The new federal government says the 'twilight years' of Queen Elizabeth's reign is an appropriate time to reignite debate about Australia becoming a republic.
Just after being sworn into the ministry on Wednesday, Mr Thistlethwaite could be heard telling Governor-General David Hurley "your tenure is safe with us" as he shook the Queen's representative's hand and posed for photos.
The last time Australians were asked whether the country should become a republic was in 1999, but the proposal did not get enough support, largely around dissatisfaction for the model being proposed. "The division that occurred between republicans was fatal to the success of that referendum, and I'm deeply conscious of that and I want to avoid that in the future."
"Of the 54 Commonwealth nations, 34 of them are republics — so Australia is very much in the minority," Mr Thistlethwaite said.
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