Furienna said:
I think that would have been a good idea from the beginning when Australia became practically independent of UK in, I think, 1901. They should have made a Brittish prince king of Australia.
Interesting idea, but I can't agree. The original object was to achieve unity for the Colonies and democracy and a degree of independence, not turn us into a separate monarchy.
Australian independence evolved gradually, and involved several steps. The process was complicated by the fact that the States - the former self-governing Colonies, wanted to remain as self-governing Colonies, and still are to a large extent. The Australian Government only has the "specific, enumerated heads of power" given to it in the Constitution, and such further powers as the States are prepared to yield to it. And the States don't like doing that.
But the fact is Australia does now have its own monarch. That monarch also happens to be the monarch of the United Kingdom. We share the same monarch, but they are separate and distinct roles.
When her Majesty is here, she is our Queen: Queen of Australia
. When she's not here, she's represented by the Governor-General, or, in the case of the States, the State Governor. She doesn't have much of a role under our Constitution/s, but she is still our Queen.
We didn't always have our own monarch. At the time The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (an Act of British Parliament) came into force we were still part of the British Empire and the British monarch was our monarch because we were a part of the United Kingdom. But in 1927 we ceased to be part of the United Kingdom and became an independent country within the British Commonwealth, and that's when we got our own monarch.
It wasn't until 1986 that legislation was finally enacted that stopped appeals to the Privy Council, and removed the power for the UK parliament to make laws for Australia or the States, even at their request.
It has only recently (1999) been decided by our High Court that the UK is a "foreign power" within the meaning of our Constitution.
But Queen Elizabeth is still our Queen.