Statement from the Chair of the Australian Republic Movement, Peter FitzSimons, regarding the Palace Letters

I am gobsmacked by the letters.

They bring to life once more the horror of what happened. Here you have the most dramatic moment in Australian political history, going right to the very heart of our democratically elected government.

And who is discussing it? Unelected English officials! They know what is to happen before anyone in the Whitlam government does. And just as this most important moment in Australian political history builds to a climax it seems they ask Australia’s unelected Head of State to look away, which it seems she does. WHAT? If her role is to oversee, she needs to see what is going on, surely? Otherwise, what is the point? And then, after it is all over, the next move is to make sure that the little Australians don’t find out what happened, by sealing the letters. This is absurd.

This is not about whether you like the queen personally or if you think the Whitlam government was a good one. It is the undemocratic power structure in our constitution that should offend all Australians.

In the days before Federation there was a Colonial Secretary deciding what would happen in the Australian colonies well before anyone in those colonies knew about it, or had any say in it. The palace letters bring to live precisely that kind of practice, still happening, courtesy of our colonial constitution.

And 45 years later, we still have democratically elected Australian leaders reporting in to unelected English people. It was an affront to the national dignity then. It is a double affront now.

The latest poll says we have about 62 per cent of the people with us for a republic - a post-war high.

Let’s get on with it.