Prince Charles aside, republic opposition rises: Newspoll

Amid a palace rebranding of the younger royals, the number of Australians opposed to a republic rises to highest level in 18 years.

Prince Charles with Rirratjingu traditional owner Mandaka Marika on the Gove peninsula yesterday. Picture: Getty Images

Opposition to a republic has reached its highest levels in 18 years with the prospect of Prince Charles taking over from the Queen delivering only a minor boost for the republican movement.

One in two Australians backs the push for a republic, but opposition to a change has hardened, with 41 per cent of voters now ­saying they would stick with the constitutional monarchy.

A special Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Australian ­reveals 50 per cent of voters would back Australia becoming a republic, with 9 per cent uncommitted.

If Prince Charles, who has been in Australia for the past week to open the Commonwealth Games, ascends to the throne, 55 per cent of Australians said they would support a republic, with 35 per cent against and 10 per cent uncommitted. The support for a ­republic if Charles became king has not shifted since 2016.

Amid a concerted rebranding effort by the palace to boost the younger generation of royals, Newspoll shows the number of Australians who would not support a republic has risen to the highest level since the 1999 republic referendum. The referendum, in which Malcolm Turnbull ran the Yes campaign, delivered a ­resounding 54.87 per cent No vote, with just 45.13 per cent of Australians backing the replacement of the governor-general with a president appointed by a two-thirds majority of parliament.

GRAPHIC: Republic Newspoll

Prince Charles, who has visited NSW, Queensland and Vanuatu during his trip, yesterday travelled to the Northern Territory, where he met indigenous leaders and schoolchildren at Nhulunbuy, on the Gove peninsula.

Prince Charles was met by ­Gumatj clan leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu and other dignitaries, after which he attended a Wuyul ceremony atop Mount Nhulun where he learned the story of the sugar-bag honey man who gave the ­Rirratjingu people their sacred knowledge. He also spoke briefly with one of the leading performers, Mandaka Marika.

In February The Australian ­revealed a Coalition government would stand by Julia Gillard’s pledge to back Prince Charles as the hereditary successor to be head of the Commonwealth.

Mr Turnbull will attend the Queen’s last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London next week. The Queen, who turns 92 next week, has ­lobbied to have Charles succeed her as head of the Commonwealth as part of her plans to have the crown prince succeed her as monarch.

Officials from Commonwealth nations have speculated the royals may opt for a “transition to a change of reign”, and potentially set up a regency for Charles, with the Queen retiring largely from public duties.

The Newspoll survey, based on 1639 interviews with voters from last Thursday to Sunday, reveals the proportion of uncommitted voters on the question of supporting a republic and introducing an Australian head of state has fallen to its lowest level since 1999.

The poll suggests republic supporters are becoming less committed, with the proportion of respondents who said they were “strongly in favour” at 25 per cent, the lowest level since the question was first asked.

From left, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Picture: AFP

Men were more likely than women to back a republic (55 per cent to 45 per cent), while the over-50s were more likely to be strongly in favour than voters aged 18-34 (27 per cent to 22 per cent), or strongly against (27 per cent to 16 per cent).

Paul Keating, who has long championed an Australian head of state, recently told The Sunday Times he was certain Prince Charles would support a republic.

“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,” the former Labor prime minister 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.”

If Labor wins the next election, Bill Shorten has pledged to hold a referendum on the republic in his first term, with a single question — “Do you support an Australian republic with an Australian head of state?”

“I believe the answer will probably be ‘yes’, but we will let the people decide,” the Opposition Leader said last year.

He said that, in the event of a Yes vote, there could be a secondary vote to decide what form a republic should take.

The Prime Minister, branded a “chameleon” on the issue by Mr Keating, has declared the ­question of whether Australia should become a republic should be revisited at the end of the Queen’s reign.

The former head of the Australian Republican Movement said that, when the time came, the question could be tested by plebiscite or even by a postal survey, given the success of the same-sex marriage survey.

“Look, this is the bottom line — we gave the republic a great shot in ’99,” Mr Turnbull said. “There was a referendum. Sadly, we lost. I voted yes, I campaigned for yes.

“I expect it will become an issue again after the end of the Queen’s reign but I don’t think it will become a frontline issue ­before then.”