PM suggests Australia could have another postal survey given the “success” of the first

PM suggests Australia could have another postal survey given the “success” of the first
Image: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull has said more issues for Australia could be decided by postal plebiscites similar to the marriage equality vote.

Speaking yesterday about the matter of voting for Australia to become a republic in the future, Turnbull said another postal vote was an option, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The first thing you would need to do is have an honest, open discussion about how a president could be elected,” he said.

“You’ve got to have that discussion and it may be that a plebiscite, given the success of the marriage postal survey, could be one way to deal with that.”

Unlike marriage equality, which could have been passed by parliament without a national vote, a potential move from monarchy to republic would require an amendment to the constitution that would have to be voted on.

Turnbull said that Australia may not want to become a republic, however.

“This is a question for the Australian people and Australians have shown themselves to be very conservative when it comes to a constitutional change,” he said.

“But there is no point pretending that there is an appetite for change when there isn’t one at the moment.”

Turnbull’s postal vote suggestion follows an election promise by opposition leader Bill Shorten’s to give Australians a vote in the first term of a future Labor government on the matter of becoming a republic.

Shorten said the vote would be a simple Yes or No poll, similar to the marriage equality vote.

Participation in last year’s marriage equality postal vote, at 79.5 per cent, was higher than for other voluntary polls, including Brexit and the last US presidential election.

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2 responses to “PM suggests Australia could have another postal survey given the “success” of the first”

  1. What a nonsensensical waste of taxpayer money. As the question would be about changing the Constitution it would need a follow-up Referendum to make any difference. An even bigger waste of money than the SSM Survey.

  2. A “statistical survey” about the Republic seems like a far more appropriate use of this kind of survey than marriage equality. It’s an exchange of ideas, with a lot less opportunity for personal offensiveness.

    I laughed and laughed before Christmas when Peter Dutton wrote an op-ed piece for the SMH about how the statistical survey was a great success but should never be used again. All I could think about was other stories of successful experiments which were one-offs. Do you know who else had a successful experiment which should never be repeated? Dr Frankenstein.