Should Australia become a republic

Since Federation, Australia has been divided on becoming a republic. In the 1999 referendum Australia was not ready to let go of the past. In the 2020 summit, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd[1] when describing the current system Australia is run on, declared, “The time has come for Australia to become a republic. The old way of governing has long been creaking and groaning.’’ The country should be run by an elected Australian citizen not by a UK descendent, someone who can stand up for and reside in the country, someone who can advocate Australia’s interests to the world.

Having an Australian as a head of state would help represent Australia better than a monarch, as Australia is a multicultural country, with people of many nationalities and religions living here. The head of state would only have to lead one country and laws would not have to be generalised to work with multiple countries. When Australia was first settled, most of the settlers were British. For many decades after, this stayed the same, but since the mid-1900s, people from other backgrounds[2] have migrated into Australia, of no British descent. Furthermore, Australian born citizens are moving away from their British background, as some would be 3rd or 4th generation Australians. Therefore the monarchy is less symbolic now than it used to be.

Australia needs a Head of State who is no one else’s deputy or representative; a Head of State who will be an Australian citizen and who will call Australia home. An Australian republic would help to promote local business and trade interests internationally because the head of the state would only represent Australia’s interests. When the Queen[3] travels overseas, she represents only British interests therefore promotes only UK trade. Inevitably, this leads to companies underestimating the importance of the Australian market and deciding only to expand to the UK and not to Australia. In addition, if Australia were a republic, the price of goods and services from overseas would be lower. The change of the constitution would consequently lead to the re-negotiation of the current trade agreements.

One of the reasons the people did not vote for republic in the 1999 referendum[4] was because they were scared that if Australia became republic, Australia would lose its position in the Commonwealth of Nations[5] and lose its historical links with the UK. Most people who believe this are also against changing Australia’s current flag means losing the Union Jack. They also fear that Australia will be unable to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Contrary to these beliefs, changing the flag would be a separate referendum to the republic one, and Australians could choose to keep the current one. For example, when Fiji became a republic in 1987, they decided that the Union Jack would stay on the flag, as it was iconic. Australia would be able to stay in the Commonwealth and be able to participate in the Commonwealth Games. For example, republics that have broken away from Britain such as South Africa and India[6] are still part of the Commonwealth and always participate in the Games.
Over the last 100 years since the first constitution, Australia has changed and the ways we live has also changed. Many of the laws that were introduced at that time don’t mean very much in our modern society. Many Australians, including republicans have a lot of respect for the Queen, but we now need a person as Head of State whose first interest is our country and who can live among us and know what it is like to be Australian. Every Australian should have the dream and opportunity to serve our country as Head of State.

[1] Australian Prime Minister, Quoted from speech at 2020 Summit, April 2008.
[2] 23% of Australians are born overseas, 13.9% are born in non-English speaking countries, February 1998
[3] Queen Elizabeth II, our current head of state
[4] The referendum ended with 46% of the population for and 54% against the idea of a republic.
[5] There are 53 states in the Commonwealth of Nations
[6] Only 16 out of 53 members of the Commonwealth are still part of the monarchy.

References

Farr, M and Lewis, S 2008, Sunday Telegraph, Sydney, Viewed May 3, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23568837-2,00.html

George, J 1998, Australian Council of Trade Unions, Canberra, viewed April 2008
http://www.actu.asn.au/public/news/1064886459_1696.html

Member “Jules” 2006, ActNow, Sydney, viewed April 2008
http://www.actnow.com.au/Issues/Australian_republic_debate.aspx

‘Resources for Speakers on the Republic’, viewed April 2008
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:CMFWoPQvMoAJ:vic.republic.org.au/index_files/media/QandAs%2520030624.doc+australian+republic+benefits&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=au

The Administrator, 2005 ‘Is it time for an Australian Republic’, Hinterland Grapevine, viewed April 2008
http://www.hinterlandgrapevine.com/news/editorials/is-it-time-for-an-australian-republic.htm?msgid=10

The Soviets in Afghanistan

After watching Charlie Wilson’s War, I thought about some things that were very interesting. Why was Afghanistan communist? Who were the Mujahideen? What were the Soviets doing there? I finally answered my questions and placed them into an essay. Apologies for the long post.

Communism is a political theory and system. In theory, “communism was believed to defeat capitalism through a workers’ revolution and create a system where property is owned by a community rather than by individuals, creating a classless society, in which all people enjoy equal socio-economic status.” German philosopher, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, created communism. They believed that Capitalism would increase the differences of the social classes, and that violent revolution was the only way to get rid of capitalism. In practice, communist states have taken the form of strict governments that cared little for the working class and eliminated freedom of speech.

After World War II “Communist” regimes took power in China, Eastern Europe, and other regions. These regimes shared certain basic features including adoption of Marxism-Leninism, a rejection of private property and capitalism, state-owned economic activity, and only one party controlled the government, the communist party. The party was very strict, it controlled and censored the mass media, restricted religious worship, and did not allow anyone to speak against the party. This is when Cold War started, in which the Soviet Union and the United States, and their respective allies, competed for political and military supremacy. By the early 1980s, almost one-third of the world’s population lived under communist regimes.

In its attempt to expand its communist supremacy, Soviet Russia had given aid to Afghanistan, actually even before the communist regime, supplying them with arms, economic aid, and advisors. Afghanistan was one of the poorest countries in the world and was run by a monarchy. In 1965, the People’s Democratic Party, (the PDP) Afghanistan’s communist party, was founded.
In 1978, The PDP carried out a coup and overthrew their monarch. Unfortunately, communism was not as accepted as first thought, as it ignored the middle class and Muslim clerics and tried to change the traditional, religious way of living, Afghanistan had been a Muslim country since 882 AD. Things got worse when the prime minister, an extremist member of the party assassinated their president and took over. The president of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, decided to send troops into Afghanistan in 1978, to aid the party, to assassinate the new president and assign a new president, which would support the Soviet-led invasion. The Soviets sent in 100,000 troops to fight the Mujahideen as well as helicopters, weapons and tanks.
The Mujahideen was the anti-communist Muslim guerrilla force, who tried to stop the Soviets and the communist government from taking over fully. The Mujahideen were being helped by the United States and Pakistan, giving them weapons, aid and training. In 1978, US president Jimmy Carter signed an order authorising the CIA to conduct “covert propaganda operations” against the communist regime. It helped the anti-Soviets through the Pakistani secret services, in an operation called “Operation Cyclone.”

Russia lost a lot of soldiers, money, and support from its own people. More countries were starting to assist the Mujahideen, including Great Britain and Saudi Arabia. In 1982, after president Brezhnev passed away, the Soviet Union had two temporary leaders until 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev took over reins and planned a big turn-around in Russia. Known as Perestroika (literally meaning restructuring), it was meant to change Russia into a modern society with free speech. After years of bloodshed and war, Gorbachev shortly signed a treaty to withdraw troops out of Afghanistan. In 1988, the Soviets started leaving Afghanistan. This marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Afghanistan remained a communist state until the radical Islamic Taliban took power in 1992.

In the Soviet Union, the political system continued to rapidly change under Gorbachev. By 1988, elections were being held for some positions in the government. While Gorbachev only planned to change small parts of the Soviet Union, it ended up breaking it down. By Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union was no more.

References:

Encarta 2008, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, viewed 30 May, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/6p7joj.
Trueman, C 2008, History Learning Site, viewed 30 May, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/6zmvf8.
Trueman, C 2008, History Learning Site, viewed 30 May, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/2774v8.
Poon, HW 1979, The Corner, viewed 30 May, 2008http://tinyurl.com/3edbz9.

The US Political System

The United States of America is the oldest modern democracy in the world, spanning from 1776 to the present day. It has three branches, the Legislative branch (also called the United States Congress), which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Executive branch, which includes the president, the cabinet and the departments and agencies, and the Judicial branch, which includes the justice system. Members of the Executive branch don’t have seats and cannot participate in the Legislative branch, nor be removed by them.

Similar to Australia, the US has two major parties, the Republican Party (Republicans) and the Democratic Party (Democrats). Unlike Australia, there is no opposition leader, as such, just presidential candidates from different parties. This means the Democrats don’t currently have a leader, though they have two current presidential candidates, Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. They are chosen by votes in different states. There are also minor parties in the US political system, including a Green Party.

In the US. Presidents can only serve two four year terms. This means that if a president’s party wins an election for a third time, the president will have to retire and a new candidate has to be chosen. For example, even if the Republican Party wins in the 2008 election, George W Bush has to retire and would be replaced by a new candidate, in this case, John McCain.

In one rare case, a US president has served for longer. In the 1940 election, Then president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Democratic party won the election, but as it was during World War II, he was elected again as it was too hard to find another candidate. He was also elected in the 1944 election, but died a few months later.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_are_the_presidential_candidates_chosen
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109502/Franklin-D-Roosevelt
http://australianpolitics.com/usa/overview/
http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y67xan1.html

Just for fun: A Limerick

I know this is somewhat off topic, but what the hey? It’s political and doesn’t hurt anyone. (except John Howard)

Australia Turns Left: The Story of the 2007 Federal Election

There was a politician named Howard
Who dickered with the deplorable high powered
Then next thing he knew
There stood Maxine McKew
With Benelong’s keys made him cower.

It got snatched from right under his nose
By a journalist whose popularity rose
He toppled that night
At the end of the Right
Howard’s dynasty has come to a close.

Yes I wrote this, feel free to comment

Australia vs USA :: Political Systems

While they’re both democracies, Australia and the United States of America have very different political systems. Both countries started as British colonies. The US has become a republic though, which means that they have declared independence from a monarch, in this case, the Commonwealth of Nations.

Another difference between the systems is that in the US, the government (president/prime minister and cabinet) seats separately to the parliament, where as in Australia, the government and parliament sit together in the House of Representatives. In Australia, the governor-general can call a federal election anytime but if something happens to the president, the vice-president (treasurer in Australia) has to serve the rest of the term.

The Australian parliament can also take the government out of office or force them to call an election, whereas, in the US, members of the government. can’t be removed by the parliament without impeachment. (removal of government officials without their permission, due to a high crime such as treason)

Also, In the US, voting is not compulsory, this means voting figures are not well balanced and governments can win elections with small percentages. In Australia however, as voting is compulsory, voting results are more balanced as everyone has to vote. Also Australia’s voting age is younger, 18 rather than 21 in the US.

As well as there are differences, there are also similarities. Apart from the obvious, they both have a federal political system. This means there are two levels of government, neither of which can make laws and legislations against eachother.

References
http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y67xan1.html
http://www.peo.gov.au/students/cl/comparison.html

Charlie Wilson’s War – Film Review

This is somewhat on topic about Tom Hanks’ new film, Charlie Wilson’s War. It’s based on a true story about the American’s contribution to the collapse of the Soviet Union, particularly the work of Texas congressman Charles (Charlie) Wilson (Tom Hanks).

It started off in a Las Vegas suite in 1981, when Soviet Russia was invading Afghanistan, Wilson was in a spa with young women and wealthy businessmen, being asked to invest in a television show. Meanwhile, the news was showing a story on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on the suite’s television. There were drugs in the suite that are used in later shenanigans.

Being shaken by the news coverage, Wilson talked to higher members of the congress to raise the funding to help the Afghans fight the Soviets. The higher members declined, saying that they gave enough, and that the Afghans should just “…walk into the gunfire until the Soviets run out of bullets. With the help of Greek-American CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and socialite, Joanne Herring, (Julia Roberts) were able to persuade the US government to raise funds.

Meanwhile, Wilson had false allegations made that he was abusing drugs, made by the businessman Wilson declined to invest with. The media was also focussing on that moreso than the Cold War. Luckily, he was able to deny the allegations and was acquitted of possession of drugs.

This was a great film, it’s more of a satire than a comedy, so it’s more political-centred, but for people reading this blog, there should be no problem.

The Australian Parliament

The parliament of Australia makes all the laws, represents what people and groups are interested in seeing, forms the government from the elected party, and monitors what ministers are working on, especially in using public money.It consists of the Queen, the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (House of Representatives). Members of the Senate represent citizens of their state or territory. Members of the House of Representatives represent citizens of their electorate. (an area of a state or territory, normally with multiple towns or suburbs in it) Both houses vote for new laws and initiatives.

 

 

The houses have different names in the state and territory governments. The lower house is called the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in Tasmania and South Australia) and the upper house is called the Legislative Council. In Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, there is no upper house.

The houses are controlled by political parties. In Australia, the main parties are the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberal Party of Australia (LPA). Minor parties include Family First, the National Party (in a coalition with the Liberals), the Greens and the Democrats. People can also represent themselves and their own beliefs. These people are called Independents.
The parliament is controlled by the federal, state and the local governments. The Australian Capital Territory also combines their territory and local governments.
As the Queen is not available to visit Australia, (or other Commonwealth countries) she is represented by a Governor-General chosen by the prime minister at that time. (Governor in states and territories) They have the final decision of laws that are passed by the houses.
References

Brasch, N. 2007, Federal Government,
Government in Australia, Reed International. Port Melbourne 

 

Brasch, N. 2007, State & Territory Government,
Government in Australia, Reed International. Port Melbourne 

 

Brasch, N. 2007, Local Government,
Government in Australia, Reed International. Port Melbourne 

 

Brasch, N. 2007, Political Parties,
Government in Australia, Reed International. Port Melbourne 

 

http://www.peo.gov.au/faq/faq_5.html#5_1

Introduction

Hi, my name is Kaan, I’m a student and I’m here to talk about politics, without taking someone’s side. I’m doing a self directed course and have decided to write a blog to present it. This is also a test to see if I can write something without the assistance of Wikipedia.

Later on I will write about the Australian parliament and how it compares to other countries’.

Why I decided Politics:

I decided on choosing politics because I live in a political city in a political family. I wanted to learn about how governments and parliaments work and how laws are made and passed. I also want to learn about the differences between left and right wing.

What I know:

Politics and the government helps keep a country or group of people together through laws and other means.

Most countries are headed by a head of state and a head of government. Commonwealth countries have the Queen of England as their head of state and have a “governor general,” who represents and assists the Queen.

There are different types of governments. There are democracies, republics, monarchies and dictatorships. Democracy started in Ancient Greece where the word came from. It means of the people. In democratic governments, there are normally two major parties, (as well as dozens of minor ones) They normally take different stances to laws.

In parliament, there are normally two houses. The upper and the lower. In Australia, they’re called the Senate (upper) and the House of Representatives. (lower)

Kaan’s Politics Blog’s new home

Unfortunately, the Education Department blocked Blogger’s backend, so I am unable to post through that page. This new WordPress blog should counter that move and I’ll start again. I will add previous posts to this new page as well.

Thanks

Kaan