Practical advantages of monarchy

Apropos to my definition of the Australian Constitution and the response of Bruce Hyland (Peninsula News, May 14,) I wish to add some further salient points of clarification to show the practical advantages of our system of governance.

The dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975 demonstrated the application of the reserve powers vested in the Governor-General as our active Head of State.

That the Governor-General made the right decision was confirmed in the general election that followed, when the Labor Government was thrown out in a landslide.

The Governor-General was not empowered to take over the reins of a government but left it for the people to decide, thus avoiding the development of a constitutional crisis.

As for the Queen, when Her Majesty was approached about this matter, her response was that this was an Australian issue for Australians to resolve.

When Paul Keating approached the Queen about the republic debate, he received a similar response.

"This is a matter for the Australian people to determine."

And the Australian people did decide.

Another landslide, six states to nil voting no.

These two examples show that our system of governance works to our advantage.

The Crown protects us, even though the Coronation Crown rests in the United Kingdom.

And so what?

What if Roman Catholics were to jump up and down because the Pope is an Australian ruling from the Vatican in Rome?

Do we see Catholics demanding they should have an Australian pope domiciled in Australia?

Of course not.

It would sound ridiculous and would never happen.

Also, in addition to Australia being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations with the British Monarch at its head, we also belong to the United Nations which has almost four times the number of member states.

But nobody here would suggest that we should have an Australian Secretary-General running that organisation from here, do we?

Is this what they mean by cultural cringe?

The United Nations has rated us as one of the most successful democracies on earth, so why don't we just get on with it and not let ourselves get upset by imagined wrongs?

For more information visit the website www.monarchist.org.au.

Letter, 22 May 2012

Don Parkes, Woy Woy