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Congratulations to Peter and the ARM, Matt and the parliamentary friendship group for pushing forward the proposition that Australia can have an Australian head of state.

The Labor Party in our first term as a government will hold a national referendum. We'll ask Australians a very straightforward question: do you want to have an Australian head of state?

Now, this question is not the only question for the nation to consider. There are many issues which Australians deal with in their daily lives, from their cost-of-living to their health care. 

But merely because Australians have plenty else to think about, is not a reason to delay thinking about having an Australian head of state. 

The Australian people are capable of engaging in more than one issue at a time, and it is well past the hour for Australia to have our own head of state. 

Our defence forces serve overseas, our diplomats serve overseas, Australian travellers go to every part of the world, we engage with Asia in a manner which was unthinkable even decades ago but what we need to do as Australia proudly asserts an Australian identity, is have an Australian head of state.

It is long past the hour for an Australian to be our head of state, someone born here, or someone who is an Australian citizen. 

And we need to have conversations with people. The future of whether or not we have an Australian head of state will not be decided by the members of parliament. It will be decided in cafes and workplaces, in universities, in TAFEs, it will be decided in communities. 

And it is a very important function of having the debate about an Australian head of state, in realising there is nothing to fear from being proud in our Australian identity, is being able to get out and talk to people. 

So we encourage, on September the 1st, have a barbie to support an Australian head of state.

Let the conversation begin, congratulations. 

ENDS