The question of whether the monarch or the governor-general is Australia's head of state became a political one in the years prior to the Australian republic referendum in 1999.
[2] Among arguments advanced in that campaign some were for retaining the office of governor-general as the monarch's (nominal) representative, and others were for a popularly elected head of state.
The governor-general in 2004, Major General Michael Jeffery, said at the time: "Her Majesty is Australia's head of state but I am her representative and to all intents and purposes I carry out the full role."
[citation needed] Within Australia, newspapers, ministers, constitutional scholars and the general public have not always been consistent in references to either the monarch or the governor-general as the head of state.
27, March 1996,[19] ended by quoting some remarks made the year before by Sir Gerard Brennan, Chief Justice of Australia, on the oaths of allegiance and office: The first promise is a commitment of loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors according to law.
Allegiance to a young, free and confident nation, governed by the rule of law, is not a burden but a privilege.Reviewing the position in 2000, former Justice of the High Court of Australia, Michael Kirby concluded that the governor-general would increasingly take over as virtual head of state of Australia and the office would continue to evolve as an Australian peculiarity; and that while most Australians would continue to feel republican in their hearts, many would continue to have a vague lingering affection for the monarch, and some feel a measure of respect for the idea of the Crown as "a notion above the transient allegiances of party politics with its vital but often banal concerns".
"[30][31][32] In 2009, a media release from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd referred to a tour by Quentin Bryce as a "visit to Africa of this scale by Australia’s Head of State" ;[18][33] and the following year, his spokesperson told the press the Queen "held that position".
[34] In the Department of the Parliamentary Library's publication Research Note, Peter Ireland concluded that "the Constitution can be used to argue either proposition".
[dubious – discuss] One ruling, cited first by Professor David Flint and later by Sir David Smith,[36] is the 1907 decision of R v Governor of South Australia, wherein the court inter alia described the governor-general as the "Constitutional Head of the Commonwealth" (and the Governor of South Australia as the "Constitutional Head of the State").
[45][46] Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade lists the names of both the monarch and the governor-general as head of state.
[53] However, Professor Colin Howard argued that, "It seems therefore that practice and law now coincide to support the proposition that, certain matters of ceremony and courtesy apart, the head of state in Australia is not the Queen but the Governor-General".
[63] Professor Owen E. Hughes commented that there was "ambiguity" on the issue, and described both the monarch and the governor-general as the head of state at different times in the same book.
[67] However, in 1995, the one-time Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, and later Liberal prime minister, Tony Abbott, described the Queen as the "titular Head of State" of Australia.
Writing a response on the Queen's behalf, Robert Fellowes, the private secretary to the Sovereign, asserted that Smith's claims "would not really hold constitutional water".
In an article titled "Monarchists Affirm – Queen is Head of State", National Chairman Phillip Benwell says this "has been advised in writing to me on several occasions by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet"[70] The view of the Australian Republican Movement is also consistent with official position.
Leading republican and former prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull argued in 1993: "As long as we have the British Queen as our Head of State, other nations everywhere, not just in Asia, will regard us as somewhat less than independent.
In recent years, particularly after the debate and referendum on a republic in 1999, the local convention has been to recognise that the Governor-General is Australia's head of state and that Elizabeth II is our sovereign ... a spokesman for [Prime Minister] Rudd said: "Australia's head of state is HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor-General HE Ms Quentin Bryce AC.