ITN
Howard: No monarchy change
Howard: No monarchy change
Australian Prime Minister John Howard claims changes to the monarchy are unlikely - at least while the Queen is in charge. He said: 'Well she is an institution as well as a person. The Queen is very well liked in Australia, she's respected and has been a dedicated constitutional monarch. 'I think it is very unlikely the country will become a republic while the present queen is on the throne.' But when it came to Prince Charles, he said: 'Well that is a matter for the Australian people, if they want to change the rules they will.' Queen Elizabeth began her third day of her Royal Australian tour by meeting with Mr Howard in the capital Canberra. Australia remains a constitutional monarchy 218 years after British settlers first arrived, with Britain's monarch as its head of state, represented in Canberra by a governor-general. The queen has the right to veto any Australian law, a power which has never been used in the 105 years since Australia was federated as a nation independent of Britain. The issue of whether to dump the monarchy has been simmering since a referendum in 1999 narrowly rejected a republic. The republic issue hit headlines earlier this month when a row erupted after Commonwealth Games organisers said they would not play God Save the Queen when the monarch opens the event in Melbourne on Wednesday.
ITN | March 14, 2006
