12 Facts About Australia’s Constitutional Monarchy They Don’t Teach in School Anymore… But Should!

1. God Is Most High

We have two Kings! Yes, it’s 100% true. Just read the official style of our new Sovereign:

“King Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Australia, and his other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.”

God endows His free and unmerited favour on our Sovereign, self-evidently a man and therefore a sinner like all of us. God bestows His blessing on our Sovereign. Our constitutional Monarch is imbued with God’s presence.

God comes first.

As a system of government, this is not trivial.

The Sovereign is checked and guided by our Creator, the King of Kings.

2. 1,000 Years of Fine-Tuning and Perfecting

Monarchies are not all the same.

Some were tribal and unsophisticated. Others, in a time long ago, were absolute and brutal, the monarch having the power of a dictator.

Well, those days have long gone.

One-thousand years of common law, a fancy way of saying ‘rules created in response to practical situations’, has given us the world’s best system from the English.

Finetuned since 1,066 A.D. Evolved through King John and the Magna Carta. Perfected into modernity.

3. Democracy Is Central

A huge feature of the constitutional monarchy is that the Sovereign does not propose or unilaterally enact legislation. Also, the King has zero executive power. These powers are exercised by democratically-elected representatives.

4. The King of Australia

The Sovereign is King of Australia.

You can forgive an American onlooker for the faux pas, King of England. They can’t be expected to know.

But there is no excuse for an Australian.

Our monarch is the King of Australia. And, as an aside, there is no such thing as a King of England, except in the history books. The Poms have a King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It’s been that way since Queen Anne.

5. Sovereign as Referee Over Politicians

And, never to be outdone by the Poms, Australia has improved on 1,000 years of history’s lessons and the democracy we’ve inherited.

Here’s what we cheekily and cleverly did.

First, we took the Westminster System as a base. Then we looked to Canada and the United States for improvements. Then we down-scaled the role of the Sovereign and his representative in Australia, the Governor-General, to something which looks more like a referee if the politicians muck things up. (To discover the biggest political bungle of all, read on … )

Now wasn’t this smart? The result is a constitution-defined monarchy, ‘constitutional monarchy’ for short, which is modern and customised for Australia.

6. Political Neutrality

Another down-scaled feature of Australia’s constitutional monarchy is that the Sovereign must be politically neutral.

Several centre-right commentators I’m reading are making the error that “political neutrality” means the Sovereign never expresses a political view.

Wrong!

In fact, our system requires the Sovereign to express political views, the political views of the Government of the day. The Sovereign must at all times reflect the view of the democratically-elected Government. You see this in the opening of parliament speeches in the UK.

To do otherwise is an unconstitutional and therefore dangerous indulgence. We don’t want Sovereigns saying things divergent from the Government.

Now, if you don’t like the Government’s policies as reflected by the Sovereign or Governor-General, change the Government. Don’t start harping on about King Charles or David Hurley. They are vessels.

To reiterate, “political neutrality” simply means that the Sovereign must not express his personal views.

7. Political Deadlocks Solved

Here’s a big advantage of Australia’s constitutional monarchy. If politicians make a mess of things, if there’s a political deadlock, the Sovereign’s representative – the Governor-General – can act as a release valve.

Now I told you politicians made one almighty bungle. Well, here it is. The Left call it “The 1975 Constitutional Crisis.” They imply that there was something amiss with our Constitution but they are wrong. I call it “The 1975 Political Crisis” because the politicians were at loggerheads. What the politicians couldn’t solve among themselves, the Constitutional Monarchy could in the way the constitutional drafters intended.

The very short version of events is that the Government couldn’t guarantee money supply and wouldn’t call an election. The Governor-General, therefore, appointed a new Prime Minister who could guarantee supply and then the entire Parliament was dissolved pending an election just weeks later.

That election resulted in the largest landslide in Australia’s history, confirming that the constitutional monarchy operated superbly as a circuit-breaker to facilitate a democratic clearinghouse vote.

8. Instant Succession

Under the constitutional monarchy, succession is instant. When the Queen dies, the King automatically takes the throne. No power struggles. No resistance to the new order. Clean handover of constitutional power.

Contrast this with Democrat #NotMyPresident protests when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the United States. Contrast this with the Republican 6^th January protests when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

We don’t have that nonsense. Instead, what Australia has is an apprenticeship of 70 years duration and instant succession when the time came.

The Queen is dead. Long live the King.

9. Advantageous Defence Alliance

Australia is a continental land mass with a population the size of New York’s tri-state commuter belt. We have neither the population nor the funds necessary to independently defend ourselves.

Australia, therefore, needs alliances, from as many partners as possible.

We have the American alliance.

Maintaining our historic link to the United Kingdom, sharing the Monarch, and building our new AUKUS defence alliance in this context is a very good way to keep a powerful ally close.

10. Advantageous Diplomatic Relationships

Australia is pre-eminent in the group of fifteen Commonwealth Realms, along with the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. By retaining our status as a Commonwealth Realm inside the fifty-six member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations with its 2.5 billion people and 32% of the global population, we more easily gain access to diplomatic relationships important to our national interest.

11. In-Touch With Community. Grassroots Engagement

Part and parcel of the Australian constitutional monarchy is the idea that the Sovereign and his representatives are engaged with the very grassroots of the Nation. This comes in the form of recognising worthy citizens through the Order of Australia Honours System on Australia Day and, previously, the Queen’s Birthday. These are citizen-nominated awards granted ultimately by the Sovereign on advice from the Order of Australia Council. It’s pure genius. The United States has nothing like this.

If that weren’t amazing enough, the constitutional monarchy extends its grassroots, community engagement through Royal Patronages of worthy charities.

Queen Elizabeth II was Patron of more than 600 charities. That’s two charity visits a week just to cover them all once a year. Here were the Australian ones:

This is an ancient tradition not restricted to the former Sovereign.

Our Governor-General and Mrs Hurley are Patrons of the following 239 worthy causes. I list them to really drive home how inextricably linked our constitutional monarchy is to real people doing invaluable work for this country:

ACT Veterans Rugby Union
Antarctic Science Foundation
ANZAC Health and Medical Research Foundation
Arthritis Australia
Aruma
Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI)
Assistance Dogs Australia
Association of Consulting Surveyors National
Aurora Education Foundation
Australasian College of Road Safety
Australia and New Zealand Police Games Federation
Australia Britain Society Foundation
Australia India Youth Dialogue
Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program
Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program
Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens
Australian Association of Gerontology
Australian Bravery Association
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Australian Council for Human Rights Education
Australian Council of Stoma Associations
Australian Federation of Friends of Museums
Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
Australian Institute of Health & Safety
Australian Institute of International Affairs
Australian Institute of Navigation
Australian Institute of Project Management
Australian Men’s Shed Association
Australian Music Foundation (AMF)
Australian Olympic Committee
Australian Philatelic Federation
Australian Red Cross
Australian Rotary Health
Australian Rural Leadership Foundation
Australian Veteran’s Children Assistance Trust
Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association
Australian Wildlife Society
Australian World Orchestra
AUSTSWIM
Battle for Australia Commemoration National Council
Beyond Blue
Bravery Trust
Brumbies Rugby
Cam’s Cause
Canberra Police Community Youth Club
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Carers Australia
Children’s Medical Research Institute
Children’s Week Council of Australia
Clontarf Foundation
Commonwealth Games Australia
Company of Master Mariners Australia
Confederation of Australian Sport
Constitution Education Fund
Council of Ambulance Authorities
Cure Cancer Australia Foundation
Defence Force Welfare Association
Dementia Australia
Diabetes Australia
Down Syndrome Australia
Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Australia
Duntroon Guides
Early Childhood Australia
Engineering Aid Australia
Engineers Australia
Everyman’s Welfare Service
Ex-Prisoners of War Association of Australia
Families and Friends of the First AIF
First Voice
Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife
Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal
General Sir John Monash Foundation
Glaucoma Australia
Global Voices
GWS GIANTS Football Club
Hello Sunday Morning
Hunter Anzac Memorial
Indigenous Marathon Foundation
John James Foundation
Kidney Health Australia
Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway
LBW Trust
Legacy Australia
Legacy Club of Canberra
Life Education Australia
Lung Foundation Australia
Mental Illness Fellowship
Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services Australia
Mission Australia
MS Australia
National Apprentice Employment Network
National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
National Federation of Australia-Japan Societies (Patron-in-Chief)
National Gallery of Australia Foundation
National Rifle Association of Australia
Naval Association of Australia
New Colombo Plan
Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarships
Our Watch
Paralympics Australia
Parkinson’s Australia
People with Disabilities ACT
Police Legacy
Polocrosse Association of Australia
Project Independence
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia
Returned and Services League of Australia
Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia
Royal Australian Regiment Association
Royal Australian Regiment Foundation
Royal Life Saving Australia
Royal Motor Yacht Club of NSW
Royal Over-Seas League
Royal Societies of Australia
RSL LifeCare
Rugby Australia
Ryder-Cheshire Australia
Sailing for Everyone Foundation
SchoolAid
Scouts Australia
Shake It Up Australia Foundation
Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation
Sisters of Charity Foundation
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia
St Matthews Music Association for Country Kids
Stay Kind
Stroke Foundation
Suicide Prevention Australia
Surf Life Saving Australia
Sydney International Piano Competition
Taverners Australia
The Association of Veteran Car Clubs in Australia
The Australian Ballet
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
The Australian Golf Club
The Boys’ Brigade Australia
The Global Foundation
The Order of Australia Association
The Order of Australia Association Foundation
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
The Royal Commonwealth Society of the ACT
The Royal Humane Society of Australasia
The Smith Family
The Society of Australian Genealogists
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
Tinalley String Quartet
Toc H Australia
TPI Federation Australia
Volunteering Australia
Weary Dunlop Foundation
Wheen Bee Foundation
WWF Australia
YHA Australia
Young Australians in International Affairs
Young Endeavour Youth Scheme
Youth Insearch Foundation
Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia)
Allambee Club
Allowah Presbyterian Children’s Hospital
Canberra Hospital Foundation
Canberra International Music Festival
Cancer Council ACT
Children’s Medical Research Institute, Canberra Committee
Conservation and Restoration Foundation of the Church of St. Andrew
Cystic Fibrosis
Defence Widows Group
Friends of the ANU School of Music
Girls’ Brigade Australia
Good Life Chorus
Hartley Lifecare
Invasive Species Solutions Trust
Karinya House
Klavier Music Association
L’Arche Genesaret
Lysicrates Foundation
Moorambilla Voices
Music Engagement Program (MEP)
National Archives of Australia Members Program
National Council of Women Australia
National Rose Society of Australia
Noteable Theatre Company
One Door Mental Health
Paint the Town REaD
Plastic Free Schools Programme
Scouts Australia ACT Branch
Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation
St Andrews Village
Sydney Opera House Ladies’ Committee
The Infants’ Home Child and Family Services
The Order of Australia Association (ACT Branch)
The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service
VIEW Clubs of Australia
War Widows’ Guild of Australia (ACT)
ANARE Club
Australian Cancer Research Foundation
Australian National Veterans Arts Museum
Australian War Widows
BackTrack Youth Works
Bible Society Australia
Black Dog Institute
Bus Stop Films
CHARGE Syndrome Association of Australasia
Children’s Cancer Institute
Comdance
Community Resources
Fromelles Association of Australia
Gidget Foundation Australia
Girl Guides Australia
Integra Service Dogs Australia
Keep Australia Beautiful
Lions Australia, Multiple District 201 of Lions Clubs International
Meals on Wheels Australia
National Heart Foundation of Australia
National Opera
National Youth Science Forum
Palliative Care Australia
Pathways Foundation
Peer Support Foundation
Pinchgut Opera
Playgroup Australia
Property Industry Foundation
Rotary Districts and Clubs of Australia Emergency Services Community Awards – Ausresca
Rowing ACT
Royal Far West
NextSense (Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children)
Soldier On
Special Olympics Australia
TLC for Kids
The Children’s Book Council of Australia
The Kids’ Cancer Project
The Opera Foundation for young Australians
The Shepherd Centre
UN Women National Committee Australia
United Nations Association of Australia
Veterans Centre Australia
Veterans Film Festival Committee
Australian Outward Bound Foundation
UTS Indigenous Residential College
Where There’s a Will (Willo)

Attending functions of all these groups, meeting their leaderships and memberships, listening to their progress or needs, sews the social fabric of our Nation. Far from being some kind of aloof aristocratic institution, Australia’s constitutional monarchy gives much needed moral-support and legitimacy to the work of civic-minded organisations.

And this list does not include similar efforts by the Governors and Lieutenant Governors of each State.

Attack the constitutional monarchy, as those with ulterior and sinister motives do when a Sovereign dies, and what they are in fact undermining is the fabulous work of the Bible Society, our paralympians, Beyond Blue in helping people with depression, Legacy and the RSLs, plus those helping children with cancer.

12. Cost-Effectiveness

The budget allocated by the Commonwealth Government for the office of the Governor-General in 2019-20 was A$24 million. The state budgets for Governors need to be added to this but combined with the Governor-General’s office come to A$55 million.

By comparison, the UK Government allocated A$175.4 million for the Royal Family in 2021-22. Further, the US Government allocates A$2.075 billion for the office of the President.

Weighing it all and comparing, Australia runs a very cost-effective constitutional monarchy. Part of the reason for this is that we culturally borrow a great deal from the United Kingdom. We also don’t do pomp very much.

Regardless of the reasons, changing our system of government will only add costs unnecessarily.

The constitutional monarch in Australia is here to stay.

It just makes so much sense.