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This question came after a discussion with someone while clicking over the TV and noticing the Commonwealth Games...( btw. a real hit in India )
Is Australia an English Colony still ?? is it all for show.. the Governor General never makes any decisions here...The Queen or English government never makes any decisions, it has nothing to do with us, yet we are not a republic and are somehow connected...so what is the deal...what exactly is the politics between Australia and England in the present time...do Australians send any kind of tax or tribute to the queen ...what exactly is the setup...i have no idea...is it all for show ?..are we still a colony or just part of the Commonwealth and what does that mean or involve ?...and i guess the question applies for any country in the Commonwealth
I know what it was in the olden days...but i don't know exactly what it is now..anyone know this sort of thing ? i know it sounds funny asking the English people what my countries politics are...but there's more of you here and some are older so u might know ...i missed that day in school and its never come up in conversation till the other night
I am as confused about that as i am the Queens role in England...is that all just symbolism and tradition ? or could she overrule the PM in a decision
How does she earn her money ? does she get paid or is she living from her inheritance ? At this time when everyone is talking about cut backs to get out of this world financial crises surely cutting down on a Queens luxurious lifestyle who dosent actually run the country..would be an easy justified expense to eliminate ? well that before cutting back on any public servants
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
Hi, I think what you're talking about about is what they call a monarchy. I am originally from Holland myself and there they have the same deal; a (royalty) family, with a Queen an the whole 9 yards but they don't really have anything to bring in when it comes to rule about certain decisions. They occasionally show up for as you put it 'show' or when there are some ribbons to be cut :) In Holland there is a cabinet formed with numerous parties which makes the policies and governmental decisions. Now, I am not too sure about Australia, but I believe what you are shooting at is the same thing...I think that England is working the same way, a monarchy. However, I really don`t know about the relationship with Australia, maybe someone else here can explain more about that?
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Leendert)
thanks..for the info
quote:
They occasionally show up for as you put it 'show' or when there are some ribbons to be cut :)
cool..so does a royal family get paid ? or are they allocated they inheritance and expected to live from that and if it runs out its up to them...or do they get weekend jobs
not trying to be funny or anything i am genuinely curious
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
quote:
cool..so does a royal family get paid ? or are they allocated they inheritance and expected to live from that and if it runs out its up to them...or do they get weekend jobs
haha...I think they live of the people`s tax dollars, honestly! :) or maybe they do have weekend jobs! Burger King?
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
hey flo as far as i can work out the governor general is appointed by the queen and can over-rule our prime minister...ie the sacking of our labor government in the 70's... as far as the rest goes it is purely symbolic... no real power [except of course for the G G ) as time goes on we have been pushing for a republic since the 80's..however the issue just keeps going away until another election...so on and on.. our troops in time of conflict always seem to be there with the brits,,, usually at the front in the firing line...anzac cove...vietnam..etc so were sort of there as an amoured shield..... alot of our resources were british owned up until the 80's..now it is primarily japanese and american...with china creeping up in third place... since the immigration explosion since the 70's our ties with the uk have eroded.. as for taxes etc...i'm sure a contribution is there..have no idea of the figure but probably a GDP of a small African nation... hope to catch you at your birthday fracas!
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
Hi Flo,
The Queen has no real political power even in the UK. The Office is as Head of State and is really just ceremonial. Governor General and all these flunky jobs are really just Ambassadorial roles. The Commonwealth now really just boils down to "special relationships" and trade agreements etc although even that is diminishing with the Global Economy. Even if any historical political power is still technically with Britain, no politician would ever dare get involved in the politics of Canada, Australia etc.
Christ, they have a hard enough time just trying to run the UK.
The poorer Commonwealth countries receive financial aid from the richer ones and it's interesting that Britain provides millions and millions of pounds in aid to India, yet India has Nuclear weapons and a Space program and is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the World.
Yet Britain is skint.
Christ we even give millions in overseas aid to CHINA!
(What's that all about then?)
cheers,
Ron
PS: The Queen and the major royals DO receive a (considerable) amount of money from the Taxpayer to fund their public duties and expenses etc. (I don't know if that comes from the Commonwealth or UK only.) However reducing that would only be a fleabite in solving the massive financial problems we face. Also, contrary to what most folk think, the Queen does not live a "luxurious" lifestyle and apparently lives fairly simply according to the various palace leaks. She is unbelievably rich, but as Richard Branson said "Yeah, I'm rich, but I can only eat one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner at a time..". The younger and minor royals are more guilty of the use of public funds for their own extravagent entertainment.
I'm no "royalist", but to be fair, over the years, the Queen is the only one of that lot to take the job seriously and fulfil her public duties with dignity and and conduct herself in such a way as not to cause scandal and controversy like the rest of 'em IMO.
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Ron.M)
quote:
The Queen has no real political power even in the UK. The Office is as Head of State and is really just ceremonial.
Actually thats not quite true. I think the public are mislead to believe the Queen has no political power. The Queen is the head of the commonwealth, the highest position within the Commonwealth of Nations. Her fact that her head appears on the coins and banknotes of many nations is no coincidence. Its because the royals own part of the banking system. The exchequer is part of the queens government, owned by the queen and not the nation. The bank of england is a royal bank. Part of the Australian economy will pay banking dividends to the British royals. Other banks such as Bearings (which famously was broken by Nick Leeson) were also owned by the British royals and she currently part owns Coutts Bank, the largest private bank in the UK. A Coutts Automated Teller Machine is installed in the basement of Buckingham Palace for use by the Royal Family
She is also head of the church of England which is also quite a money spinner worldwide. Not only that she is also a member of financial groups such as Trilateral comission and Bilderberg. Although she takes no public part in the face of politics and day to day running of government she is head of one of the worlds largest financial systems.
Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
Dont worry Florian, people in Canada ask the same question! Or people ask the same question about Canada and its ties to England.
Canada became a sovereign nation in 1867, but still had ties to England up until the 1980's...I think it was in 1982 when Canada finally separated completely from England. But although thats the case, we still also have a governor general who oversees what the government, mainly the prime minister, does and that its in accordance to the monarchy's standards.
Mainly its all about respect, or at least thats the way I perceive it. We share the same Queen, traditions, etc., with no desire to be different or to rebel...unless you're from Quebec!! But thats a whole other topic.
Its an interesting question though, and I bet that you'll find a lot of people from different countries within the commonwealth that have the same doubts. I learned none of this at school. It was taught, but I was too busy doodling and sleeping! I had to learn all this stuff just so I wouldn't look like a total moron once I started traveling and people started asking me questions about my country!
Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
Interesting video there Ron. I had this strange desire to punch that guy square in the mouth just watching him talk! Weird. I have never heard of Toff before, but then again I don't know much about the UK and its different dialects. Thanks for the video.
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
The queen is an elitist, lazy old hag who does nothing but leech off of her people and would like nothing more than to remove the middle class all together. Along with other elitist cronies like her all over the world (bilderberger group/tri lateral commission/UN/rothchilds/rockerfellers/clintons/bushs/etc) They fabricate and create the worlds problems then offer drastic soloutions, which generally benefit them and only them.
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Chilli Fingers)
quote:
offer drastic soloutions
like compulsory hyphenated surnames......
the middle class...elitist wanna be's...Mr and Mrs Hyphen-Smith with children Laura and Ashley Hyphen-Smith.
How i love pronouncing Anglo names incorrectly...a secret source of joy for the son of an immigrant family living in Australia!...but only to those who dont try....
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Chilli Fingers)
quote:
The queen is an elitist, lazy old hag who does nothing but leech off of her people and would like nothing more than to remove the middle class all together. Along with other elitist cronies like her all over the world (bilderberger group/tri lateral commission/UN/rothchilds/rockerfellers/clintons/bushs/etc)
No need to be polite, Chilli - why not go all the way and tell us she's really a shape-shifting reptilian from outer space?
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Estevan)
lol, beleiving in the reptilian fairy tale is about as far fetched as beleiving the worlds elite have our best interests at heart. However it is a great way to debunk any critism or logical analyisis of the powers that hide in the shadows and steer the world in a direction that suits them, and ensures theyre grip on power and wealth is passed onto the next generation. Having said that i hope i am the paranoid nut case that you would like to make me out be, i really do.
Posts: 1025
Joined: Oct. 14 2009
From: New York City
RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Chilli Fingers)
quote:
The queen is an elitist, lazy old hag who does nothing but leech off of her people and would like nothing more than to remove the middle class all together. Along with other elitist cronies like her all over the world (bilderberger group/tri lateral commission/UN/rothchilds/rockerfellers/clintons/bushs/etc) They fabricate and create the worlds problems then offer drastic soloutions, which generally benefit them and only them.
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