Sasha Barbagat

We get to make our own laws and we have very little, if any, interference from overseas and from the British monarch.

So why challenge what has worked for us since colonisation?

Another argument is that this debate has become too emotional on the side of the Republic movement, that it's all based in, you know, oh, well, we should have this because we are multicultural or we should have this because we don't want links to our colonial past.

He argued that it is an emotional issue when it should purely be something based on fact and intellect.

What's your response to that?

Look, the next issue is around cost.

Now, the argument for can say everything it wants to, but at the end of the day, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to first off hold a referendum to decide to split from the British monarchy and become an independent state.

But then we'd have to change our flag, and that also...

takes a public poll, we'd have to change letterheads and we'd have to elect an Australian head of state.

I'm thinking that would push into the potentially billions category in terms of the cost of having to get this change done.

Given we're in a cost of living crisis and it's top of people's minds right now, can we justify that cost just so that we can say we have an Australian head of state?

Esther, before I let you go, there is something that was made, a claim that was made by Alexander in our chat that I wanted to put to you and see if you had a direct rebuttal for.

Now, this is a quote from our interview.

He said, I thought it was quite a bold claim.

What do you think?

That was the Australian Republic Movement's Esther Anatolidis speaking with me there.

And that is all for this bonus episode of The Briefing.

If you haven't already, jump back in the feed.

We have yesterday's weekend briefing chat with Antoinette Latouf sitting there waiting for you to listen to.

It's wonderful to hear from the former briefing host and everything she's been up to.