Republicans in Australian history have largely been deprived of an irritant cause, something so vile that the old order of constitutional monarchy demands to be replaced with republican technologies. Phillip Knightly has an op-ed in the SMH where he argues that shame is that irritant cause .

Knightly is correct to state that the most likely reason for the failure of the republican referendum was an unpopular presidential model, I suspect that if the President was popularly elected then it would have passed. Any change to the Westminster raises questions of all the flaws in Westminster and inevitable defraying of executive power to fix those errors - something which any PM, who straddles both executive and legislative, will go to inordinant lengths to stop.

This is the only real bipartisan agreement on the republican issue, and one which places the politicians in opposition to public opinion. Until this is resolved it is likely there will be no republican settlement as the politicians hold the keys to constitutional change through referendums.

Knightly's irritant cause is shame, an appeal to an internal moral scale which demands that the political and social inequity in a constitutional monarchy must be rejected. This is a very liberal republican notion, and one that I suspect Deniehy and Harpur would agree with.

The Australian Republican Movement has a 19-point plan, including "repositioning the movement in relation linkages [sic] with national identity and Australian symbols and themes including those involving increased emotional appeal". Oh dear.

What about shame? What about asking: "As a dinky-di Aussie, aren't you just a tiny bit ashamed when the Poms sing 'God save your gracious Queen' and the rest of the world chuckles at our timidity?" If you are, then do something about it.

Knightly also mixes in the old themes of identity and independence - republican staples for appeal - and bags out the GAPF doctrine while he is at it. One under-rated argument for republican structures is their value in improving the eradication of tyranny and maximising individual liberty.

Identity, independence, shame, are all good arguments, but the value of republicanism is in maximising liberty, minimising tyranny, guaranteeing rights, increasing suffrage and limiting government action so it cannot be at odds with the will of it the popular sovereignty which makes Australian government legitimate from day to day.

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• Shame as the Irritant Cause