Queen's Birthday Holiday 2013

The Age's editorial writer must feel so relieved. The anti-monarchist editorial for today's Queen’s Birthday holiday ("abolish the Queen's Birthday's honours - and why not the holiday as well?") is done and you can always rely on the old ideas The Age had printed on previous occasions without sounding too repetitive. They did what they obviously do consider their duty. Can we now return to the more pressing issues in Australia? The audience would have expected that The Age would have given far more coverage to the issues surrounding PRISM which have a far more direct impact on our sovereignty the our Queen’s Birthday.

Long live the Queen of Australia!

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Happy Queen's Birthday Holiday

Like in all previous years The Age has printed its usual anti-monarchist editorial for Queen’s Birthday holiday. “As The Age has asked before, why do we continue to mark an occasion that is an unnecessary link to Australia's colonial past?” Yes, they have asked the question many times, but they keep refusing to acknowledge the answer: Because the Australians – in their overall majority – want the Monarchy.

Interestingly enough the result of the most recent opinion poll on this question, published two days ago, never appeared in The Age, neither in the printed version nor online:

According to the Roy Morgan Research “an increased majority of Australians (58%, up 6% - the highest since July 1988) believe Australia should remain a Monarchy while a decreasing number of Australians 35% (down 2% since October 2011) believe Australia should become a republic with an elected president and 7% (down 4%) are undecided — according to a special Morgan Poll of Australians taken over two nights (June 5/6, 2012).

"Now more Australians (48%, up 5% since October 2011) also support Australia remaining as a Monarchy if Prince Charles were to be crowned King than not with 43% (down 5%) of Australians wanting a Republic with an elected President, and 9% of Australians can’t say.

"But, if Prince William were to be crowned King, a clear majority of 58%, (up 5% since October 2011) would want to continue with the Monarchy while only 34% (down 5%) of Australians would want a republic with an elected president and 8% (unchanged) of Australians can’t say.

"Analysis by voting intention shows more ALP supporters (48%) want a Republic with an elected President compared to 47% who would prefer to continue with the Monarchy. However L-NP supporters clearly favour continuing with the Monarchy (72%) and only 23% want a republic with an elected president."

The Age should start asking questions about why this has occurred instead of pushing their old and rather tired editorial policy on a disinterested Australian people. The circulation culd only benefit.

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Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee stamps

Minisheet

First Day Cover

60 cent stamps

$2.35 stamps

Australia Post issued the stamps on 3rd April 2012. Details see here.

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Boringly republican Age


In today’s Queen’s Birthday holiday editorial The Age has written, what everybody – Monarchists or republicans alike – expected from this Melbourne daily newspaper. The author made clear that the newspaper is unwavering favouring “a” republic and despises our Monarchy. The Age did, what in an opinion piece on 27th January 2010 The Age’s associate editor, Shawn Carney, called a “hardy annual”:

“The republican question is now what used to be called in the newspaper game a 'hardy annual': a predictable, intrinsically inconsequential story that can be trotted out at the same time every year to little lasting effect.”

But what about a journalistic duty to report on the actual events? Would it not have been The Age’s duty as a quality newspaper, to publish something that is connected with this Queen’s Birthday holiday? What about a photo and a little article on the Royal Military College of Duntroon’s celebrating The Queen's Birthday with a traditional Trooping the Colour parade last Saturday? Or alternatively a photo from the Trooping the Colour event in London, also on Saturday? The Age may be a fiercely republican newspaper, but seems to forget that more than half of the Victorians voted in favour of retaining the Monarchy in the 1999 referendum. Would it not be a newspaper’s duty to publish something on what at least 50 percent of The Age’s readers love?

Swiss author Max Frisch once said: “You don’t have to lie – concealing is enough.” He was cynically referring to politicians, not to journalists, but a subscriber of The Age could get the impression that the newspaper’s political agenda is to conceal everything concerning the Monarchy that could be styled as "nice news". They conceal from their readers what does not fit into their conception of Zeitgeist.

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For Queen's Birthday: Australian Trooping the Colour, Canberra 2011

Cadets and officers from the Royal Military College of Duntroon celebrated The Queen's Birthday with a traditional Trooping the Colour parade.

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On 5th April 2011 the Australia Post issued this year's stamps to commemorate the Australian Queen's 85th birthday.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, celebrates her 85th birthday in 2011. Among the many artists who have painted Her Majesty’s portrait are Australians Brian Dunlop and Rolf Harris. The Queen sat for Brian Dunlop at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the sesquicentenary of the State of Victoria in 1984. Artist and entertainer Rolf Harris’ affectionate portrait was painted as a celebration of the Queen’s 80th birthday in 2006.


Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, was born at 2.40 am on 21st April 1926 in Mayfair, London, and celebrates her 85th birthday this year. Following tradition, the Australian Monarch’s birthday is celebrated every year on the first Monday in June, with the exception of Western Australia, where it occurs in late September or early October. To honour the Queen’s Birthday in Australia an annual ceremony is held at the Royal Military College at Duntroon in the Australian Capital Territory.

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Two sides of one coin: Labor Day and Queen's Birthday holiday

This Monday is a public holiday in Victoria: Labor Day. It commemorates the granting of the eight-hour working day for Victorians. It also recognizes workers’ contributions towards the nation’s economy. 14th March also happens to be Commonwealth Day and the theme that has been agreed by the Queen is ‘Women as Agents of Change’. This theme will be celebrated throughout the Commonwealth during the year, with special events taking place during the week of 14th-20th March.

Reading The Age today gives you no hint of the importance of this day. This newspaper ignores the workers as it ignores the Commonwealth and the Queen on Her official birthday in June. At least the journalists did not have to write abusive editorials and other opinion pieces on workers’ rights today as they usually do against Australian Monarchists and the Australian Monarchy.

In The Age’s editor’s eyes workers aren’t even worth being mentioned, while the Queen’s constitutional role really annoys Fairfax media Ltd.

What should be Fairfax media’s next demand? Scrap the public holiday as The Age routinely suggested for Queen’s Birthday holiday. Wait for the editorial on 13th June 2011. Australians will see a repeat of the 2010 ritual. Scrap Monday's holiday: Republicans: "Workers might be looking forward to their day off on Monday, courtesy of the Queen's Birthday holiday, but republicans want it scrapped."

Already in 2009 the RadicalRoyalist proclaimed: Keep Labor Day! Nothing will change the RadicalRoyalist’s poconviction – keep Labor Day and Queen’s Birthday holiday!

The Princess Royal meets staff of the Western Riverside Waste Authority Materials Recycling Facility at Smuggler’s Way, Wandsworth, London, 10th March 2011.

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Queen's Birthday in Australia

This Monday is a public holiday to celebrate our Monarch. The Age seems to have resigned to the fact that Australia enjoys the Constitutional Monarchy and did not publish very nasty articles. Only in the final two paragraphs of an editorial that commented on the 666 recipients in this year's Queen's birthday honours list, The Age ranted in a resigned attitude about the "inevitable progression towards becoming a republic.":

As The Age has said before, awarding of Australian honours on a day supposedly devoted to our head of state is anachronistic and confusing.

The other time of year Australian honours are awarded is on Australia Day, as is appropriate. There is nothing wrong in retaining the long weekend, but it should be for a different, more relevant, reason. Would the Queen really mind all that much if Australians ceased to mark her birthday?

I do not want to comment on the editorial's unjournalistic last sentence. Haven't The Age's editors not learned one of the most important principles when writing a comment: Never finish with a question mark. But this is not the only journalistic principles The Age loves to ignore. Fair reporting from both sides of the Monarchy vs. republic dispute comes to mind.

Trooping the Colour in Australia
On the 12th June 2010 - the same day Britain honours Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday with Trooping the Colour, Australia paid tribute to her Monarch with a "Queen's Birthday Parade" at The Royal Military College at Duntroon.

Here's the ABC's short report on this great event.



Unfortunately there was neither a live coverage of the Australian nor of the British ceremonies on the Australian television networks.

The Royal Military College (RMC) of Australia trains and educates the future officers of the Army.

'Colours' originated from the distinctive badges or crests on medieval banners and were used in the British Army originally as a means of identifying the location of the headquarters of regiments in battle. In time the Colours became a focal point of regimental esprit de corps.

The original Colours were first presented to the RMC by His Royal Highness the Duke of York (later King George VI) during his visit to Australia in 1927. These Colours are now lodged in the Headquarters of the Royal Military College of Australia, Patterson Hall. The Queen's Colour was trooped for the first time on the Queen's Birthday Parade in 1956. The present Colours were presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in May 1988.

This year's parade comprised 350 members of the Corps of Staff Cadets from all three classes at the College. The success of recruiting and retention efforts at the RMC sees the largest number of cadets on parade since 1998.

The RMC Band provided musical accompaniment for the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

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Aussie Republicans cling to wishful thinking

Contrary to his convictions ARM chairman Major-General Michael Keating must have had one or two or more toasts in honour of Queen’s Birthday. How else is it possible, that he sees double figures? According to the traditional and tired pro-republican Queen’s Birthday article in today’s Sunday Age, he claimed: "Sixty to 80 per cent of people are republicans and half of them vote for the Coalition." These figures are about double of the usual republican paid opinion polls and have nothing to do with reality. But wishful thinking characterizes the Australian republican existence.

Of course Queen’s Birthday is always a day of hope for republicans. They cling to the idea that they can raise enough discomfort with Australia’s oldest holiday to fill their ranks with fighters for constitutional change. This year’s republican hope lies with the opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey, “who has taken over from Malcolm Turnbull as the torchbearer for republican sentiment within the Liberal Party” as The Sunday Age put it. However, Mr. Hockey poured water into the republican wine and said the Coalition was unlikely to adopt a party position on the republic but leave it as a matter for individuals.
No progress for republicanism in Australia. Happy Queen’s Birthday, folks!!

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Republicans have no style

In which country can a government-owned organisation publish an insulting advertisement ahead of the head of state’s official birthday? The answer is: Australia, or to be precise: the State of Victoria. And here in particular the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), a Victorian Government-owned organisation set up in 1986, which published this half page advertisement in The Age and probably other local newspapers in Victoria as well.
Degrading the Queen of Australia has become something of a habit and takes place despite the Monarchists’ protests. However, to use a photo of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh two days before the Queen’s Birthday indicates an unknown depth in decency. And all this with the taxpayers' money. TAC's e-mail address: info@tac.vic.gov.au

For republicans Queen’s Birthday is, what Shaun Carney, The Age’s associate editor described like this: ”The republican question is now what used to be called in the newspaper game a ‘hardy annual’: a predictable, intrinsically inconsequential story that can be trotted out at the same time every year to little lasting effect."

We can expect more nastiness in the coming days and on Queen’s Birthday itself.

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Nothing more to add

A letter to the editor in today's Age:

YESTERDAY the Queen turned 84. No mention in The Age's FYI column. You republican rag.

Ivar Dorum, Hawthorn

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The Age’s associate editor: "Forget about a republic or new flag"

It is only on a rare occasion, that I have to agree with an Age article concerning their propagating “a” republic. But today it happened. Shaun Carney, The Age’s associate editor, has written a very honest opinion piece, one that should be widely read by his fellow followers of republicanism:

Australia should become a republic. But it won't for a very long time, if ever. There's a better than even chance that the change won't come during the lifetime of any Australian alive today.

The political system, and Australians' deteriorating attitudes to politics and politicians, will see to that. The republican question is now what used to be called in the newspaper game a "hardy annual": a predictable, intrinsically inconsequential story that can be trotted out at the same time every year to little lasting effect.

This Australia Day weekend the hardy annual sprouted a little extra foliage with Ray Martin's revival of the suggestion that the nation should change its flag and ditch the Union Jack. That idea used to get around with the republican argument back in the 1990s, until republicans, excited by the prospect of a referendum aimed at ditching the monarchy, judged it to be too toxic and dumped it.

It is probably the case that a majority of Australian voters favour the idea of a republican Australia, as the polls suggest. But the numbers are not overwhelming. And there is often a big gap between what people tell pollsters and what they do. They say they want governments to provide greater services but they bitch about every extra tax dollar, for example. And Australians have not liked voting 'yes' at referendums since Federation.

In any case, what sort of republic are we talking about? There is no single view: the republican position is in a pre-adolescent state. There are minimalists and there are direct-electionists, with few real signs of an accord.

Since the 1999 referendum, when the minimalist proposal attracted 45 per cent of the vote and failed to carry one state, the direct-electionists have argued that every non-monarchist is obliged to fall in behind the idea of an elected ceremonial head of state. Speaking for myself, they are dreaming. The last thing this country needs is more elections and more politics, which is what this model would bring, no matter what they say. Certainly some minimalist republicans will shift but I would never back it.

Does this mean, The Age will stop it’s “hardy annual” on ANZAC Day or, more symbolically: Queen’s Birthday? I am afraid, that would be too much to expect. After all, all those republican writers need their payment. No articles – no money. Being an Australian republican means, you are in the business as long as the Monarchy prevails. They cannot wish “a” republic or do they really think opinion pieces praising the fabulous new order would be read by anyone?

The RadicalRoyalist remains cautious and on alert. After all he has to be, because he is using what Shaun Carney denounced as “the hit-and-run style of the blogosphere … that alone would probably be enough to sink any referendum”.

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Saving (for) Australia

Poor Australia! The country's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan must have cost billions of dollars! And what's worse, the federal government is on a shopping tour to get new ships, submarines and fighter jets (hopefully not made in the USA, but that’s a different topic), which will cost $20 billion.

With all these expenditures on the horizon, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) must save money. How? The answer the ADF found is as simple as it is ridiculous: By cancelling the traditional beating the retreat ceremony at the Royal Military College in Duntroon:

"Defence wishes to advise this year’s Beating the Retreat Ceremonies at the Royal Military College has been cancelled. These ceremonies were scheduled to be conducted on the evenings of Thursday 24 September and Friday 25 September 2009 at the Royal Military College, Duntroon."

That will save the extraodinary sum of $0.000083 billion, which brings the necessary sum down to $ 19,999,917,000. The ADF claims the Queen's Birthday parade could cost about $24,500 (or to remain in the billion region: $0.0000245 billion. But every time you read fresh articles, the figure seems to go up. Spin doctors must work overtime to calculate the cost to calm down the public's anger.

However, the Queen's Birthday parade was cancelled this year anyway because of a swine flu outbreak, but it will be back on again next year, assured the ADF. The retreat is an adaptation of military tradition going back to the 16th century and is the festive parade for the cadets the Royal Military College in Duntroon, something they show pride in. The retreat ceremony could be revived next year, depending on the budget, a press release promised. Past retreat ceremonies have involved 200 cadets, bands, field guns and firework, and were watched by many thousands of spectators.

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Where are all those republican writers on Queen's Birthday Holiday?

I have to admit: I was wrong. I expected the united republican media hunt to have a field day on Queen’s Birthday Holiday. I was prepared to read the re-heated phrases from previous years, but the usual suspects, the famous “Melbourne commentators and republicans” must have been occupied elsewhere.

However, The Age fulfilled my expectations and printed an editorial in connection with the Queen’s Birthday’s honours list. “The one truly incongruous note about today's holiday is that officially it marks the Queen's birthday even though the monarch — whose real birth date is April 21 — has precious little to do these days with either the Australian awards system or Australia. The empire is long gone, and widely shared loyalties to the Queen with it; most Australians' allegiance is to the country they live in. Imperial honours were discarded in 1975, yet today's honours are still awarded on a day supposedly devoted to our head of state.”

The Imperial honours were dropped by politicians, not by popular demand of the people. France kept the "Légion d'honneur", which was established by the first consul, Napoléon Bonaparte, in 1802. The country went through many changes, but the honours list remained.

And why does The Age claim, Queen's Birthday were “a day supposedly devoted to our head of state”? It is republicans who have to accept a fact they dislike. This day IS devoted to our Queen.

“By all means retain a long holiday weekend, but … [t]his holiday requires an identity to match its place and purpose in a country that is already republican at heart.” Wishful thinking: This country’s media are republican oriented, but the country itself is still “Monarchist at heart.” The circles journalists and their employers mingle in are the ones who dream of a republic, but they cannot specify their dreams and tell us, what kind of republic they want.

This year The Age did not run a campaign like the one in 2008, when a “Kids Day” was high on their agenda. “Resurrection Day” might be an option, after a couple of republicans groups decided to resurrect in a newly formed Coalition of Australian Republicans (CAR) the day before Queen’s Birthday Holiday. Or could “CAR Day” be acceptable to our republican media?

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Republican revival meeting

May be the Aussie republicans should push for renaming Queen’s Birthday Holiday into Resurrection Day.

Why? Look, what they try to do according to The Brisbane Times, The Age's sister newspaper in Queensland : “Members of the newly formed Coalition of Australian Republicans (CAR) think there's no better time than the Queen's Birthday weekend to resurrect the battle against our ties to the British monarchy.”

Resurrected, that means arisen from the dead? And why British Monarchy instead of Australian Monarchy, as we actually have? While being dead, the republicans must have missed that the ties with the British Monarchy were cut on 2nd March 1986, the "Queen signed the Australia Bill, formally severing the last constitutional ties with Britain."

The Brisbane Times has more reveling news about the resurrected republicans: “Previously feuding anti-monarchists … have joined forces. … Others in the CAR group include Women for an Australian Republic, the Copernican Republicans, the Foundation for Constitutional Renewal, Patriots for the Australian Republic, Republic Now! and the Republican Party of Australia.”

I wonder what they stand for. “There was a lot of hostility and disunity among republicans last time so it's heart-warming to see we've mended our bridges and are working together for the future good of the country.” They give the impression that the revival meeting of Australian Republican Movement's Michael Keating and Real Republic's David Muir healed their discords. Well, aren’t revival meetings meant to save the sinners?

One thing is sure: The republicans are not short of lollies. The Brisbane Times: “Former Brisbane lord mayor Clem Jones left $2million for the republic campaign when he died in 2007. Mr Muir, a Brisbane solicitor, is chairman of the Clem Jones Foundation administering the funds.”I am sure solicitor Muir collects his fees from administering the funds and has a personal interest in keeping the republic question alive.

But think of of the good deeds that could be done with $2million, however, it all goes into a campaign that is doomed to fail – again.

The republicans will need many more revival meeting to resurrect their cause from the dead. Or is republicanism one of the undead cases that refuse to find eternal peace until a courageous person hammers a wooden stick into its heart?

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Queen's Birthday Holiday

Much to the annoyance of republicans Australia is celebrating Queen’s Birthday on Monday, 8th June. The well-known republicans certainly have already written their malicious anti-Monarchist articles and the editors of our major newspapers have pre-selected them for publishing. We will know soon enough what inflamed them this year. I bet it will be a repeat of their old prejudices and false accusation.

Nothing new. We, however, Her Majesty’s loyal Australian subjects, not only enjoy the holiday, but we rejoice in celebrating our Monarch’s birthday.

The Queen's Official Birthday (Queen's Birthday) is celebrated as a public holiday in several Commonwealth countries although it is also celebrated in Fiji, now a republic.

The exact date of the celebration varies from country to country, and it does not usually mark the real birthday of the sovereign (Queen Elizabeth II, was born on 21 April 1926).

Australia (except Western Australia), observes the Queen's Birthday on the second Monday in June, marking it with a public holiday. It also serves as the opening weekend to Australia's snow season.

Australians have enjoyed this holiday since 1788 when Governor Phillip declared a holiday on the birthday of King George III. Until 1936 it was held on the actual birthday of the Monarch, but after the death of King George V it was decided to keep the date at mid-year.


Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Australia, and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in his Royal Australian Air Force uniform. This is the official portrait of the Australian sovereign as it is handed out by Her Australian government.

The royal couple wear the insignia of The Order of Australia. The Order of Australia, instituted by Her Majesty The Queen on 14 February 1975, was established as "an Australian society of honour for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service".

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The Age, again ...

Today's Age contained these two lines:

[2nd June] 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Is that a warm-up for nastiness on Queen's Birthday next Monday? Or is it just plain ignorance from the editor?

Queen Elizabeth II was never crowned Queen of England, but Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia , New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon, and of Her Possessions and other Territories.


The Queen of Australia at Her Coronation ceremony on 2nd June 1953

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The ugly side of the ANZAC DAY public holiday

The Tasmanian government announced, it will introduce a Monday public holiday when ANZAC Day falls on a Sunday, or a Tuesday when the day coincides with Easter Monday.

This move to restore the ANZAC Day long weekend holiday brings Tasmania in line with every other state and territory except Victoria.

Last week Victorians celebrated Easter. A pity though that Easter is a holiday soured by the reality that the Kennett government stole part of the celebration from thousands of ordinary Victorian workers, when it thieved the Easter Tuesday holiday.

The Brumby government has consistently refused to return the public holidays: Show Day, Easter Tuesday and the ANZAC long weekend, to working families.

These holidays were grabbed by a greedy and arrogant government in the 1990s without any consultation and represent the theft of three day's pay from every working Victorian!

I am sure the government has long since thought Victorian workers have forgotten the act of unmitigated theft by the Kennett government. This posting hopefully will remind you that Victorian workers remember the public holidays that they are owed.

But now Victoria and the Brumby government stand alone in refusing to gazette a public holiday on Monday following a weekend ANZAC Day.

As usual I expect the spin about the significance of the ANZAC Day itself etc... but we all know it is just a way of looking after the government's business mates by avoiding giving working Victorians a public holiday.

I am still not sure who is worse a thief or someone who refuses to return stolen goods!

And to add insult to injury one of the few public holidays left, Queen's Birthday, is also under attack. Don't these republicans have any decency and leave us the very few holidays that are a fixed element of our calendar?

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Queen's Birthday stamp 2009

The 2009 stamp is on sale in Post Offices from today, 15th April until 13th May. Please contact your local Post Office to ask them to ensure they order in the stamps.

The Queen’s Birthday stamp issue for 2009 features the Trooping of the Colour Parade, which marks the Monarch’s official birthday and takes place on the second Saturday in June. Australians are not allowed to watch the parade on television, unlike the German TV audience who have the privilege to watch the Trooping of the Colour since 1977.

The ceremony has marked the Sovereign’s official birthday since 1748 and the stamps in this year’s issue show how The Queen has participated in the parade during Her reign; from riding at the head of the parade in regimental uniform to riding in a carriage. HRH Prince Philip accompanies The Queen at this event and is shown with Her on the stamp.

The miniature sheet features the annual trooping of The Queen’s Colour in Australia held at the Royal Military College of Australia, Duntroon in Canberra. The parade is usually reviewed by H.E. the Governor-General. The Queen’s Colour was trooped in Australia for the first time at Duntroon on the Queen’s Birthday Parade in 1956, a practice which has continued since then.

The present colours were presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 10th May 1988.

Australia Post has a Stamp Shop for online purchases.

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Keep Labour Day!

Yesterday Victoria enjoyed a public holiday. No, it was not Moomba Day, even if the TV coverage seems to suggest this. It was Labour Day, a special holiday for the working people – or as Kevin Rudd would say: the working families.

I did not notice any celebrations of members of the working class. All streets were quiet, well, except for the noise from the Moomba parade, which you could not avoid. One TV station briefly interviewed a worker, who is about to lose her job due to Pacific Brands closing all production plants in Australia. But even she was not in the mood to go out into the street and let the Victorians know about her anger and frustration. Could anyone spot an ALP march for the worker's rights?

Unlike our republicans friends I don’t propagate the abolition of Labour Day for lack of interest. The media did not even lead an attack against Labour Day, unlike their well-prepared though ill-written articles against Queen’s Birthday holiday or Australia Day. Last year The Canberra Times led the squadron: “The focus of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend was raised in Parliament in June 2000, where the relevance and significance were questioned by the Hon John Hatzistergos. An almost identical article to Ms Sherlock’s was run in today’s The Age. I’m not a die hard Monarchist, a Children’s Day (sorry I don’t raise goats) sounds plausible. I know this might sound kind of out there, but maybe we could incorporate ‘Children’s Day’ in the ‘Family Day’ we now celebrate in November?“

Emily Sherlock's article demanded: "Instead of honouring our monarch we could soon be honouring our children, with the minister calling for the Queen's Birthday break to be renamed the Kids' Day long weekend."

In The Age Michael Cooney favoured a “Kid’s Day” as well: "This year should be the last Queen's Birthday long weekend. It's time to replace a holiday based on the past with a holiday based on the future. So next year, the first Monday in June should be a new public holiday: Kids' Day." A reply to Sherlock's and Cooney's suggestions can be read here and here.

Of course we had a "Children's Day" in Victoria. It was part of the tradition of the Royal Show for over 120 years before it was abolished by the Kennett conservative government in the mid 1990s. The Age seems to have forgotten that.

The Age, of course, was more robust in its refusal of our Monarch’s birthday holiday: “Queen's birthday holiday gets to the heart of what it means to be Australian today, when only a minority of the population can relate to the redundant symbols and trappings of monarchy and colonialism … in 1958 Empire Day was renamed Commonwealth Day, and the official holiday was withdrawn due to lack of interest and relevance and has now rightly faded into obscurity”.

Who decided that Commonwealth Day was redundant or people did not care for a public holiday? Probably the same sort of politicians that decided we didn't want a Children's Day!

“Lack of interest and relevance” could be equally attributed to Labour Day. Should The Age’s criteria be used for the upholding of Labour Day, then it will might “rightly faded into obscurity”, as the editorialist had wished for Queen’s Birthday holiday. I could cite likeminded opinion pieces on Australia Day.

But contrary to the outspoken republicans I can assure the working class, that I fully support having Labour Day holiday here and elsewhere. I think that it serves honouring employees and those people who are self-employed, but depend on the goodwill of employers as well.

I don’t want it changed to a "work-relations day" or to the official Moomba Holiday. I want it as a reminder of the work of the people that is done quietly, but without which this country would not function. At the same time I claim Queen’s Birthday holiday not just for the Monarchists, but for our history and our future, because it reminds us of the overall good functioning democracy in Australia. Labour Day and Queen's Birthday holiday are two sides of the same coin.

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