Shorten opens presidential Pandora’s box after backing away from minimalist model

Paul Keating’s “republic speech” in the House of Representatives, June 7, 1995:

An Australian Head of State can embody our modern aspirations — our cultural diversity, our evolving partnerships with Asia and the Pacific, our quest for reconciliation with Aboriginal Australians, our ambition to create a society in which women have equal opportunity ...

Bill Shorten doesn’t exactly set you on fire in the same way, does he? The Labor leader in Melbourne, Saturday:

We can vote for an Australian head of state and still binge-watch The Crown on Netflix.

How is Shorten going to reignite the movement? The Australian online, Saturday:

Mr Shorten cautioned against holding a referendum akin to that which failed in 1999, where Australians were given one vote to settle two questions ... He will argue the first clear question asked should be whether people want an Australian head of state.

Hold up ... Bill Shorten is advocating a plebiscite? The Labor leader speaking in Canberra, July 11:

Australians know that a (gay marriage) plebiscite is just a waste of money.

This Bill Shorten? The Labor leader in Melbourne, June 26:

Why do we need to have a divisive opinion poll funded by taxpayers when we are all there already?

The Bill Shorten who hates plebiscites? The Labor leader in Melbourne, May 26:

... how wrong Mr Turnbull is to vainly and stubbornly persist with a plebiscite.

Sure, gay marriage doesn’t need a people’s vote because it’s not a constitutional question. The Australian, December 12, 2013

The High Court determined that the federal parliament has the power under the Australian constitution to legislate on same-sex marriage ...

But Shorten isn’t offering a simple constitutional referendum on a republic ... Shorten in Melbourne, Saturday:

If the yes vote prevails ... then we can move on in a second term to discussing how that head of state is chosen ...

Will multiple plebiscites and referendums cost more than $170 million? Shorten’s Bugdet-in-reply speech, May 11:

We will not support setting aside $170 million for a divisive plebiscite ...

But this was the most important line of Shorten’s speech. Melbourne, Saturday:

... a lot of people voted ‘No’, because of the model ...

So this model can’t pass? Keating in Parliament, June, 1995:

We therefore propose ... the Head of State be elected by a two-thirds majority vote in a joint sitting of both Houses ...

The other option is a directly elected president. Greg Craven in The Weekend Australian, February 26:

The thing about popular election is that the winner will be precisely that ... they would not simply allow the elected government of the day to rule ... they would never shut up.

What could go wrong with a directly elected president? Oh ... oh dear. Donald Trump on Twitter, yesterday:

I love reading about all of the “geniuses” who were so instrumental in my election success. Problem is, most don’t exist. #Fake News! MAGA