Should Australia become a republic or remain a monarchy?

Monarchy, The Queen is a head of state that represents all people Equally. A president although representing the majority, still only represents the people who voted for them. The Queen does not have a major role in the running of Australia, the current system works successfully. There is no reason to change it. Having the Queen Unites most of the English speaking world under the Commonwealth. In this day and age it well know that the British Empire has been over for a long time. Today the Commonwealth is a non-political union of nations. The Queen merely represents a friendship between nations not dominance of one nation over another.

I think we should remain a monarchy, for all the reasons stated by the people above but also, look at how badly we govern ourselves already! $57bil in deficit this budget, imagine if we gave these people more power to make more mistakes! I also like the security that being part of the Commonwealth offers us.

I would vote to stay a monarchy in Britain of course, but I can understand why Australians may want a republic simply because they don't get to see the royals as much so it seems like a very distant thing, whereas, you can't go through one day in Britain with-out being reminded of the fact that you have a royal family because it's so ingrained in the psyche and heritage of Britain. Of course I can understand why Aussies would want to keep it as well after all it is part of Aussie history, culture, and heritage (just not as obvious as Britain) it also represents a link to their past and to Britain, not to mention NZ and Canada. I would hope that if they become a republic it is on their terms and not forced down their throats and that it's a solid majority decision. I would also hope they pay attention not to replace it with a president chosen by their prime minister because it's important to maintain some form of check and balance on a PM. Finally, I would hope that if they choose to keep it that the republicans of that nation leave it be and not insist on forcing referendum after referendum in an attempt to get their way.

Monarchy. Having a monarch and an elected government acts as a check and balance system so no one person becomes too powerful.

Monarchy

i believe that Australia should remain part of the commonwealth. i believe that they should keep the queen as head of state as it is just as much apart of their heritage as it is ours as they are in fact descended from brits anyway and some people may not like it but think of it like this would you rather have QE2 as head of state or an idiot like bush i know who id choose

umm btw australia isnt a monarchy.. duh..

If it is not broken, why try to fix it. ? Australia gained independence from the Crown without a war or coup. We are a progressive free spirited nation that enjoys equality and fairness. Yes, we have the Crown as head of state, but in reality, that is no more than a figure head since the Australia Act was introduced back in the 1970's. Under this system of government, there is no risk of dictatorship, unconstitutional movements of government (eg. sacking of Whitlam) or diminished democracy. Given that merely changing the flag would cost mega millions of dollars, why at this financial time would any wise thinking person consider an overhaul of the system of government.? Excluding the financial issue, why change what is already working well?