Australian electoral study 2007: 60% favour a republic
The results of the 2007 Australian Electoral Study by the Australian National University are out - and it's not looking good for the monarchy.
On the key question of whether Australia should become a republic, or continue to have the Queen as head of State, 60.1% of the 1,801 respondents answered they support a republic. 64.4% do not think the Queen is important to Australia. A slight majority - 50.9% support election of an Australian head of State directly by Australian voters, along the lines of Ireland, Austria, Finland or Iceland.
It is important to remember that this is a study, not an opinion poll. As such it is much more representative than phone-polls could be, and the results are much more in depth. The final statistic is interesting, in that it vindicates the view that Australian voters did not reject the 1999 republic referendum simply on the basis on rejecting republicanism, but on the basis that they did not like the model proposed.
Full results from the AES website follow:
F16. Importance of Queen
Question:
How important do you feel the Queen and the Royal Family are to Australia?
- Very important 196 10.6%
- Fairly important 463 25.0%
- Not very important 1191 64.4%
Summary Statistics:
- Valid 1850
- Missing 23
F17. Australia a republic
Question:
Do you think that Australia should become a republic with an Australian head of state, or should the Queen be retained as head of state?
- Strongly favour republic 565 30.9%
- Favour republic 534 29.2%
- Favour retaining Queen 554 30.3%
- Strongly favour retaining Queen 177 9.7%
Summary Statistics
- Valid 1830
- Missing 43
F18. Head of republic from voters
Question:
If Australia becomes a republic with an Australian head of state, should the head of state be elected by the voters or elected by Parliament?
- Strongly favour election by voters 932 50.9%
- Favour election by voters 533 29.1%
- Favour election by Parliament 282 15.4%
- Strongly favour election by Parliament 85 4.6%
Summary Statistics
- Valid 1832
- Missing 41
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Comments
But the question, "Do you think that Australia should become a republic with an Australian head of state, or should the Queen be retained as head of state?" is misleading in its use of "an Australian Head of State", as is the use of "should the Queen be retained as Head of State", neither of which is particularly useful since both dupe the respondent. Hence, I wouldn't trust this poll, certainly not if you don't trust the polls which refer to the Queen rather than the monarchy.
That may be so, but the second question - on what sort of republic Australians want - puts the issue beyond doubt. I would be a hypocrite if I said the "Queen as head of State" is not misleading in someway, however, the poll does show the subtle differences between both sides of the argument in Australia.
The monarchy stands for great history, romance and tradition and is a unique institution that has sadly been lost by many countries.
The people of Australia should embrace the monarchy as part of their history and remain as a unique commonwealth state.
Her Majesty is not in charge in any way at all, she does not affect Australia but does stand as a figurehead for respect of authority - something Australians should keep hold of.
Australia doesn't have much of a history - their ties with the monarchy are a pathway to hundreds of years of the most facinating history one could ever wish to be associated with.
The Queen of Australia - sounds damn good.
President of Australia - sounds too American to be worth looking twice at. How boring.
Remain unique forever!!
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
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