Brendan Nelson floated the Coalition’s idea for an “Options Paper on Federation” at a doorstop today and got this question:
QUESTION:
But does this republic debate come into the platform?
DR NELSON:
We think it’s important as the Opposition and alterative government to prompt Australians to think seriously about the way in which we are governing our country and administering everything from health and education, to transport and training.
…
Getting COAG to work more effectively, obviously, is in everybody’s interests, but the main reform – and all roads lead back to our constitution – and in this the early part of the 21st Century we owe it to our future to start to have a mature and serious debate in Australia about what state governments do, what the federal government does, who raises the money, how do we distribute that money, and that is one reason also why we’re also looking very seriously at taxation issues.
If I was Brendan Nelson and my support base within the Liberal Party came from the Howard Loyalist, Climate Change Denying, Flat-Earth, Monarchist wing of the party, I wouldn’t be trying to open the Republican can of worms. You really don’t want to draw any more attention than is necessary to the fact that your indentured servitude to the Paleo-Conservatives in the Liberal Party leaves you at odds with the vast majority of the Australian population.
The correct answer to the question above from Nelson’s perspective was “No. This paper will address Australia’s internal administrative and governance arrangements only”. Unfortunately for him, he’s managed to leave the door open on this one. There’s room for an enterprising journalist to engage in a bit of trouble making here….
