On the 70th anniversary of the throne: Australia distances itself from the Queen

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Queen Elizabeth II arriving in Canberra, Australia in 2011

Photo: Pool/ Getty Images

The Queen's 70th jubilee is an occasion to think about the future of the former British colony, Cabinet Member Matt Thistlethwaite told the British news agency PA: The new Australian government is distancing itself from the head of state Queen Elizabeth II.

With the end of Elizabeth's reign, the time had come for a serious debate.

'Australia is an independent country.

We have our own unique identity and culture,” said Thistlethwaite.

All Australians should have the opportunity to become head of state.

Assumptions about referendum

As in many other Commonwealth member states, the Queen is formally the head of state in Australia.

Thistlethwaite's appointment as Assistant Minister for the Republic has fueled suspicions that Labor Party Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking a referendum on the issue.

In 1999, a 55 percent majority of Australians voted to retain the monarchy in a referendum.

"My job in the early stages is a kind of education - to explain to people that we have a foreign monarch as head of state, that we have a deputy representative in the governor-general, but that we could have an Australian as head of state," Thistlethwaite said .

However, there is still a long way to go before a referendum is held.

According to reports, the Labor government plans to hold such a vote only in the event of re-election.

Premier Albanese paid tribute to the Queen at a ceremony and renamed an island in Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin reservoir Queen Elizabeth II Island.

The Queen has visited Canberra 14 times during her reign.

Australia isn't the only Commonwealth country flirting with changing its constitution.

On November 30, 2021, the island state of Barbados in the Caribbean became a republic, and criticism of the royal family is also growing in other countries in the region.

ani/dpa