MasterChef star Julie Goodwin calls for the end of the monarchy in Australia

The celebrity chef said she respected the work the Queen had done but said Australia was “old enough to stand on its own two feet and govern itself”.

MasterChef star Julie Goodwin has called for an end to the monarchy in Australia in an astonishing spray on The Project.

The celebrity chef said she respected the work the Queen had done but said Australia was “old enough to stand on its own two feet and govern itself” and accused the Royal Family of “interference”.

Speaking on The Project on Friday evening, Goodwin said it was time for change.

Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, there have been calls for Australia to hold a vote on whether they want the family to still be the heads of state of the country. Our panel discussed and gave their thoughts. pic.twitter.com/dliZiH2Moq

— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 16, 2022

She said: “I want to say with the utmost respect to the Queen and to the monarchy ... It’s not democratically elected. It’s not put in place by the people of this country. And with every bit of respect to Queen Elizabeth and all the work that she’s done over her 70 years of reign, I don’t think the monarchy’s very relevant to Australia anymore.

“I feel like people are taking very binary sort of stance - you’re either a monarchist and you only say nice things about the Queen and colonialism and all of that, or you’re a republican and you’ve got no respect for anybody else.

“I was raised in a time - I sang God Save the Queen as the national anthem when I was a girl at school, and we her picture on the wall at school. She’s interwoven in my memory and my history.

“No doubt this is a massive, historical event. But I’m also an Australian, I believe in the democratic process, I believe that this country’s old enough to stand on its own two feet and govern itself.

“And I don’t think that - I’m going to say interference - from a foreign country is appropriate anymore.”

Queen Elizabeth II receives flowers from waiting school children waving national flags after the Commonwealth Day Service in Sydney in 2006 (Photo by ROB GRIFFITH / POOL / AFP)

It’s not clear what “interference” Goodwin was referring to.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he does not believe Australia should be a constitutional monarchy during this year’s election campaign.

But, following the Queen’s death last Thursday, he said any future referendum on the future of the Royal Family in Australia would be delayed by three years.

The republican PM told the UK’s ITV News that it was “a discussion for another time”.

“My job as prime minister of Australia is to represent Australia at this historic time, and I believe you can have different views, as Australians do, a range of views over our constitutional system,” he said.

“But be united in respect for the life of service that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth showed to Australia, to the Commonwealth and indeed to the world.”

Mr Albanese will meet the new King on Saturday, and will attend the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

Australians voted in favour of remaining a constitutional monarchy in a referendum in 1999.

The new Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, are expected to tour Australia in early 2023.