Comment & Debate
Professor David Flint. “Republic Audit – Costs of Republicanism Paid or Payable by the Taxpayer”. June 14th, 2006 – Given the refusal of some republicans to accept the very clear decision of the people in 1999, and with some politicians defying that decision and acting as if we were a republic, it is time to subject all of this to an audit.
The purpose is to inform Australians how much of their hard-earned money has been successfully diverted — or is planned to be diverted — from hospitals, schools, aged care, defence and other essential matters to effect the change Australians rejected in 1999.
These moneys include not only the cost of the failed referendum in 1999, and the steps leading up to it, but also both the current proposals on new ways to achieve this, and the surreptitious ways the republican politicians are trying to achieve a republic by stealth.
We stress that we are only concerned with the costs paid by or payable by the Australian taxpayer. We have of course no objection to republicans reaching into their own pockets to pay for their own campaigns. But republicans so far have managed to saddle the taxpayer with much of their costs. Moreover, having had a very fair run in the nineties, they are still trying to impose, and at times are actually imposing heavy financial burdens on the taxpayer.” [Click on link to read the rest of this article]
“THE ‘NO’ CASE AGAINST A REPUBLIC, and ‘FOR’ OUR CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY”. – “Heads of State live in their own countries, cost big money for remuneration, security, housing and transport. They represent their own country overseas and have a day to day hands-on role for their governments. The Queen does not cost us one cent or play any part in the day-to-day running of Australia. In fact the English gave us seven Crowns, free, and much else besides, such as the English language, law and genius. We have never been asked to pay taxes or tribute to England.”
Rev. Kameel Majdali, Ph.D. “Australia’s Constitution, Crown, and Future”. Retrieved April 20th, 2008 – “Many questions arise with too few answers. The fact is that a successful referendum will necessitate additional constitutional conventions “to iron out the wrinkles.” The up-front of the current republic push has been $45 million for the convention, perhaps $50 for the referendum. What will these future conventions and other items (changing titles, crests, currencies, etc.) cost just to give us what we already have?”