Australia won't become a Republic anytime soon and it's all because of Harry and Meghan

IT WAS nearly 20 years ago that I was asked by then leader of the republican movement, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, to speak at a republican fundraiser.

At some stage in my travels I had been speaking with him and his wife Lucy at some event or another and the movement to make Australia a republic came up.

He asked me what my thoughts were and I said, all bolshie-like: ‘Absolutely, it is inevitable. It’s time, it’s time for us to stand on our own two feet’.”

He then invited me to speak at a republican movement fundraising dinner as a kind of “younger” representative and voice as to why we should become a republic.

With back and forward faxes of my speech (yup, it was that long ago) sent to Mr Turnbull, I wanted to reiterate that we really DID have to cut the “mother country” ties that were binding us, so we could finally stand on our own 2-legged kangaroo feet.

There’s not much I remember about the ‘90s but I do remember that dinner very well. It was at the very smart hotel du jour, the Regent, and the ballroom was literally packed to the rafters.

It was in the late ‘90s when the mood, to be honest, was quite anti-monarchy. To the audience of around 600 people I recalled the story of my immigrant father coming from then-Czechoslovakia to Australia and somehow I segued that into the fact that Australia needed to stand up on its own. Just as my father had done.

The mood was upbeat, optimistic and very positive.

Just a few years before, Diana had died. Prince Charles — the future king — had been seeing Camilla, a relationship that nobody seemed that fussed about, apart from tabloids that kept replaying their phone call conversations.

After the death of Diana, the British monarchy just seemed old, stale and stuffy. William and Harry were still school kids, not ready to take over the modern royal mantle that Diana had left.

To say the mood was right for change was an understatement.

Australia was also just about to host the Olympics so as a nation, we were feeling confident and self-assured.

When the republic referendum happened in November 1999, the result was incredibly close.

Out of the nearly 12 million eligible votes, the yes vote was around 45 per cent. So yes, it was a relatively close result but it did cost over $66 million to conduct a referendum. It wasn’t something the country had taken lightly.

Fast forward to now and I suspect the republican movement will have a slight marketing problem.

Simply, the British monarchy has been given a huge hit of adrenaline. It’s like it has been administered with a Packer Wacker and given a whole new lease of life courtesy of two (and soon to be three) people — Harry, Meghan and their peanut.

The slow, pro-royal vibe in Australia started when William actually began dating a commoner. OMG. He was actually dating a real person!

Now it has continued with both William and Catherine setting the initial agenda, but briskly following have been Harry and his new and now-pregnant wife Meghan.

To say their tour of Australia, Fiji and Tonga has been triumphant is an understatement.

The coverage on television, online and in print has been gobbled up by interested parties and even by those who would have voted in favour of becoming a republic back in 1999.

Even my staunch republican colleague, Joe Hildebrand, has softened his stance, saying he has become something off a royalist.

It hasn’t just been a wardrobe-watching crowd who have embraced the latest royal couple. The way they have used their status to highlight bigger issues like mental illness, climate change and homelessness, and overseeing the brilliant Invictus Games initiative, has been quite amazing.

With this renewed interest in the British Royals, to be honest, I just don’t see Australia becoming a republic any time soon.

Considering the cost of having yet another referendum, I think most Australians would prefer to get a stable government happening before we even think about spending big money severing our ties to Britain.

We all know Australia does what it likes to do and is its own beautifully independent entity, but we really do have much, much bigger issues at hand.

I have been knocked out by the reaction both Harry and Megan received during this trip.

Any story, picture, grab, piece of vision that is and has been aired or posted gets constant positive reaction.

Yes, there are still a lot of royal watchers out there and while “what Meghan was wearing” was probably most important to some of them, but this thoroughly modern couple have given the royals a fresher, relevant and approachable vibe.

- Catch Melissa Hoyer talking about this issue on Weekend Sunrise on Sunday morning.

- Melissa Hoyer is a journalist and media commentator who is obsessed with every tentacle of popular culture. Continue the conversation on Twitter @melissahoyer.

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