George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

As in response to your primary question, Senator Wong, of course Mr Turnbull's views are the views of the government. Senator Wong, as you well know, public opinions about the question of whether, by what process and when Australia might become a republic have changed over the years. Mr Turnbull said after the failure of the 1999 referendum that he did not expect that Australia would become a republic in the lifetime of Her Majesty the Queen. That is a view he has expressed more recently again. There are a variety of views on both sides of politics about these issues, but the position that Mr Turnbull has stated—having, by the way, been closer to this issue over the years than virtually any member of this parliament—is of course the position of the government.