Australian PM backs republic after queen’s death FEATURE 08/19/2010

Australian PM backs republic after queen’s death

FEATURE 08/19/2010 SYDNEY — Australia should become a republic when Queen Elizabeth II dies or abdicates, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Tuesday, unexpectedly reviving an emotional debate just days ahead of national polls. Gillard, whose center-left Labor Party is in a tight electoral race against the conservative opposition, said a new monarch would be an “appropriate” time for Australia to stop having a British head of state. “I believe that this nation should be a republic. I also believe that this nation has got a deep affection for Queen Elizabeth,” the Welsh-born Gillard told reporters. “What I would like to see as prime minister is that we work our way through to an agreement on a model for the republic, but I think the appropriate time for this nation to move to being a republic is when we see the monarch change.”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100819com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Not a credible mechanism FRONTLINE Come home, face the music FEATURE The battle to combat child trafficking in Haiti BLURBAL THRUSTS LA Café stays closed — city hall VIEWPOINTS Damned if you do, damned if you don’t FEATURE Australian PM backs republic after queen’s death focus Sarkozy crime crackdown draws racism charge