The September edition of The Australian Women's Weekly features a 25-page special, "Royal, Young & Hip - The New Breed Shaping the Monarchy".
The feature includes the following comments from Former Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, ACM's first Executive Director, The Hon. Tony Abbott, and ACM's current Executive Director, Jai Martinkovits.
Major General Michael Jeffery Former Governor-General and Head of Fundraising for The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust
"Prince William, his vivacious Duchess and Prince Harry will adapt as necessary, but in a manner that will always hold true to the fundamentals of a modern royalty - duty, wisdom, compassion and integrity. They each will be a highly respected and much-loved focal point of national and Commonwealth unity. We will all be blessed to have them."
Opposition Leader The Hon. Tony Abbott
"The monarchy has served Australians extremely well in the past and I have no reason to think that it won't continue to serve us well into the future.
I think all Australians are feeling pretty pleased and proud of the new generation of young royals. William and Kate's wedding clearly highlighted this affection. The recent changes to the line of succession are a clear sign that the monarchy can move with the times and that ancient institutions need not be anachronisms."
Jai Martinkovits Executive Director Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
"We know from looking at the opinion polls that one of the strongest brackets of support [for the royals in Australia] comes from our youth.
Having this royal couple who are relevant to them cements that support.
That really shores up the future of the monarchy and Australia's relationship with it."
At the conference a group of seven students will share their views on Australia's current constitutional arrangements and share why they believe that Australians should not entertain the notion of Australia becoming some form of politicians' republic.
TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE FLYER AND REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE.
For the thirteenth time since the referendum Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is delighted to offer Members another National Conference. In fact ACM is the only organisation on this issue, monarchist or republican, to have done so.
Recently writing in Spectator Australia, Peter Coleman, the author, editor, journalist, State and Federal politician and former Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal New South Wales Opposition, said someone should write a history of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. He described ACM as “a remarkable movement”.
This is an especially exciting year, being the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty and only the second to be celebrated by our monarchy.
In a book to honour her 80th birthday, with a foreword by Tony Abbott, ACM declared that the Queen had given impeccable service in an indispensable office. Even those opposed to the Crown now admit that Her Majesty’s performance in her many duties has been more than anyone could have ever expected.
So we are pleased that to have so effectively campaigned and persuaded the ABC to reverse its extraordinary decision not to broadcast the central events of the Diamond Jubilee, but to show an old American comedy about a hairdresser who seduces his female clients.
It was the willingness of our supporters to endorse our petition, and the rigorous media campaign which we conducted, which forced the ABC to relent so quickly. This enabled large numbers of our fellow Australians to see and to join in those celebrations.
At this year’s conference Members will have the opportunity to not only review the year, but to be involved in the decisions which must be taken about the future. This will be at a meeting of ACM’s Council of Supporters of Constitutional Monarchy.
The centrepiece of the conference will be the keynote address by Sophie Mirabella, MP. If the polls are correct, her subject, “The symbols of monarchy under an Abbott government”, will give us an exciting insight into the future relationship of the Australian government with the Crown.
ACM has always avoided being a Sydney centric organisation and accordingly our National Conferences have been held across our great land. This year the conference will be held in Australia’s largest inland city, Wagga Wagga. We do look forward to welcoming you there.
TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE FLYER AND REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE.
“In September 2013, Quentin Bryce’s term as Governor-General is due to end,” writes former public servant Godwin Grech in a piece in Spectator Australia (18/8), “Make John Howard Governor-General and consign Malcolm Turnbull to history.”
It should of course be noted that Ms. Bryce’s term could be renewed or extended.
This brings us to the way in which The Queen is advised. On this Sir Robert Menzies’ approach, described below, seems the better way for a Governor-General to emerge.
Before coming to that, I should point out that the Spectator column is only accessible to subscribers, but has been widely reported in the media.
Mr. Grech says that “by any objective measure, John Howard would make a first-tclass Head of State who would be warmly embraced by Buckingham Palace.”
“ Howard,” he adds “would perfectly compliment Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, providing Australians with a world-class leadership team.”
A team? I do hope that these incumbents of these two vastly different offices are never seen as “a team”.
Jamaican Usain Bolt is the first man to win both the 100m and 200m titles at consecutive Olympics, Beijing in 2008, and London in 2012.
In 2009, we published a column "Sir Usain Bolt? Delighted to be honoured by his Queen,". Let's hope the Jamaican Prime Minister make the right recommendation.
This was our column published on Thursday, 17 September 2009.
...Sir Usain?...
It is clear that just about the only people who oppose knighthoods are those who want to impose some sort of politicians’ republic on Australia and New Zealand. Even then, they only oppose their own Australian or New Zealand knighthoods, or ones in their Sovereign’s gift.
But try and stop them if there is a foreign knighthood on offer, especially one from a foreign republic. You will be knocked out of the way.
[ Sir Usain Bolt? He would be delighted to be honoured by his Queen ].
What became clear from the courageous reintroduction of knighthoods in New Zealand by The Queen of New Zealand acting on the advice of her trusty and well beloved 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key is that recipients above all value the international recognition this gives.
Just as young girls dream of marrying a handsome prince, and not some republican politician, the natural programming of men and women makes us all monarchists.
...a knighthood from his Queen?...
So it was encouraging to read that the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, would be honoured to be knighted by his Queen, The Queen of Jamaica.
Those who have this sinister plan to make the Ausralian and New Zealand political class even more powerful than they are will snigger about The Queen of Jamaica. But at the same time they will be going on about The Queen not being “appropriate” to a multicultural nation.
They can’t have it both ways.
What institution in this world could be more multicultural- in the nicest sense of that word – than our monarchy?
Anyway, when he won the 100 metres in the Berlin games in August with a new world record of 9.58 seconds, Usain Bolt completed the sprint double by destroying his own world record in the 200 metres.
In “ Usain Bolt eyes knighthood after 19.19 200 metres world record in Berlin” the London Daily Telegraph (21/8) reported that Usain Bolt is the first man to hold the 100 and 200m world and Olympic titles at the same time and was delighted to prove his brilliant display in the Olympics last year was no fluke.
Asked if Berlin was harder than Beijing, Bolt said: "Not mentally, physically it was harder because I wasn't in the best of shape. The rounds took a lot out of me this time. I just want to go home and sleep."
"It definitely means a lot because I showed people that last year wasn't a joke. I went through some problems this season but I came out here and I showed the world with hard work and dedication what is possible.”
"I definitely came here trying to double. Now I'm double world champion, I'm double Olympic champion so I have to defend my titles. “
“If Queen Elizabeth knighthooded me would I get the title 'Sir Usain Bolt?”
“That sounds very nice.”
It does indeed. We’ll raise a glass to that – to Sir Usain Bolt.
(Watch the video below of the 4 September 2009 track meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the IAAF Golden League Track and Field, where Jamaican Usain Bolt easily beat the field, and broke Tyson Gays old track record at 19.57 seconds in the men’s 200m. Wallace Spearmon took second. Source: Universal Sports, www.UniversalSports.com)
“One of the good things about the High Court as we've known it is that being a conservative in terms of judicial method didn't normally indicate which party the judge voted for,” writes Christopher Pearson in “High Court as a test of maturity” in The Australian, 4 August 2012. (This is a piece about the filling of two High Court vacancies which will occur during the next few months. )
“Then again,” adds Christopher Pearson,” who can forget (Sir) Anthony Mason's strange admission to having been a lifelong republican? In the case of Michael Kirby, neither political activism nor judicial radicalism precluded him from being the co-convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, even if the latter post cost him the expected appointment as governor-general, as is widely rumoured.”
...High Court...
It seems that Justice Kirby’s role in ACM almost stopped him from being appointed to the High Court.
In “Kirby given court post 'to shut him up',” Michael Pelly reported in The Australian on 2 February, 2009 in December 1995, the Keating government moved to fill the High Court vacancy to be filled as William Deane was off to Yarralumla. The following is an extract from the report.
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