Opposition leader promises Australians republic referendum

Australians will have another referendum about whether the nation severs its constitutional ties with Britain if the opposition Labour Party wins elections this year, the party leader said today.

The question of whether Australia, a former British colony, should become a republic was put to a referendum in 1999 when 54% of Australians voted against replacing The Queen with a president as Australia’s head of state.

Kevin Rudd, leader of the centre-left Labour Party, which has led the centre-right coalition government in public opinion polls all year, promised another referendum if he becomes prime minister after elections due around October.

“We’re going to consult the people again,” Rudd told reporters.

“We haven’t fixed a time frame for doing that, and I think the time will come before too much longer when we do have an Australian as our head of state,” he added.

A former Labour government arranged the last referendum but Prime Minister John Howard’s coalition gained power before it was held. Howard’s opposition to Australia becoming a republic played a key role in the outcome.