THE FIRST LETTER TO THE REPUBLICANS.

I, Don, called to be a writer by the will of God,

To the vanguard of the various republican movements and to my brothers and sisters in Australia: grace and peace to you.

I was saddened to read the article `Republic case in crisis' on the front page of the Australian, 3 March, 1999, and I put it to you that it is not the case in crisis, so much as the case-makers. Albeit inadvertently, the Australian Republican Movement has linked itself to the Social Register, with fabulously wealthy people like Janet Holmes Court and Malcolm Turnbull as the coryphees. Even allowing for predictable media misinformation and mischief, the race for a republic has been tagged by the great unwashed as a parlour game for the elusive Chardonnay set.

The constitutional tea party and subvention in Canberra in 1998 were widely pilloried, but reasonable people understand that a starting point was essential. Prior to the convention, there was rhetoric and there was regret about what we have and what we should have said. All useful pub talk, no doubt, but hardly the foundation for a brave new commonwealth! In the absence of enlightened direction from the elected representatives of the people, since subsumed into various parties and factions, a slightly lopsided cross-section of society made a timid--although they thought it awesome -- mark in the sand.

Unhappily, the protagonists and the zealots within the republican movements respond negatively to any criticism, opposition or alternatives, branding the detractors as unenlightened, ungrateful, unimportant and generally unwelcome. To exacerbate the issues for bemused bystanders, sometimes known as taxpayers, there appears to be little common ground among the various cabals, namely the iconoclast republicans, the mirror-the-monarchy republicans, the five-bob-each-way republicans, and the biliously lukewarm republicans! By accident rather than by default, you have presented your brothers and sisters with a fait accompli, which is the worst thing you can possibly do to an Australian. You have told them that the Chief Executive of the country will be appointed by the parliament, which has shown itself to be incapable of agreeing on anything, and now you are perplexed by the people's ingratitude.

Pause for a moment and try to empathise with the motley mob who did not share in the excitement and illumination of the convention. Their questions are disarmingly simple but eternally relevant: Will I have more air to breathe? Will I pay less tax? Will I have more political freedom? Probably not, if some Australian Republican Movement apparatchiks are elected! Will my quality of life improve? Will our Asian neighbours respect us more under the banner of a republic and do I give a rodent's rectum if they don't? Last but not least, taking the cue from corporate Australia, how much will it cost? Ignore these and other fundamental needs of the plebeians at your peril.

Putting the eloquence and euphoria to one side, both sides appear to have overlooked the reality of the republican debate. That there will eventually be a republic is not the issue with anyone. Statistics can be manipulated to support any conclusion but to somebody who does not have a bet either way, the republican drama is simply reinforcing the old 80:20 rule. Ten per cent of the people desperately want a republic, 10 per cent of the people want to cling to the monarchy, and with the remaining but critical 80 per cent it will depend on the volume of propaganda fed to them by the media just prior to the referendum and, more importantly, on their mood on the day. They want to feed the family, educate the children and provide for old age under any political umbrella.

Another non sequitur or distraction in this academic juggernaut is identification with the flag. There is no denying history or the courage, generosity of spirit, and self-sacrifice of people who died believing that they were serving their country. Whether or not the calls and claims were justified is another matter. Suffice to say, no more `colonials' will be shipped off to be cannon fodder for British battles. Likewise, there is not, nor has there ever been, any illusion about the degree of support we might expect from the `old country' in the event of local hostilities. Many Australians are unfamiliar with the flag, for one reason or another, let alone understanding the traditions involved in raising, displaying and lowering the flag. To suggest that a new flag will refresh nationalism and patriotism is spurious and deceptive. The impact on economic rationalism will be negligible and for those people who believe that changing the flag or embracing a republic is a Masonic conspiracy, be comforted in the knowledge that the Freemasons, or more specifically, Grand Lodge, could not plot morning tea, let alone political intrigue!

The manner of electing the President will be the ultimate determinant of success. In this respect, Australians are no different from any other race: tell them they can't do something and they immediately want to do it. Besides, what right does an elitist minority of electors have to deny to others the very process that elevated them to a life of privilege? You might as well ask the people to drink gall. Like it or not, Australians are rebels and will not be subjugated. The British tried and failed, American multi-nationals tried and failed and the media is still trying. Deny teem a say in the choice of a President and they will deny you a republic; it really is that simple. The irony is that though the person eventually annointed may not be a politician prior to election, he or she will be after thirty minutes in the role. It's like the old saying that it doesn't matter which party you vote for, you still get a politician. Likewise, it doesn't matter who becomes President because all of the legislative power is vested in the Prime Minister and he is not elected by the people. One might be tempted to inquire if you really need another drain on the public purse simply for ceremonial purposes. Assuming that the voice of the people is heard and the President is popularly elected, whom will you choose? Australian statesmen are as rare as rocking-horse manure and you really need to set your sights higher than some vacuous sporting icon. That, my friends, is when you need to invoke God, not in the preamble to the Constitution!

Speaking of the preamble, this is reminiscent of Nero plucking away at a lyre while Rome burned, but it is expedient to divert the people's attention from the real affairs of state. If you want a suitable and credible preamble, give the task to a child. I cannot speak for God but I suspect His principal considerations are the salvation of souls and the deposit of the faith, which, contrary to restrictive belief, is not the prerogative of the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. The semantics of a Constitution are a conundrum because they will most likely be forgotten one week after publication. Where does this leave your troubled minds? Wandering at night in a desert with no light and no friendly but impartial guide to save you from stumbling? A republic, like the millennium from which it is taking its timing, is inevitable. It is fallacious to insist that you `get it right now' because you will carry the burden forever. The Republic of the United States of America has been in existence since 1776 and it is still flawed. You will be tweaking the words ad infinitum because each generation makes mistakes and the succeeding generation has different aspirations. Besides, if you insist on retaining the legal profession, their very future depends on convincing others that the status quo is inadequate. To think that you can carve words into stone today to stand firm forever is as foolish as the church's insistence that there can be no further revelations. It would be even more foolish to state that all citizens are equal. They are not, they never have been nor can possibly hope to be equal. Give the task to a child and not to teams of politicians, lawyers and other voluble humbugs.

Do not trust to apathy to secure your dreams and remember that revolutions have been fomented, in the mildest of societies, when ordinary people realised that they had been disenfranchised.

I, Don, write this greeting in my own hand. My love to all of you ...