The perils of a colonial heritage

Being a pragmatist, I reckon that it is unlikely that Australians will vote for our nation to become a Republic unless we link it to an issue that has benefits of depth and urgency, such as abolishing State Governments in order to improve our efficiency, productivity and competitiveness as a trading nation. This action will be a necessity, as each State has a Governor appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Premier.

This practice will have to cease, as we can’t have a republic that is comprised of States that are still linked to British royalty. At some time in our history, our States will inevitably fall anyway, as they are in financial decline and have increasing irrelevance. They will be replaced by regional governments that are an amalgamation of existing local governments which will also cease to exist. These newly-created regional governments will be constitutionally responsible to the President of Australia, as they will not have their own governors.

The current situation in Western Australia gives us a valid reason to consider the virtues of regional governments right now. Many prominent Western Australians are saying that the economic and social development of their State is impeded by their constitutional attachment to the rest of Australia.

Indeed, some of them say that WA is carrying the rest of Australia on its back — an allegation that is not entirely unfounded. However, when regional governments are formed, the Kimberly and the Pilbara will gladly welcome their independence from Perth which, in their view, is an unnecessary chain around their neck.

Back in the depression years of the 1930s, WA did try to secede from the Commonwealth. A referendum was held and the separationists got one-third of the vote. If they had been able to use the communications technology of today to get their message across the vastness of WA, and had held the vote at a time of mining expansion such as they enjoy today, instead of having to convince a lot of unemployed voters, they would now be a separate nation.

As all of this creates a climate in which we can develop a long-range plan to progressively bring these essential changes into being over the next 20 years — this will mean that the current politicians will not have to vote themselves out of job, they will become the statesmen who will be recorded in history as nation builders.

A referendum can be held at the time of the 2013 Federal Election at which voters can be asked a relatively simple question:

Do you authorise the Parliament of Australia to draft a new Constitution which embodies an Australian Head of State and two levels of government throughout the nation, this draft Constitution being submitted to a referendum five years from now?

I will leave the constitutional lawyers to get the wording right, but this will get us moving steadily forward into a world that is rapidly changing before our eyes every day. We will create a decentralised nation which reduces the power of overcrowded capital cities. It will be geared for peace and prosperity without the heavy and costly bureaucratic burdens of over-government that we unnecessarily carry today, and we will cease to think parochially and nostalgically. We will be proud Australians living in the world finest and most progressive nation.

• If you would like to do some more reading on this important subject, I suggest that you contact Charles Mollison, a distinguished Australian who lives on the Sunshine Coast. He has written a new Constitution for Australia and an accompanying book that explains the issues involved. It may not be the final answer, but it is well worth reading and debating. His email address is cobbscrossing@bigpond.com.