Australia’s Albanese, New Zealand’s Ardern hail Queen Elizabeth during Jubilee celebration as republic question returns
- Australia’s new government has informally pledged for a referendum on a republic in its next term if it wins a second election
- The republican debate has not gained as much traction in New Zealand, where a 2021 poll found just a third of respondents wanted New Zealand to become a republic
Australia’s new prime minister joined more than 50 Commonwealth leaders in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth amid celebrations of her 70 years on the throne but added that the relationship had matured, fuelling debate about becoming a republic.
Anthony Albanese, whose centre-left Labor party ended nearly a decade of conservative government in a May 21 election, praised the queen as “an enduring, inspiring, growing presence of calm, decency and strength” in the capital, Canberra, where he lit a beacon to mark the Platinum Jubilee.
But he noted that although Australians felt affection for the queen, “the bond between our nations is no longer what it was at the dawn of her reign”.
The relationship was “no longer parent and young upstart,” Albanese said at the low-key event late on Thursday. “We stand as equals. More importantly, we stand as friends”.
The remarks build on a debate that has simmered for decades in Australia, which was colonised by the British in 1788 and remains a key Commonwealth member. The discussion was reignited on Tuesday when Albanese named the country’s first “assistant minister for the republic” in his ministry.
