Would Australia pay the billions of dollars in annual costs of our monarchy? NO? Neither should the UK | Graham Smith

RRejoice! Australia’s absent head of state is stopping off for a few days on the way to the Commonwealth meeting in Samoa. But as is often the case with royal visits these days, public interest appears to be low. And as in the UK, this royal visit will be met with protest from republicans.

The campaign group Republic, of which I am CEO, has been protesting at royal events since Charles came to the throne two years ago. Every major royal event in the UK is now greeted with our yellow banners and flags and chants of “Not My King!” When the Palace announced Charles’ trip to Australia earlier this year, I decided we should probably follow his lead and continue to make our views loud and clear.

I am not here to promote an Australian republic, although I have dual citizenship of the UK and Australia. There are other groups such as the Australian Republic Movement and Labor for an Australian Republic that can take the lead here. My protest will be small and symbolic, but my aim is clear: to continue to challenge the narrative of the successful royal trip, the excited locals and the grateful population. Wherever Charles goes, he’s likely to be met with protest, just as William and Kate did during their ill-fated Caribbean trip in 2022.

However, I have a message for Australians who believe the monarchy is harmless and irrelevant, who recognize that the country should abandon the monarchy, but who cannot muster enthusiasm for the cause.

This message is simple.

The monarchy is good for nothing and no one, it is not dignified and deserves condemnation, not respect, and the UK is far from the royalist nation portrayed in parts of the media.

Ahead of the coronation, a poll found that only 9% were enthusiastic about the upcoming ceremony. This may be partly explained by the estimated cost of £250m/A$485m during a cost of living crisis. In January this year, two polls estimated support for the monarchy in the UK at under 50%. It has since rebounded past the halfway mark, but polls consistently show a sharp decline in support compared to the 2012 anniversary and a significant rise in support for a republic, now at about a third.

The change of monarch is one explanation for this decline in enthusiasm for the royals. For many, the late queen was the monarchy, the monarchy was the queen. The scandal has also helped, as Prince Andrew continues to tarnish the image of the entire institution, while the fallout from Harry and Meghan’s departure has also tarnished the image of the modeling family. Campaigns also make a difference. The Republic has grown tremendously in the last two years, helped in part by the illegal arrest of myself and other protest organizers on the anniversary day. But also through ongoing protests and other campaigns, such as our current report on the costs of the monarchy.

That report estimated the royals’ annual costs at almost a billion dollars (£510m). These costs must be borne solely by the British taxpayer, at a time when the British government is promising further social cuts and talking about a financial “black hole”. This week I’m calling on Australia, New Zealand and Canada to put their money where their mouth is and help foot the bill. I suspect that asking to raise £128 million, or A$250 million a year, for the Royals would get the referendum back on track fairly quickly.

The £510 million price tag sparked real concern and anger in the UK, but the monarchy’s costs are not the problem. It is a symptom of a corrupt and unaccountable institution. This is not an allegation of breaking the law, but rather of abuse of public office by demanding secrecy and access at the highest levels of government and by obtaining exemptions from environmental and racial discrimination laws. As I have written before: “It is not unreasonable to conclude that the institution is corrupt if corruption is the abuse of public office for personal gain.” Regardless of whether it involves spending tens of millions of pounds each year From covering travel or luxury properties to lobbying the government to further their private interests or political goals, the royals are exploiting their status and position week after week.”

In the United Kingdom, the problem of the monarchy runs much deeper. It has a profound and negative impact on our politics, channeling power into the office of the Prime Minister, leaving us with an outdated constitution and failing to provide us with an effective or useful head of state. The monarchy also strongly opposes the values ​​of democracy, equality and the rule of law, values ​​upheld in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Most Commonwealth countries are already republics. Less than 10% of the Commonwealth’s citizens have Charles as their head of state. Of those who do, most simply don’t care and many in the Caribbean are actively pushing the Republican cause. In the UK this cause is gaining momentum and the campaign is gaining strength. We will win, the question is when. And the question for Australia is whether the UK will get there first and what that means for a proud and independent nation.