Esther Anatolitis

When we have that rare visit of an Australian head of state, it is just

a great opportunity to have those important conversations about

what we value as Australians, about how little sense it makes in contemporary Australia to have a head of state who inherits the role by birthright.

Australians are a richly diverse people.

We value equality, fairness, a fair go for everyone.

And we have a whole bunch of democratic institutions that we value as well, but we're not a fully realised Australian democracy until we have a head of state who is elected by us and accountable only to us.

It just does not make sense in Australian democracy to have a head of state who is a part-time head of state serving many head of state roles in other nations, who lives very, very far away, doesn't work for us full-time, isn't responsible to us and isn't accountable to us, was never elected, inherits the role by birthright.

Australia is a country where, you know, there's more than half of us now.

We're either born overseas, we have one parent born overseas, we have a strong First Nations culture, 60, 80,000 years or more.

This is not a nation for whom a head of state who lands that role by birthright makes any sense.

It's not equitable and it's not democratic.

It's a great question.

You know, it's been 11 years since a previously, you know, sitting Australian monarch visited Australia.

So that tells you just how very part-time it is.

A full-time head of state would be an advocate and a champion for Australia, would help with our global trade and cultural relationships and

would continue to perform a role in Australian democracy, which is above politics, as well as those kind of formal, cultural, financial, political, you know, and above politics, those democratic aspects.

There's also that unifying figure.

You know, we see every time a Commonwealth Games or Olympic Games gets opened,

our head of state is not cheering for Australia.

They're not advocating for us full time.