Currently in the community there has been debate about whether or not Australia should become a republic, with many suitable reasons being advanced to support both sides of the issue.

Many people argue that it is time that Australia should become an independent nation and that we should become independent from the United Kingdom.

However, quite a few people say that the proposed model will add nothing to Australia's independence, claimintg that Australia is already independent.

Some Australians argue that the queen is not Australian and she does not live in Australia, so it is time we should get our own head of state.

On the other hand, those who want to elect a president as head of state should vote "No", because, under the proposed model they will have a very limited say in who the president will be.

The very idea of hereditary power offends Australians' egalitarian spirit. Presently, the only people who can become king or queen of Australia are the children of the present queen.

Nevertheless, the proposed model does not give the president any more power than the governor-general so there will be no point in changing the constitution to a republic. There will be no benefits, only problems.

Some Australians believe that our present system, a monarchy, is out of date, or out of fashion. In other words, Australia has been a monarchy for too long. The poeple are looking forward to changing the constitution and our policies towards other nations, particularly our Asian neighbours.

On the opposite side, if Australia becomes a republic, people are going to want to change the flag and money. So, they argue, we are going to waste time on another referendum to see if we should change the flag and the money. Then, they say, we are going to have competitions and choose the best designs and this is all just a big waste of money.

Some citizens claim that we should try to experiment by replacing the monarch and putting a republic in its place.

However, some other people, including the Prime Minister, assume that there is nothing wrong with the present system and claim that we should not replace something that isn't broken.

Many people argue that all Australians will be proud of our country for not being governered by an English queen who also rules other countries as well.

On the other hand, some citizens argue that if Australia does become a republic, the prime miniter can dismiss the president instantly, for any faults that he makes. These people do not think this is right and they don't want this sort of republic.

After looking at both side I have found out that it is a hard choice between remaining as a monarchy or changing to become a republic, since the arguments on both sides are very convincing. It remains for each person to make up their own mind.