General Overview of the Republic Debate

Our present constitution reflects Australia's status as a self-governing colony within the British Empire. The constitution links us to the British parliament as a British Governor General (appointed by the Queen to represent herself in Australia) is our head of state and he has specific executive and reserve powers.
After the Imperial Conference of 1926, our autonomy in internal and external affairs has been acknowledged and the Governor General has in effect abandoned these powers (choosing to act on the advice of the Prime Minister) and adopted a largely ceremonial role.
The idea of mak…