Palace answers claim by Paul Keating that Prince Charles wants Australia to become republic

The former PM’s controversial assertion that Prince Charles wants Australia to become a republic triggers a response.

Prince Charles with Paul Keating in 1994. Picture: Getty Images.

Tony Abbott has hit back at former prime minister Paul Keating’s assertion that Prince Charles is in favour of Australia becoming a republic.

On the eve of the visit by the Prince of Wales, Mr Keating said Charles believes Australia should sever its ties with the monarchy of Great Britain and become a republic, charting its own independent course as a nation.

“I have no doubt he believes Australia should be free of the British monarchy and that it should make its own way in the world,” Mr Keating said.

“Why would he or any one of his family want to visit Australia pretending to be, or representing its aspirations as, its head of state?”

“But none of that is to diminish the commitment and sense of duty that Prince Charles displays towards Great Britain and, as constitutional arrangements stand, towards Australia.

“He is a great friend of Australia — there is no doubt about that.”

In a tweet, Mr Abbott, a staunch monarchist, accused Mr Keating of “verballing” the prince on the issue.

The Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will visit Australia from April 4 to April 10, and attend the opening of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Mr Keating’s comments put the republican issue squarely on the agenda in the context of the visit by Prince Charles. The former prime minister believes Australia cannot claim to be a “great” nation while it borrows the monarch of Great Britain.

Prince Charles would just want to do his duty and he shouldn't be verballed by an ex-PM https://t.co/Yq60a3TtsV

— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) 1 April 2018

An official statement from @ClarenceHouse has been provided to me in response to this story today:

“Her Majesty The Queen and The Prince of Wales have always made it clear that they believe the future of the Monarchy in Australia is a matter for the Australian people to decide.”

— Troy Bramston (@TroyBramston) April 1, 2018

Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz said Mr Keating’s comments were “just the latest example” of the former prime minister “projecting his own views on others.

Senator Abetz said Mr Keating had taken credit for designing the failed republic model which was rejected by the Australian people at the 1999 referendum.

“Mr Keating’s musings clearly have no basis in fact and are just a sad feature of the latest republican push,” Senator Abetz said.

“Along with wanting to change the flag, Mr Keating regularly finds new ways to try and push for a republic despite the Australian people rejecting his own model.

“Australia’s system of government has withstood the test of time and provided for a gold standard of democracy that is the envy of the world. To change that would undermine our democracy and be very risky.

“I have no doubt that Australians do and will continue to see the value in maintaining our Constitution as is over the self-serving and egotistical arguments for a republic put forward by Mr Keating and his backers.”

As prime minister, Mr Keating canvassed Australia’s constitutional future with Prince Charles who made it clear the royal family made no claims on Australia and would respect any decision by the Australian people to become a republic.

In comments made to The Sunday Times in Britain, and provided to The Australian, Mr Keating praised Prince Charles as an “enlightened”person who is too often poorly treated by the British media.

“But more than that, he is an enlightened and conviction-driven person, too often deprecated by that blighted institution we know as the British press,” Mr Keating said.

“His commitment to naturalism, to heritage, to science, to innovation and perhaps most importantly, to beauty, speaks volumes of his intellect and integrity.”

“Prince Charles will always be welcome in Australia — as the crown prince or as monarch of Great Britain. But the pretence of representing this country and all that it stands for is something he and we could well do without.”

Mr Keating discussed Australia becoming a republic with Prince Charles when he visited Balmoral in Scotland, in September 1993, during his prime ministership. When Prince Charles visited Australia in January 1994, he said he welcomed debate about Australia becoming a republic.

“It is the sign of a mature and self-confident nation to debate those issues and to use the democratic processes to re-examine the way in which you want to face the future,” Prince Charles said. On those who want a republic, he added: “perhaps they are right”.

Mr Keating advocated a republic while prime minister (1991-96). He presented a model to parliament, and flagged a future referendum, in June 1995.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana ride in an open top car as they tour Sydney passing the Opera House. Picture: Getty Images.

“The American revolutionary and second president, John Adams, made the point that, ‘there are no queen bees in the human hive’,” Mr Keating said. “While another president, Thomas Jefferson, remarked, ‘of its essence, a monarchy is a tyranny’. Both utterances possess that incalculable power of truth.”

“It is obvious that it is a spoof on all that Australians have created here for us to be borrowing the monarch of another country.”

“No great country ever borrows the monarch of another country. And Australia is otherwise entitled to be a great country. But it cannot be until it sheds the derivative notion that its roots lie somewhere else.”

The royal tour begins on Wednesday. Prince Charles and Camilla will represent Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Games and also visit other parts of Queensland before travelling to the Northern Territory.

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale