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Peter FitzSimons steps down as face of the Australian republic just weeks after Queen Elizabeth’s death, puts issue back on the agenda
- Peter FitzSimons resigns as chairman of the Australian Republican Movement
- Former international rugby player announced decision to colleagues in June
- Announcement Comes As Republican Drive Grows Strong After Queen’s Death
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Peter FitzSimons has announced that he will step down as head of the Australian Republican Movement.
The former international rugby player will not rename himself as chairman and informed his colleagues of his decision as early as June.
“I am excited about what has been accomplished by the timepiece on my watch,” he said in a statement.
Peter FitzSimons has announced he will step down as head of the Australian Republican Movement
FitzSimons is married to TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson and the couple share a house with their three children on Sydney’s posh lower north coast.
“Building on the good work of my predecessors who kept the show going in the fallow years after the 1999 referendum, my colleagues and I have been able to make great strides.”
The announcement by the often polarizing author and commentator comes as the push to make Australia a republic accelerates following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.
“It’s great right now to have the republic on the agenda, to have a strong movement with growing membership and money in the bank – and, most importantly, to have a ‘minister of the state’ for the first time in history.” to have a crown. dedicated to removing the Crown,” FitzSimons said.
Deputy chairman Meredith Doig said FitzSimons is not stepping down for a “negative reason” as there are reports of increasing friction within the movement.
A number of Republicans feared that his connection to Sydney’s elite social scene would discourage young Australians from joining ARM. Sydney Morning Herald reported.
FitzSimons is married to TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson and the couple share a house with their three children on Sydney’s posh lower north coast.
Infighting has reportedly split the organization with members who cannot agree on key issues affecting Australia.
FitzSimons is reportedly increasingly supportive of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his pursuit of an indigenous voice to parliament.
Ms Doig claimed there were concerns that some residents who wanted a republic but who opposed The Voice would be discouraged from supporting the ARM.
The former international rugby player will not rename himself chairman of the ARM and informed his colleagues of his decision as early as June
She claimed that “fractionation is death in an organization,” but reiterated that FitzSimons was not pushed out and that he left “at a high level.”
FitzSimons wasted no time calling for a republic after the Queen died, while the ARM issued a statement just 17 minutes after it was announced she had passed away.
The organization noted that Her Majesty “respected the self-determination of the Australian people” in a thinly veiled reference to the republic.
The Queen supported Australians’ right to become a fully independent nation in the 1999 Australian Republic referendum, saying she has “always made it clear that the future of the monarchy in Australia is a matter for the Australian Republic.” people and them alone to decide, by democratic and constitutional means,” it said.
ARM has also called for the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II to be removed from the country’s existing $5 bill and for King Charles III’s profile not to be placed on coins from next year.