Australia is a constitutional monarchy. The GG represents her in her abscence. Don't forget that all the states in the Commonwealth of Australia are sovereign states and each has its own state GG to represent the monarch. The Commonwealth of Australia is technically a federation of 6 sovereign states with each having the right to cecede from the Commonwealth if the majority of people in that state agrees to such move in a state referendum.
Any changes to our present set-up have got to be very thoroughly thought thru, debated, etc etc. So far as I am concerned, the two or three republican models (the minimalist approach) that were put put some years ago were half-baked and I was very glad that the chosen model did not get up. Our present structure has given us the political stability which is the envu of the world, except for the 1974-1975 years when the losers did not accept the verdict of the people in the two elections in those yearsa, and don't forget that the GG at the time was an Australian and he exercized the reserve power of the monarch in the way he interpreted it.
Except for the symbolism of it, being a republic is not necessarily going to make Australia any better than it is. It may be a step backward if the republican model is no beetr than the model we have now.
My concern is political stability and so long as democracy is functioning in this country, I am happy. I have no doubt others will disagree with this view :-)
