Australia’s prime ministers have been accused of “playing politics” after all six pulled out of greeting King Charles and Queen Camilla at a welcome reception ahead of their nine-day tour of the country.
The king will make his seventeenth visit to Australia this week and his first trip to a Commonwealth country since becoming king.
But the 75-year-old has been given the cold shoulder by Australian politicians, who turned down the invitation to his reception in Canberra on October 21.
Victoria’s Prime Minister Jacinta Allan declined last week, saying she had a cabinet meeting. Her deputy, Ben Carroll, also declined the invitation, meaning Ms Allan’s parliamentary secretary Nick Staikos will represent the state.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles said he could not attend as he was currently working on his election campaign, while Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he was on a US trade mission.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also said they were attending a cabinet meeting.
And a spokesman for Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said he had “other commitments”.
Australian Monarchists League Victorian spokesperson Bev McArthur called the apparent criticism a “slap in the face” to the royal family.
King Charles III (pictured left) and Queen Camilla pose for their official Australian visit portrait
Jacinta Allan (left) turned down an invitation to welcome the king last week, saying she had a cabinet meeting, while Tasmanian Prime Minister Jeremy Rockliff (right) said he was on a US trade mission
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas (left) and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns (right) both said they were attending a cabinet meeting and we could not attend
A spokesman for Western Australia Premier Roger Cook (left) said he had “other commitments” and was unable to attend the King’s welcome reception, while Queensland Premier Steven Miles (right) said he could not attend as he was currently busy with his election campaign
“All prime ministers and ministers have sworn allegiance to our monarch, Charles III, and it is a monumental insult that they are now spitting into his hand in friendship,” she told the newspaper. Herald Sun.
“This is a historic opportunity to unite Australia, focus on charity work and give back to communities. Yet our immature politicians clearly choose to play politics.’
Opposition spokesman Brad Rowswell said he wrote a letter to Ms Allan in May urging her not to downplay the King’s visit.
“Sometimes leadership requires putting aside personal biases for the sake of the greater good,” Rowswell said.
The Mirror reported that royal sources called the snubs ‘highly unprofessional’ but insisted it would not affect the tour.
A source told the newspaper: ‘The King and Queen are incredibly excited to be visiting Australia and Samoa, and are very much looking forward to getting out and meeting as many people as possible during the visit.’
Victoria last year stunningly reneged on its promise to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, despite having to pay a hefty price to host the event in Glasgow.
Neither Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan (pictured left) nor her deputy Ben Carroll will attend the King’s welcome ceremony in Canberra
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he cannot attend the welcome event in Canberra due to a Cabinet meeting, but will reportedly attend other events with the King.
During their trip, the King and Queen will attend a series of events aimed at fostering community relations, while highlighting their passion projects, including the environment, and helping domestic charities.
King Charles will deliver a speech at the event in Canberra, which will be attended by prominent figures Australians from different fields such as health, arts, culture and sport.
The importance of the trip is underlined by the fact that King Charles will stop his cancer treatment to make the journey.
The king will resume his treatment cycle once he returns to Britain.
It will be Charles’ 17th visit to Australia, but first as monarch (photo Charles in Longreach, Queensland in 20170
Charles was diagnosed with an unknown form of the disease in February after prostate surgery and has been treated weekly since then.
He and Queen Camilla have planned a full program during the eleven-day trip, which will include a visit to Samoa, where the king will attend the meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth.
The couple will have about ten appointments a day, with only one day of rest.
It comes after a poll in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph found one in four respondents now had a more favorable view of King Charles than before he was crowned, with just 5 percent less positive.
Only one in three thought Australia should become a republic – a far cry from the 39.4 percent who voted so in the country’s 1999 referendum.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is an outspoken republican and planned to hold a second referendum on whether the monarchy should be abolished.
However, he cooled the plans after the Australian public overwhelmingly rejected his plans to give greater political rights to Aboriginal people last October.