The Canberra Times carries an interesting article, reporting on a speech by Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon on constitutional reform:

The republic is the least important issue we face. Its significance is purely symbolic. However, opinion polls have repeatedly shown a clear majority of voters in favour of a republic provided the Queen and Governor-General are replaced by an elected president. That could be achieved without any change in the largely unwritten powers wielded by the Governor-General.

However, to allay the fears of those who think that an elected president might believe he or she had a popular mandate to exercise power contrary to the conventions, we could codify the powers in the Constitution as has been done in many other Commonwealth countries.