Quote Originally Posted by Sly
We're not independent. We're still part of the British "Empire". There is a growing movement to ditch the monarchy though.
I afraid to say it is shrinking rather than growing. The country has grown more conservative in the past decade. We are still a very Anglophile country, something immigration hasn't changed much at all, because our largest immigrant groups are still Britain and New Zealand (another Anglo-Saxon country). Then there is the great difficulty in becoming a republic: not only do you require a majority of the population, but you also require a majority of the states, which makes it 4 out of 6 states. I can see Victoria and NSW going the Republican way (in fact, I'm less certain about NSW these days), but I can't see Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia or Western Australia cutting mother's apron strings, and you'd need two of those recalcitrant states changing their minds.

In a cynical mood, I once predicted that England would become a republic before Australia would. I don't know if it's a cynical prediction anymore.