Australians won’t be asked to decide whether Australia should become a republic while Anthony Albanese is prime minister.
Albanese ruled out holding another referendum while in office, putting on ice any plans for Australia to consider replacing the British monarch as the country’s head of state in the near future.
“I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister and we did that,” Albanese told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“I support an Australian as our head of state, but I also respect the decisions which have been made and our system of government, and I think that’s important.
“I always support the institutions which are there.”
Albanese previously ruled out a referendum during his second term in office, but has now extended it to his entire period of leadership.
Australia held a referendum in 1999 on whether to become a republic, but the proposition did not get enough public support.
The prime minister held a referendum in 2023 on establishing an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution, which was also defeated.
“We did that [referendum]. We’re concentrating on cost of living and on making a real, practical difference to people’s lives,” Albanese said.
The comments followed the prime minister meeting King Charles at Balmoral Castle after flying into Scotland on Sept. 26 (UK time).
Albanese met with the monarch at Balmoral Castle after flying into Scotland on Sept. 26 .
He said the reception with the King, his fourth such audience with him, was “delightful.”
“He’s warm and engaging. It was very good of him to honour Australia with the invitation to come here to Balmoral Castle for a one-on-one meeting,” Albanese told Sky News Australia on Sunday.
“His Majesty is ... someone who is interested in Australia.
“He’s someone who I take a great deal of benefit from his insights into issues and it’s always good to have these one-on-one discussions with him.”
It was the first time an Australian prime minister had met with a monarch at Balmoral Castle since Paul Keating visited Queen Elizabeth at the Scottish residence in 1993.
The trip to Balmoral also included a visit with fiancee Jodie Haydon to the nearby church of Crathie Kirk, which is often frequented by the royal family when they stay at the Scottish castle.
Sunday will mark the final day of Albanese’s visit to Great Britain, where he will address the UK Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool.
The conference visit has been criticised by the coalition, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley calling it a “personal detour” on an official trip.
Albanese said the conference visit was an opportunity to speak with senior members of the UK government.
“I'll be having discussions with ministers, not just with Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer, about AUKUS and about that progress, taking the opportunity to sit down with government ministers,” he said.
“We have an important economic relationship with our free trade agreement.”
Opposition foreign spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said there was a double standard from the prime minister, after Albanese as opposition leader criticised a visit from then-prime minister Scott Morrison in 2019 to a Donald Trump rally while on official business in the United States.
“If Albanese wants to turn this into a little trip where he basically now goes to functions that are of a domestic political nature and are directly related to the Labor Party, well, he needs to be up front with that,” she told Sky News Australia.
