The Electronic Telegraph 25 April 1995 WORLD NEWS
[World News]

Prince named Australia's republican of the year

By Geoffrey Lee Martin in Sydney and Toby Harnden

THE Prince of Wales has been sent an award as republican of the year in Australia. The Republican Party of Australia said he had "done the most in 1994 to advance the republican cause".

The fledgling party was turned down when it asked the office of the Governor-General, the High Commission in Canberra and the Consulate in Sydney to pass on the award certificate.

The 1,800-member party has, however, received a letter from Commander Richard Aylard, the Prince's private secretary, saying it could post the citation. Peter Consandine, the party's executive director, said the Prince was "way out in front" of other contenders in the annual ballot of its members.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The citation has not yet been received. We have no observation to make on what is obviously a publicity stunt." It was pointed out that the Prince had not accepted the award. In an Australia Day speech in Sydney in 1994, the Prince said the republican debate was a "sign of a mature and self-confident nation".

"This is something which only the Australian people can decide," he said. "There are those who would wish to see such a rapidly-changing world reflected by a change in Australia's institutions. Perhaps they are right."

24 Jan 95: New Zealand may abandon Crown

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