hello all,
just wanted to mention what a friend of mine thought about becoming a
republic, even though it is something we would all want one day, and it
was this, the cost. he said that just simply re-naming everything for
instance in the Navy, taking the word Royal off everything, boats
uniforms etc would be so expensive, and that money is better spent on
other things. I thought it was an interesting idea, but one I couldnt
comment on....
cheers, Karynxx
>I agree, Trudy---as things stand, voting yes is not an option.
>
>Unfortunately, Howard will get his way and we will remain a Monarchy
ruled
>by a foreign sovereign, but the Republic was dead in the water this
time
>around once Howard was reelected--- It really was a watershed election
.
>
>Hopefully, Howard will be a bad memory in the not too distant
future---in
>the meantime, as you say ,we must continue to work for Indigenous
Justice
>and the Republic.
>
>Laurie
>
>
>Laurie and Desley Forde [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Trudy and Rod Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: RecOzNet2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Date: Friday, February 19, 1999 4:21 AM
>Subject: [recoznet2] Arguments for the 'No' vote
>
>
>>17-02-99
>>
>>Why I will vote 'no' on the republic and the preamble.
>>
>>The Republic.
>>
>>Even though I feel that Australia should become a republic, as things
>>stand at present I will not vote 'yes'.
>>I have come to this decision not just because of the undemocratic
model
>>being proposed but also because John Howard has become the arbiter of
>>what we will be 'allowed' to vote on.
>>He says he is a monarchist and will not campaign but already his
>>machinations and manipulations have made sure that, either way, he
will
>>be able to claim the credit and bask in the glory. This is a 'fixed'
>>contest.
>>Seeing what Australia has become under John Howard, I am afraid I
cannot
>>trust that 'things can be changed later' as Kim Beazley believes. What
>>John Howard has convinced me of is that, if we are to become a
republic,
>>we must never do so without a Bill of Rights. An Australian republic
>>will need a Bill of Rights to protect its citizens from its
government.
>>There are those who say we don't have that protection now. This is
true,
>>but tradition has acted as a powerful influence against the worst
>>excesses. Once we become a republic, that tradition will no longer
carry
>>the weight it did. There will be unscrupulous, cunning people who will
>>take advantage of this unless we get it right - from the beginning.
>>Australia is undergoing a redefinition of itself in the attempt to
face
>>the future as its own invention rather than a colonial left-over.
>>Unfortunately we are doing so with John Howard at the helm. A small,
>>mean, mediocre helmsman bereft of vision, ethics or compassion - an
>>autocratic egomaniac. John Howard will corrupt every attempt at
creating
>>a republic that does not fulfil his vision of Australia: white,
>>christian church affiliated, 'upper-class' businessmen supporting a
>>stay-at-home wife and private-school-educated children who meet their
>>obligations to the poor, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants through
>>charitable but stern 'assistance'. Human rights do not come into it.
>>I do not want an Australian republic in his image.
>>
>>The Preamble.
>>
>>Why, for something so important, so definitive of Australia, is John
>>Howard allowed to write the words???? Who decided that he would be the
>>arbiter of Australia's vision of itself? How did he manage this? This
is
>>the man who put Shirley Maclain to sleep! Who is he to decide what
will
>>go in and how it goes in - for posterity?
>>
>>God
>>
>>With a third of Australians not believing in either the christian god
or
>>any god or different gods or goddesses, it is the height of arrogance
to
>>insist on putting Australia under Howard's god. (We all know that
>>Howard's god is money but that is even more reason to complain.)
>>I was very disappointed in Kim Beazley who just knee jerked and,
without
>>thinking, said that this was a good idea. I believed he had a sense of
>>justice and fair play but I guess that disappears when childhood
>>upbringing wins out.
>>Australia's Constitutional preamble should, instead, affirm that
freedom
>>of religion and worship are guaranteed, with respect for, and
acceptance
>>of, all religions where they do not infringe upon the rights and
>>well-being of others.
>>As the founding religions of Australia, and the oldest continuous
>>religions in the world, Indigenous peoples' religious beliefs should
be
>>accorded the status and respect that entails.
>>
>>Aboriginal 'prior occupancy'
>>
>>This is so insulting, it is beyond belief! Even Bob Katter said it was
>>insulting. Howard wants, for posterity, to leave the impression that
>>Aboriginal Peoples existed on this land in some form of nomadic
>>lifestyle without knowledge of ownership rights or laws. It also
conveys
>>Howard's implied vision of Aboriginal Peoples: they died out after
>>'settlement' and today's Indigenous peoples aren't 'really'
Aboriginal.
>>I suppose, in Howard's eyes, to admit to prior and ongoing ownership
in
>>the absence of conquest would be to admit that we are a nation of
>>thieves.
>>I cannot vote for this. We are a better people than that and we can do
>>much better. We have to leave John Howard behind.
>>
>>Representative Democracy
>>
>>This is not what it seems at face value but is the means by which
Howard
>>will cut the Senate down to size. One must look very carefully at the
>>words Howard uses because they convey his vision of what will be in
his
>>best interest. We've already found out that he doesn't value democracy
>>or human rights so why is this there? Because it suits Howard.
>>The preamble carries no legal weight (except where it is used to
clarify
>>a point in the Constitution itself) but it can be used by an
>>unscrupulous politician as a justification for advancing his own goals
>>disguised as the 'national interest'.
>>
>>There is more to come - as soon as John Howard writes it.
>>
>>For me, there is enough there already to know that, unless there is a
>>complete overhaul of words and meaning to something we can be proud
of,
>>I cannot in good conscience vote yes. Not to meet a deadline. Not so
it
>>can be changed later.
>>I think Indigenous Peoples deserve better after 211 years - I think
>>Australia as a whole deserves better.
>>
>>In the absence of a Sovereign, sovereignty reverts to the people (even
>>though it is inherent in the land itself) and we, the people, must
>>reclaim the initiative and insist on justice for Australia's First
>>Peoples. Without that, as a first step, the rest of us will never
truly
>>feel, nor truly be, Australian.
>>
>>Trudy Bray
>>
>>
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