NZ's High Commissioner to the UK, Phil Goff and wife Mary, meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Photo / Supplied
NZ's High Commissioner to the UK, Phil Goff and wife Mary, meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Photo / Supplied
It is “inevitable” Australia will become a republic and dump Charles III as King.
That’s the opinion of former foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith, who has just taken up the role of Australian high commissioner to the UK.
But Smith gave no timeline for when a new republic referendum might take place and said there was “affection” and “respect” for the King.
Britain's King Charles III speaks with Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese. Photo / AP
Talking to London newspaper The Times as he starts the ambassadorial role following Labor’s election victory, Smith said severing formal ties to the House of Windsor would not damage relations between the UK and Australia.
The royal family has had a tumultuous few years with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moving to California and being openly critical of the institution, as well as the death of the Queen and accession of King Charles.
Labor politicians, generally, are more pro-republic than Liberal MPs, although Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the coronation on May 6.
Currently 15 of the 56 Commonwealth nations share a head of state in Charles III. These include the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize.
The countries are all sovereign states and Britain has no jurisdiction over them, despite the monarch residing in the UK.
NZ's High Commissioner to the UK, Phil Goff and wife Mary, meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Photo / Supplied
Even if Australia became a republic, it could still remain a part of the Commonwealth.
“There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia,” Smith told The Times.
“That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.”
Smith, who is a republican, said ditching the royals was only a matter of time.
“My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.
“Australia does not have referendums on an all too regular basis,” Mr Smith said.
“Whether down the track there is a future referendum associated with Australia and the UK’s constitutional arrangements, only time will tell.”
She told BBC News while in London for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 that the relationship between the UK and Aotearoa would change as a result.
“I don’t believe that it will be quick or soon, but over the course of my lifetime,” Ardern said.
“I think the reality is people are quite satisfied with our constitutional arrangements now, as I am too. I think at some point in my lifetime, there will be a conversation in New Zealand ... and people are ready for that conversation. I just sense that it’s not now.”
Act leader David Seymour pointed out that breaking with the monarchy could raise questions about the Treaty of Waitangi.
“The Treaty of Waitangi was a compact between Queen Victoria and a large number of iwi leaders at that time, if you take the Queen out, it’s going to be difficult to see where the treaty fits in.”
Some Māori leaders are in favour of sticking with the monarchy, since the Treaty guarantees them sovereignty - which could be threatened by cutting ties with the UK. But others have pointed out that we are unlikely to see a Māori head of state until Aotearoa becomes a republic, and have called for a “divorce” from the monarchy.
