The Reluctant Republic

Before he became Australia’s 29th Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull was a leading figure in the Australian republic movement. The Reluctant Republic, originally released in 1993 and with a foreword by Bob Hughes, was Turnbull's manifesto. It remains a hugely relevant outline for Australian republicanism.

 

The book traces the constitutional relationship with Great Britain in order to reveal Australia’s identity as a nation, and explores the political and historical options and imperatives for an Australian republic. Turnbull presents his plan for Australia’s future as a republic and includes recommendations from the report by the Republic Advisory Committee to Prime Minister Paul Keating, of which Turnbull was chair.