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AFP reports a poll of 1,400 Australians has found 52% would support a republic, with 40% supporting the monarchy and 8% undecided. The poll was conducted after Malcolm Turnbull's election to the leadership of the Liberal Party.

Update: The Australian notes that support for a republic has remained static since 2004, decreasing slightly since the peak in 1999 of 57%.

At Business Day's Stirring the Pot, Bruce Sheppard describes the Governor-General as "a political appointee & puppet". He's correct on that count:

...the Governor General who is the conscious of the nation, the protector of the constitution etc, is only appointed upon the recommendation of government. And once appointed it is this person who appoints the Government.

This is a virtuous circle which concentrates all power in the Prime Minister from time to time. I have often referred to Helen Clark as Aunty Helen due to her propensity to meddle in the functioning of our lives, but perhaps a better description is Queen Helen.

If you're interested (and have the bandwidth!) the audio of my speech to the Secular Heritage conference is now online in MP3 format. The text of the speech is here.

The Melbourne Age has extracts from former Australian Treasurer Peter Costello's memoirs. The provide an intriguing insight into the office of Governor-General and the Prime Minister's office:

Mr Costello has also revealed that Howard downgraded the role of the governor-general while he was prime minister, former federal treasurer Peter Costello writes in his memoirs.

Mr Costello confirms that when Mr Howard came to power in 1996 "there was some tension" between Mr Howard and incumbent governor-general Sir William Dean.

Sir William Dean was the Paul Keating (i.e. Labor) appointed Governor-General. He clashed with the Howard government on social policy - although Mr Howard and his government usually ignored his comments. Interestingly, Sir William was a judge and not a politician.

Over at The Monarchist, there's a series of posts in defence of the monarchy. The first two have dealt with the usual suspects: we now know that God is a monarchist and tradition is king. Both of these arguments are fairly easy targets, but the third takes a different tact - attacking the very idea of democracy, or at least a democratically elected head of State. The usual nonsense comparison between the Queen and President of the United States is made, questions about democracy and choice, and whether someone linked to a political party can unite everyone in a country.

The New Zealand Herald reports Prince Andrew is in Viet Nam to "help promote more bilateral trade and investment." We all know that actually means that the Prince, in his position as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, is in Viet Nam to push Britain's trade interests (as is their right, of course).

But here's the rub: from New Zealand's perspective, a member of the family that is meant to represent New Zealand is instead representing the United Kingdom's trade and investment interests. This is not in our national interests. Some might call this "narrow nationalism" but it's nothing more than an acceptance of what we all know to be true: the Royal family can only represent Britai. New Zealand's retention of the monarchy is nothing more than a colonial throw-back.

Following Mr Key's statements to The Financial Times, the Republican Movement has written to the Leader of the Opposition suggesting a practical step towards a republic he could take should his party form the next government:

Dear Mr Key,

RE: THE INEVITABLE REPUBLIC

Over at The Monarchist, there's an excellent post by "Bolingbroke" rejecting some of the more commonly made arguments for keeping the monarchy. He or she covers seven main arguments, all of which deserve a mention:

1. The Popularity of the Queen: "Saying that we should keep the monarchy because the Queen is a lovely lady is patently absurd"

The problem with this argument is that it contains an element of truth - the popularity of the monarchy is directly related to the popularity of the monarch.

2. Promoting Tourism: "...one of the saddest arguments ever devised in its favour."