The Australian Republic Movement will not wait for the death of Queen Elizabeth to revive its push for a referendum, its leader says, two decades after the proposal was first voted down by the public.
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November 6 marks 20 years since Australians went to the polls to determine whether the country should sever ties with Britain and become a republic.
The ACT was the only jurisdiction to support a republic, with just 45 per cent of the nation voting to remove the Queen as the head of state.
Labor had promised a plebiscite on the issue if it won the federal election in May, but the movement faltered when the Coalition prevailed (Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year declared himself a "proud constitutional monarchist").
But regardless, chair of the Australian Republic Movement, author and historian Peter FitzSimons said the momentum they had built towards a national vote over the past the years continued, despite that setback.
"Had the election gone the other way, we may have seen a vote on a republic sooner rather than later, but the important conversation about why we need an Australian as our head of state is just as needed, just as urgent, and we're building up towards a huge push in 2020," Mr FitzSimons said.
And while it was reported last year that another referendum would not be held until the Queen died if the Coalition won government, FitzSimons said that was not the case.
"There's no need to wait until Queen Elizabeth passes, or have a lingering 'death watch' as she calls it," Mr FitzSimons said.
"Tens of thousands of Australians from across the country have registered their support for the campaign. A new generation of Australians is taking the lead. A poll earlier this year found that 57 per cent of under 25 year olds back a republic, and only one in seven now opposed."
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The republican movement also had high levels of parliamentary support, Mr FitzSimons said.
"Almost 60 per cent support in both houses of Parliament, all Labor members, all Green members and twice as many Liberals in support as opposed," he said.
"Less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians back having the British Queen as our head of state."
But former prime minister John Howard reportedly said this week he did not think another referendum on the topic "will arise in my lifetime and I hope to be around for a while yet".
"There's absolutely no groundswell of support for a change. The Queen is enjoying enormous respect," Mr Howard said.
Branch secretary of the ACT division of the Australian Monarchist League, Scott Coleman, also did not believe there was support for constitutional change.
"I think that the monarchy is definitely in a stronger position than when were facing the referendum 20 years ago," Mr Coleman said.
"I think there's enormous admiration for the Queen and the members of her family who continue to do a great service to the people of Australia and the Commonwealth."
Mr Coleman believed any attempt to instate a republic would fail because it would be such a "dramatic step" to remove the monarchy.
"The Australian people will always go for stability rather than uncertainty," Mr Coleman said.
"It's not just about personality - I think people admire the Queen, not just for her as a person but as the embodiment of the crown and the central role it has in our way of life and our freedoms, but also keeping power away from politicians. I think the Australian people are deeply mistrustful of politicians and any ploy to expand their powers."
