Senator Alan Eggleston. “The Republic: an idea that has reached its time”. Address to the John Stuart Mill Society. September 22nd, 1997 – A Republican Constitution is too difficult to draft Conservative lawyers such as Sir Harry Gibbs have made fuss of the difficultly of drafting a set of words for a Republic constitution which would recreate the balances and political stability enjoyed by Australia under the present arrangements. Without doubt, the task will be complex, but I have long suspected more was being made of this difficultly than needed to be. To me, it has never been credible for monarchists to argue that, in a nation which has produced so many brilliant, clear thinking lawyers as Australia, a constitution could not be written which protected and preserved the rights of the Australian people, entrenched responsible parliamentary government under a Prime Minister and cabinet and created an institution for a Head of State not only having clearly designed and limited powers but also embodying formulae for the democratic means of resolution of crises should the good government of the Commonwealth be in jeopardy.
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