read the vox pops in the newspapers, "I'm not voting for a model that politicians appoint", "I'm for a Republic, but not this time" - the Monarchists lies are taking hold.

It's time to fight negatives with negatives - put the focus back on the Queen and blow some of scurrilous arguments out of the water. I'm talking shit-sheets here. Low blows, niggling tactics. Our Republican heritage should not be in the hands of the lawyers, it should get back into the gutter.

Highlighting the following points would be a good start.

� To be Australian's Head of State you need to be the consequence of a moment of passion between two blue-blood aristocrats from the other side of the world. Let's draw diagrams if we have to. Without a Royal copulation we would be leaderless.

� The highest ranking Australian, the Governor General, is appointed by one man. The Prime Minister. Almost without exception he is a former judge. Judges tend to come from the local aristocracy, and even the nicest of them receive private school education. Far from being populist the current system allows one man to choose another from a very limited talent pool.

� The Prime Minister is our political leader, the President will only be the figurehead where ultimate power is vested. Just because it will carry the fancy presidential title doesn't mean it will be exercise power over the defence forces and scoring blow-jobs from precocious interns. People who want direct election don't seem to understand this. A popularly elected president would have the legitimacy to act in what he or she perceived to be the national interest, rather than on the advice of the elected government. This is a major change to the system. If I was Malcolm Turnbull, I would have considered advocating a different name for the head of state - Governor may have been a more low-key title than President and would have carried with it the tradition of appointment and ceremony.

� Even if we are to accept the Monarchists' argument that they support the People's Republic, the minimalist model is far more inclusive than the current system. First, there's the public consultation process brokered by Jason Li at the Constitutional convention last year - anyone who wants a say will get one. And the appointment will require the backing of both houses of Parliament meaning (i) partisan appointments will be unlikely and (ii) there is far greater input into the appointment than presently exists.

� The furphy over appointment (not to mention the drinking habits of some of the ARM) have led to the crazy proposition that the republicans are the "elitists". Let's meet this head-on. Let's throw some dirt at those pushing the monarchist line. Starting with Kerry Jones, who may talk like an unemployable primary school teacher, but who is actually the daughter of multi-millionaire nursing home tsar Harry Moran. Let's look at the bluebloods in the ARM organisation - the judges and politicians all from the top end of town. Let's line up the toffs and call them for what they are.

� Finally, we need to get that chip back on the shoulder. We need to emphasize the point that the British still regard us as their colony, their cultural inferiors. To me the killer play would have been filming the Barmy Army at the cricket last summer (I actually made the suggestion to the ARM but they didn't seem to get it). It would have been beautiful, those arrogant, pissed Brits singing it with pride "God Save YOUR Gracious Queen, long live YOUR noble Queen ..." Even James Blundell, would have voted against that.

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Issue 35 contents

Interview: Strategic Responses
NSW Police Association president Mark Burgess has worked in the coal mines and the waterfront - now he�s the public face of NSW police

Republic: Negative Campaigning
If the Republic fails, one of the main complaints which should be leveled against the ARM is its refusal to play dirty.

Unions: Interpreter smooths the way for Kosovar Refugees
�The people really appreciate what Australia has done for them but they still want to go home," said Ariana Biba, a HREA member who has been worked recently as an interpreter assisting newly arrived refugees from Kosovo.

Education: Count Yorga's Evil Plot
NTEU president Carolyn Allport looks at Kemp's brazen attack on univestities and warns the battle is not won yet.

Safety: Death in the Snowy
Beyond the engineering achievements of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, there is the tragic story of those workers killed or seriously injured in the construction of the project.

International: Why Is the WTO So Anti-Labour?
Driving the cost of labour down appears to be the main priority of the World Trade Organisation

History: The Importance of Tradition
Historical documents bring us into closer contact with the past and its concerns as this 1945 extract from the NSW Nurses Association journal, The Lamp, shows.

Review: McLibel - The Mice That Roared
This documentary is the classic tale of the little guys against the system, a battle for the right to dissent.

Satire: Government Privatises Numbers
Prime Minister John Howard released a new policy on numerals yesterday, to bring them in in line with the Liberal Party's plan to privatise �Pretty much everything before we lose office.�

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