Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK under fire after saying republic ‘inevitable’

Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK has rubbed monarchists up the wrong way. See why.

Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK has come under fire from monarchists after saying a republic is “inevitable”.

In his first interview since taking the post, Stephen Smith told The Times newspaper that most British people would be “indifferent” to Australia getting rid of the monarchy and it would not damage the countries’ relationship.”

“My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day,” he said, according to The Times.

Stephen Smith has just started the new position and is already making headlines. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

That report prompted the Australian Monarchist League to label Mr Smith “no diplomat”.

“Australia’s envoys must have no personal views and must certainly not express them publicly whether to media or otherwise,” AML national chair Philip Benwell said in a statement.

“The Australian government should take Mr Smith to task as High Commissioners and Ambassadors are there to represent Australia and all Australians and not the views of a political party even though that party may be in government.”

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort toast to their final reception in Hamburg on their recent visit to Germany. Picture: Getty Images

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that he will attend the coronation on May 6

“There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia,” Professor 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.”

Mr Smith added “time will tell” if there is a referendum down the track, The Times reports.

AUSTRALIA’S NEXT MOVE WITH UK

In his first interview with News Corp Australia since moving to London, Professor Smith said Australia would “push the needle” to reset its relationship with the mother country with failing global security and a sovereignty debate to modernise and transform the union.

Professor Smith declared the freshly minted AUKUS security pact would form the cornerstone of a new era in bilateral relations.

The former Labor leader said the pact was not just about nuclear-powered submarines but co-operation on other leading-edge technologies that would provide the platform for a new closeness in relations.

Under the second pillar of the AUKUS pact will be joint collaboration on advanced technologies including hypersonic missiles that travel at up to 25 times the speed of sound, artificial intelligence and counter electronic and cyber warfare.

With finite resources and ever-increasing global insecurity spurred on by the Ukraine-Russia war and China’s expansionist ambitions for the Pacific, Britain, like Australia and the US has looked to allies to shore up their industrial bases in the event of conflict.

The British government has previously publicly conceded bilateral relations with its former colony Australia had fallen into “disrepair after decades of neglect”. Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, it had been moving to rectify that starting with a free-trade agreement and loosening of visa restrictions for Aussie workers.

Professor Smith said it now fell to him as Australia’s most senior diplomat to see in the further modernising of the relationship, something that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also publicly said he was keen to do.

“The biggest risk to a posting is availability of time,” Professor Smith told News Corp Australia. “If you’re not careful you’ll look back and say ‘I worked hard and advanced Australia’s national and strategic interest but we didn’t push the needle’.”

“After seven weeks, my priority is to transform and modernise the relationship between the UK and Australia. AUKUS is a starting point.”

Professor Smith said coupled with national security, bilateral trade would also be the focus of his time on post.

“The UK has been an under-appreciated direct foreign investor into Australia so with the free trade agreement I think there’s potential for that to grow,” he said.

King Charles has expressed that the Voice referendum is solely an issue for Australia. Picture: AFP

Professor Smith said while the First Nation’s issues and Voice referendum had been gaining “a lot” of interest in the UK, he would not be drawn on the next expected referendum on a possible republic but said the monarch King Charles had long expressed this was an issue solely for Australia.

“The issues that have brought the Australia-UK relationship back to the fore will not be disturbed by any referendum in Australia,” he said.

“In the UK, the view is ‘what Australia does in terms of referendums is entirely a matter for Australia’ and that view has been expressed by the monarch.”

It was the then Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons and one of UK’s most respected diplomats William Hague who in late 2015 said Britain had unacceptably neglected Australia and New Zealand as allies for almost 20 years as he predicted terrorism, national security and war would drive the countries close again.

That preceded an extraordinary debate in Westminster in which questions were raised whether Britain’s old dominions should still have a then Queen as a Head of State that does not afford them any “privileges” and indeed discriminated against Australians and other Commonwealth citizens.

Originally published as Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK under fire after saying republic ‘inevitable’