The nation has already voted against becoming a republic once, in 1999, but public support for constitutional change has grown since then.
In satirical posters, T-shirts, beer coasters and other paraphernalia, ARM portrays the King, Queen and Prince of Wales as aging rock stars and urges Australians “young and old” to “wave goodbye to royalty”.
“We expect the head of state, who works full-time, to be completely devoted to his work, whose only loyalty is us, a symbol of unification at home and abroad,” the movement’s co-chair Esther Anatolitis said on Monday.
“It’s time for Australia to say ‘thanks, but we got it all from here,'” she added.
The organization cited research it commissioned that found 92% of Australians were either “republican” or “open-minded”, and found that at least 40% of people polled did not know the country’s leader from a foreign monarch appears.
However, independent polling paints a different picture, with one poll showing that roughly 35% of people want to remain a constitutional monarchy.
The Australian Monarchy League (AML) called ARM’s poll “inflated” and also criticized its new campaign as “horribly disrespectful to Charles, given his long battle with cancer”.
“He should be applauded for his bravery, not insulted,” said National Commission Chairman Philip Benwell.
Australia’s prime minister is a long-time republican, but his government has no plans to hold a vote on leaving the British monarchy on the ice earlier this yearstating that it was no longer a priority issue.
Last weekend, King Charles confirmed he had exchanged letters with ARM ahead of his visit, reiterating long-standing palace policy that Australians should make decisions about their future.
A constitutional vote in Australia is rare and difficult to pass, requiring a “double majority” – the support of more than half the nation as a whole and a majority in at least four of the six states. Only eight of the 44 referendums were successful, and almost all of them received bipartisan support.
The Voice referendum – which would have recognized First Nations people in the constitution and allowed them to form a body to advise Parliament – was overwhelmingly rejected after heated debate.
