CANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s new Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull indicated on Monday that he is in no hurry to sever the nation’s constitutional links to Britain by appointing an Australian president as head of state.
Turnbull led the Australian Republican Movement when the advocacy group failed at a 1999 referendum to convince Australians to replace Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
But six days after becoming prime minister, Turnbull said he had no plans to revisit the constitutional issue.
“While I am a republican, I have to say to you that there are much more immediate issues facing me and the government than the republic, and the key ones all relate to economic growth,” Turnbull told Nine Network television.
Governor General Peter Gosgrove, the British monarch’s representative in Australia, swore in Turnbull’s 21-member Cabinet later on Monday.
His team is younger and has more women than the 19-member Cabinet of his predecessor, Tony Abbott.
“Today we are forming a government for the 21st century, a ministry whose composition and focus reflect our determination to ensure that Australia seizes the opportunities of these, the most exciting times in human history,” Turnbull said at the ceremony.
Abbott was defeated in a surprise leadership ballot of Liberal Party lawmakers last week after he battled poor opinion polling during most of his center-right government’s two years in power.
Abbott is a staunch monarchist who riled many conservatives by making the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, an Australian knight on Australia’s national day on Jan. 26. Many thought an Australian citizen would have been a more appropriate choice for the honor.
Many believe that with both the prime minister and opposition leader Bill Shorten now supporting an Australian republic, the constitutional change could now be possible. Opinion polls suggest that most Australians believe that they should have an Australian head of state.
But Turnbull said there needed to be a “genuine popular movement” for change.
