【Supplementary Reading】
The following are excerpts from a speech given by Malcolm Turnbull，chairman of the Australian Republic Movement，on August 1，1999.The republicans advocated for a president to replace the British monarch as Australia’s head of state.
Australia，the Republic and Leadership
106 years ago，a faltering federal moveme nt was revived in Corowa.But what was the spirit that made the Corowa Conference of 1893 such a vital part of our nation’s history？Patriotism，certainly.A passion for Australia?Certainly.But most of all the power of Yes.And not just Yes to change.The founders of our Federation said Yes to a new Nation，to what would become the Commonwealth of Australia，but they also said Yes to our Westminster traditions of Government.They embraced change as a means of strengthening our traditions of parliamentary democracy.Their mission was both progressive and conservative.And so is the republican movement today.In proposing an Australian Head of State，instead of a British monarch，we do not challenge our Australian parliamentary democracy.We celebrate it and we mean to make it stronger and more relevant.
At every stage of our history，the Noes have tried to hold back the progress of this nation.No to Federation.No to Australian Governors⁃General.No to removing the power of the British Parliament to legislate for Australia.No to ending the Privy Council’s role as Australia’s ultimate Court of Appeal.
Every one of those steps on the road to independent nationhood was resisted.Yet today，who would argue against any of them?
On November 6，all of us will have the last chance this century，and probably the only chance in our lifetimes，to vote to have an Australian citizen as our Head of State.Our vote in November will determine whether our next Head of State is an Australian，chosen by Australians，or King CharlesⅢ.
What will we feel when we vote Yes？We will know that we have finished the task of nation building that our forebears began.We will know that the national pride，the Australian spirit that drove six colonies to form one Commonwealth has seen its culmination;an Australian nation in which every office is open to Australians.An Australia whose Head of State is one of us.
The referendum will test us，but most importantly it will be a test of our political maturity and of the civic responsibility of our leaders.And by leaders，I am not confining myself to members of parliament.
The single most important objective，which should unite all Australians regardless of their views on this issue，is that the Australian people go to the polls on November 6 understanding the nature of the proposition put before them.
If this nation，in 1999，with all of the benefits of a developed economy and modern communications cannot ensure that Australians have the information to enable them to make an informed decision，then we have not simply failed the people of this country，we have betrayed their trust…
A directly elected President would inevitably involve substantial changes to our Westminster system of Government.It would ensure that our President was a politician，with partisan loyalties，who would constitute a political rival to the Prime Minister.Telling Australians you can have a directly elected President without such substantial changes like saying you can have a 20％ flat tax without any reduction in government services…
Apart from the removal of the Queen，the most important change is in the appointment of our new Head of State.Instead of a Governor General chosen by the Prime Minister，the process of selecting an Australian President will：
Involve the people through a process of public nomination.
Ensure a bi⁃partisan appointment by requiring the support of both Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition，thus ensuring the President will not be a political hack or partisan of one party or the other，and
Require the approval of two thirds of the members of both Houses of the Federal Parliament，every single member of which was directly elected by the people.
On November 6，we can honour our nation and its people be ensuring that every child can aspire to every public office under our Constitution.We can end the anomaly of a foreign monarch being Australia’s Head of State.But in voting Yes we will also honour our traditions of parliamentary democracy，by approving amendments which enhance our Australian system of Government.
Like the founders of our Federation we will recognize that the time has come for change but we will bring in that change in a manner which respects and reinforces the parliamentary democracy that our nation has enjoyed.
The eyes of history are upon us all.On November 6，a proud nation should vote Yes for Australia，Yes for a Head of State who is one of us.