Could Australia become a republic after the Queen's death?

ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers explains how Australians are reacting to the Queen's death, in Canberra

While many Australians feel it is too soon to talk about becoming a republic now, the Queen's death is likely to reignite the long-simmering debate.

One Australian politician told ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers the question of the country's relationship with the monarchy could be back on the table as soon as next year.

The left's return to power in the country, under Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, had lately fuelled renewed speculation Australians may once again be polled on their support for republicanism.

However, the reaction to one Australian politician's tweet suggested there was little public appetite to start canvassing for change so soon after the Queen's death at 96, on Thursday, Rivers reports.

The Greens leader's tweet - offering condolences to the royal family, before suggesting Australia should now 'move forward' and draw up a treaty with First Nations indigenous peoples - drew swift opprobrium.

Australia last held a referendum on the issue in 1999, and chose to keep the Queen as head of state - despite polls for many years indicating a majority preferred to forge ahead as a republic.

The final years of the Queen's reign had triggered questions about the future of the Commonwealth, as the Royal Family's succession planning drew into the foreground.

That debate reared its head again in 2021, when Barbados ended its relationship with the Crown to become a republic, breaking off a 400-year relationship with the monarchy.

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