Three Birthdays for the Queen in One Year?

Queenslanders will take the day off work today – not in recognition of their hard work – but to recognise a Monarch who will most likely be sleeping through the festivities held in her name.

It’s the third such day Australians have put on for the Queen this year, following Queen’s Birthday public holidays around the country on 12 June and 26 September. 

While the date of the Queen’s Birthday public holiday has changed repeatedly in recent years, a bolder reform would have been to change the holiday completely.

“You’d think one birthday would be enough for the Queen. Australians who are out there making a difference in their communities every day don’t even get one day in their honour – let alone three!” said the Australian Republican Movement’s Queensland Convenor Glenn Davies.

“The Queen’s Birthday holiday is the least relevant public holiday on Queenslanders’ calendar. It’s time it was replaced with a day that celebrated Queenslanders’ achievements and aspirations as a modern, forward-looking State” said Mr Davies.

The Australian Republican Movement is campaigning for a national plebiscite on an Australian republic by 2020. The Movement has seen a remarkable surge in support throughout 2016, including in Queensland.