The man tasked with killing off the Australian republican movement has warned voters to look at turmoil in the United States before ditching the monarchy.
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New chairman of the Australian Monarchist League Eric Abetz also says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will wield less authority than John Howard, who played a key role in dooming the republic in 1993.
Mr Albanese has pledged to hold a referendum on the republic in his second term in office, but Mr Abetz tipped Australians to repeat history in the face of "hyperbolic" rhetoric.
The former Liberal senator told The Canberra Times democratic instability in one of Australia's closest allies served as a warning against change.
"The Australian people will come to the same conclusion: what isn't broke does not need fixing," he said.
"This system has served us so exceptionally well. They can look to the United States to see how the presidential system works."
A model outlined by the Australian Republican Movement in January would not give an Australian head of state comparable powers to the US President.
Australians would separately elect a president, tasked with upholding the Constitution, and a prime minister, who would remain in charge of legislation.
The republican movement suffered a defeat in 1993, the last referendum held in Australia, due to division over the proposed model and strident opposition from then-prime minister John Howard.
Mr Abetz accepted that each election was unique, and running against an incumbent prime minister in Anthony Albanese would be "a different prospect" for the monarchist movement.
"But let's keep in mind that the current Prime Minister is there with a good grace of about 32 per cent of the first preference vote," he said.
"So he doesn't come to the prime ministership with the authority with which the Australian people clothed John Howard or, for that matter, Tony Abbott."
Republicans have argued the Scott Morrison secret ministries scandal highlighted the need for urgent clarification over the prime minister and head of state's roles.
Mr Albanese blasted Mr Morrison's secrecy, but has defended Governor-General David Hurley, who did not reveal the appointments publicly.
Assistant minister for the republic Matt Thistlethwaite also claimed a head of state who pledged loyalty to the Australian people, not the Queen, would not have kept the power grab a secret.
But Mr Abetz dismissed that claim as "absolute nonsense", comparing it to claims Buckingham Palace was directly involved in the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government.
"They have not been able to show how their model would have changed things, unless the president was in full control, rather than the prime minister," he said.
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Mr Thistlethwaite has not committed to any particular republic model, which he said would be part of consultation with the public.
But Mr Abetz said Mr Thistlethwaite's appointment gave the republican movement all the "trappings and resources" of office needed to promote itself.
"That's why we got started early ... [to] raise money and supporters to assist us to counter this move, which will not serve future generations of Australians in any beneficial way at all," he said.
Australia has not passed a referendum in nearly half a century, but a potential vote on the republic would be Labor's second attempt to amend the constitution in just two terms.
Mr Abetz said the fate of the Voice to Parliament referendum would have little bearing on whether Australians opted for a republic, despite supporters attempting to link the two.
"Whether it succeeds or fails, [the Voice] won't have an impact on the monarchy," he said.
"The one thing that the Australian people will ask is: will this be a unifying change to our Constitution? That will be for [them] to decide."
Finn McHugh
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
