Editing Republicanism in Australia (section)

===1999 Republican referendum===
{{main|1999 Australian republic referendum}}
The [[1999 Australian republic referendum|republic referendum]] was held on 6 November 1999, after a national advertising campaign and the distribution of 12.9&nbsp;million 'Yes/No' case pamphlets. It comprised two questions: The first asked whether Australia should become a republic in which the Governor-General and monarch would be replaced by one office, the President of the Commonwealth of Australia, the occupant elected by a two-thirds vote of the Australian parliament for a fixed term. The second question, generally deemed to be far less important politically, asked whether Australia should alter the constitution to insert a [[Australian referendum, 1999 (Preamble)|preamble]]. Neither of the amendments passed, with 55% of all electors and all states voting 'no' to the proposed amendment; it was not carried in any state. The preamble referendum question was also defeated, with a Yes vote of only 39 per cent.

Many opinions were put forward for the defeat, some relating to perceived difficulties with the parliamentary appointment model, others relating to the lack of public engagement or that most Australians were simply happy to keep the status quo. Some republicans voted no because they did not agree with provisions such as the president being instantly dismissible by the prime minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vic.republic.org.au/index_files/speeches/MelbRep02.PDF |title=A People's Head of State |website=vic.republic.org.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318080039/http://vic.republic.org.au/index_files/speeches/MelbRep02.PDF |archive-date=18 March 2009}}</ref>