Republic supporters waiting their time, John Howard says

Former PM John Howard doesn’t think there will be another republican referendum in his lifetime.

The Queen with John Howard in Melbourne in 2006.

John Howard does not think there will be another republican referendum in his lifetime, ­declaring supporters of the constitutional change were “wasting their time in current circumstances”.

Mr Howard and Tony Abbott will speak at an Australians for Constitutional Monarchy event in Sydney on Thursday to celebrate 20 years since the No campaign prevailed in the republican referendum.

“I don’t think it will arise in my lifetime and I hope to be around for a while yet,” Mr Howard said in a pre-event interview with ACM convener David Flint.

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“There’s absolutely no groundswell of support for a change. The Queen is enjoying enormous respect. Her position and the level of respect for her in the Australian community is widespread and it is very deep. In the last 20 years her position has strengthened. But it is a democratic choice by the Australian people. She is not there by right. She is there by consent.”

Former PM John Howard. Picture: Travis Anderson

The republican case failed in the 1999 referendum, gaining 45 per cent of the popular vote.

The No case was successful in every state, with the ACT the only jurisdiction supporting a ­republic.

Republican hopes were dealt a blow in the 2019 election as Labor promised a plebiscite on the issue if it won the election.

Australian Republic Movement chairman Peter Fitz­Simons hit back at Mr Howard, declaring the organisation was doing “broadly very well” despite Labor losing in May.

“We were getting some very interesting noises out of the Liberal Party after the election, along the lines of the Liberal Party needs to have some progressive issues,” FitzSimons said.

“There are twice as many Liberal parliamentarians who support Australia becoming a republic than publicly oppose.”

Peter Fitzsimmons.

FitzSimons said republican support would increase if Britain split post-Brexit, and when Prince Charles eventually replaces the Queen as Australia’s head of state.

“So many times when I speak in public people say to me, ‘I support it while the Queen is on the throne. I won’t support it when Charles is there’,” he said.

Mr Howard criticised Labor’s pre-election pledge to have a plebiscite on a republic without a model decided. A successful plebiscite would have paved the way for a discussion about a model, which would then go to a referendum

Queen Elizabeth II talks to then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a Heads of Government reception at the San Anton Palace in 2015.

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“It is a process which is designed to maximise the possibility of achieving a change. The hope is people would say ‘it is not a bad idea to have a republic’ in the knowledge that their first vote is not going to be final. A majority might vote for that,” Mr Howard said. “The first and most obvious thing (that) has to be resolved is whether you are arguing for a directly elected president or somebody who is essentially a governor-general by another name.”