Esther Anatolitis

It's compulsory voting, you know, unlike the UK.

Parties have to develop policies for all Australians because voting is compulsory.

You know, paying tax is also compulsory.

We can't opt out of the tax system.

We can't opt out of democracy.

It belongs to everyone.

That is a great innovation, you know, one of the great Australian innovations, just like secret voting and, of course, voting that is for everyone.

I think the cost is often one of those distraction arguments.

We have

a clear majority of Australians who were ready for Australia to become a republic.

To go in with a bipartisan approach to a referendum means that, you know, you can also imagine a situation where a referendum, it might be a standalone ballot or it might be carried out in conjunction with a federal election.

As for those broader questions about the flag and so on,

That's either peripheral or it's just not an issue.

We might not change the flag.

There are countries around the world with a range of different flags.

We are already in the minority of Commonwealth nations who are not yet republics.

The majority of the Commonwealth nations are republics.

And of course, we would continue to maintain our place there, our strong cultural and economic and trade relationships with the United Kingdom, with other Commonwealth nations, whether they're already republics or not.

None of that changes.

None of that costs anymore.