[EM] Australia Votes To Keep Queen

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

Note the standard manipulation of the question.  

Namely, the failure to divide the question into 2 or more questions-- such 
as-- 

Shall the monarch of the U.K. continue to be the head of state of Australia ?

If NO, then shall the head of state of Australia

(A) be directly elected by the electors (voters) of Australia ?

(B) be chosen by a majority vote of the Parliament of Australia ?

(C) be chosen by a two-thirds vote of the Parliament of Australia ?

The second question might have used YES/NO votes and number votes (1, 2, 
etc.) with a Condorcet tiebreaker.
-----
Australia Votes To Keep Queen 
Voters Reject Referendum To Drop Britain's Queen Elizabeth II As Head of State

By ROHAN SULLIVAN
.c The Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia (Nov. 6) - Australians on Saturday refused to shake their 
colonial past, rejecting a referendum to make their nation the world's 147th 
republic and drop Britain's queen as their head of state.

Monarchists claimed the referendum result as a victory for stable government. 
Republicans said it would be the starting point for a new campaign.

''Today is a very, very special day in the history of our great country, 
Australia,'' said Kerry Jones, who led the monarchist campaign, to cheering 
supporters at a victory party. ''The Australian people have had their say, 
and they said 'No' to dumping the queen.''

Voters were asked if they wanted to change Australia's 98-year-old 
constitution to establish Australia as a republic and replace the queen as 
head of state with a parliament-appointed president.

With almost 80 percent of the vote counted by the official Australian 
Electoral Commission, 55 percent of Australians voted against the republic, 
compared to 45 percent in favor.

Settled as a British colony in 1788, Australia has been an independent nation 
since its six states federated in 1901. But like many Commonwealth countries 
such as Canada and New Zealand, it still recognizes the British monarch as 
its head of state.

By rejecting the referendum, Australia will remain one of 64 nations with a 
monarchy as head of state.

''Yes'' campaigners blamed the loss on their rivals' obscuring the key issue 
of the debate, changing it from a simple decision about whether to support a 
republic to one about what form it should take.

After the vote, Queen Elizabeth II, who with her husband Prince Phillip is 
scheduled to make a visit to Australia in March, issued a statement from 
Buckingham Palace in London.

''I respect and accept this result,'' she said. ''I have always made it clear 
that the future of the monarchy in Australia is an issue for the Australian 
people and them alone to decide, by democratic and constitutional means.''

In suburban shopping malls and tiny settlements in the dusty outback, 12.3 
million people went to the polls in this vast island nation that spans three 
time zones.

Voters also rejected a second question, a proposal to include a preamble in 
the constitution that would have recognized Australia's indigenous people in 
the nation's founding document.

Indigenous campaigner Lowitja O'Donoghue said the preamble didn't go far 
enough, and failed to achieve its own goal. When voters got the message that 
aboriginal people weren't happy with the proposal, they rejected it too, she 
said.

Vowing not to give up the fight, pro-republicans said it was the proposed 
republic model that voters rejected, pointing out that opinion polls show 
that Australians favor a republic.

They accused Prime Minister John Howard of manipulating the campaign by not 
offering Australians a simple plebiscite on whether they wanted a republic or 
the current constitutional monarchy.

The referendum proposed that the president be appointed by a two-thirds 
majority of legislators. Polls show that people favor a direct election.

Australian Republican Movement chairman Malcolm Turnbull broke down after the 
result became clear. Earlier, he described the moment he cast his vote as the 
proudest of his life.

He blamed the so-called direct electionists for the defeat, saying they ran a 
spoiling campaign which urged voters to reject any republic model unless it 
offered a direct, popularly elected of the president.

''It's a great pity and very disappointing,'' said Ted Smout, who will 
celebrate his 102nd birthday on Jan. 5, after voting yes at a polling booth 
near his home in Sandgate, Queensland state. Smout said he would probably not 
be around to see it, but ''Australia will become a republic, it's just a 
matter of time. It's evolution.''

Billy Porter, a 22-year-old electrician, voted no. ''I'm not a hardcore 
monarchist,'' he said. ''The reason I'm voting no is because we already have 
a good system and for financial reasons. It will cost millions to change.''

 AP-NY-11-06-99 1119EST