Australia is the only one of 16 Commonwealth countries yet to pass legislation crucial to ending the current laws of royal succession that allow male heirs to ascend the British throne ahead of their elder sisters.
All 16 Commonwealth countries – including Britain, Australia, Jamaica and New Zealand – must pass an identical law to allow the changes to take effect.
But, says Jim Wallace, deputy leader of Great Britain’s House of Lords, Australia is the only country still dragging the chain.
The hold-up is in state parliaments. “To date, three states have enacted legislation, two have introduced legislation and one, South Australia, has yet to introduce legislation but it is in the middle of an election campaign,” he said, adding that Canberra would legislate after the states.
The legislative changes were agreed in principle by the prime ministers of the 16 countries at a Commonwealth summit in Perth, Australia 28 October 2011.
The law change must be unanimous and identical in each realm to avoid the possibility of having different monarchs in different countries.
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