Anthony Albanese has comprehensively shut the door on the prospect of a referendum to make Australia a republic while he is prime minister, despite acknowledging his personal desire for an Australian head of state.
Albanese said there would only be one referendum during his time as the nation’s leader, during an interview on the ABC Insiders program on Sunday after his meeting with King Charles in Balmoral, Scotland.
“I think I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister, and we did that,” he said, referring to the 2023 Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.
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“We did that. And I think 1759030391 we’re concentrating on cost of living, and on making a real practical difference to people’s lives.”
Asked by host David Speers, whether he thought it was strange to visit the king of Australia in Scotland, Albanese said King Charles “is fully aware that I support an Australian as our head of state”.
The last prime minister to visit the British monarch at Balmoral castle was Paul Keating in 1993, who told Queen Elizabeth there was a “growing feeling” that Australia should have its own head of state, and that his view was that the nation should be a republic by the centenary of federation in 2001.
But a 1999 republic referendum under John Howard’s prime ministership fell far short of approving the change.
On Sunday Albanese confirmed he had not discussed future plans to make Australia a republic with the king.
Albanese has long been an advocate for an Australian republic, but has slowly backed away from constitutional change.
In October 2023, after the voice referendum failed, Albanese ruled out another referendum during his first term.
“I made it very clear that this was the only referendum that I was proposing in this term. I made no commitments about any further referendums,” he said during a press conference.
In July 2024, Albanese scrapped the ministerial portfolio for a republic.
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Albanese has said since the May election there wouldn’t be another referendum in this term, but as recently as Friday had kept the door ajar to the prospect of a vote in the future.
“I’ve said very clearly, I have no plans to have a referendum during this term,” he told reporters during a press conference in London.
When pushed for whether he believed Australia would become a republic in his lifetime, he said, “That’s a matter for the Australian people, but I respect his majesty.”
The Australian Republic Movement urged the government to keep the issue on the national agenda. The co-chair, Nathan Hansford, said a visit to Australia’s head of state “shouldn’t require a flight to Balmoral”.
“We call on the prime minister and all parliamentarians to keep this on the national agenda and set out a path to a referendum. Keep the conversations going and let Australians decide.”
