Australia Bill signed 23 years ago

Rarely, very rarely The Age is reminding its readers that the Australian Crown is a separate entity from the Crown of the United Kingdom.

Today was such a rare event. Hidden in the "On this day" section on page 18 The Age remembered 2nd March 1986: "Queen signs the Australia Bill, formally severing the last constitutional ties with Britain."

If only the fiercely republican journalists of The Age would sometimes look into their own paper to correct their wrong attitude and stop calling Queen Elizabeth II "the English Queen", when she acts as Queen of Australia.

But old habits never die. Especially when they serve their purpose.