Australia PM says he did not raise republic question in meeting with King Charles
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
King Charles during an audience with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Balmoral in Scotland on Sept 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sept 28 he did not raise the issue of Australia severing ties with Britain to become a republic in a meeting with King Charles in Scotland.
King Charles is head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Australia has long debated the need to keep a distant monarch. A 1999 referendum in Australia on becoming a republic lost with 55 per cent of voters opposed.
Mr Albanese, a lifelong republican who nonetheless has pledged his allegiance to King Charles, said in televised remarks on Sept 28 that he met one-on-one with the monarch at Balmoral Castle, his home in the Scottish Highlands.
Asked if he raised with King Charles any plans to hold a referendum on Australia becoming a republic, Mr Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: “No. And I think I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister, and we did that.”
Australia in October 2023 decisively rejected a referendum proposal
“We’re concentrating on cost of living and on making a real practical difference to people’s lives,” Mr Albanese said.
King Charles, the only British monarch who has spent time living in Australia, visited the country in October 2024, the first visit by a reigning British monarch in 13 years.
Mr Albanese’s meeting with King Charles came a day after the Australian leader expressed confidence that the Aukus nuclear submarine deal with the US and Britain would move forward, after a meeting in London with his British counterpart, Mr Keir Starmer. REUTERS
