Australians prepare to welcome Queen

On what will be her last tour Down Under:

AUSTRALIA: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Australia on Wednesday for her 16th visit to the former penal colony on what will perhaps be the 85-year-old monarch’s last tour Down Under.

The queen, who will open a Commonwealth leaders meeting in Perth, is due to touch down at 0700 GMT in Canberra where she will meet Australia’s Welsh-born Prime Minister Julia Gillard and London-born opposition leader Tony Abbott.

Gillard, an avowed republican, said it will be an honour to welcome the queen and her husband Prince Philip back to Australia.

“Visits by the queen are etched into the collective memory of the Australian people,” Gillard said. “Many Australians can recall Her Majesty’s previous visits as landmarks in their own lives.”

None more so perhaps than former prime minister Paul Keating, who during a 1992 tour placed his hand on the back of the queen to help her through a Canberra crowd, outraging the British press who dubbed him “The Lizard of Oz”.

Australian republicans, who for decades have been agitating for a severing of ties with the British monarchy, said the latest visit provided a focal point for discussions about the nation’s head of state.“It really is time for a grown-up discussion about this,¨ Australian Republican Movement chair Mike Keating said.

“The British monarchy simply does not represent Australian values in 2011, and it’s time for our elected representatives to stand up on this basic truth.” AFP