Australia's opposition has promised a referendum on a republic within 12 months if it wins a general election expected in October.
The Labor leader, Mark Latham, said that a yes vote would result in Australia dissolving its links with the British monarchy by the end of 2007. With Labor having polled consistently ahead of the government over the past two months, the pledge puts a potential timetable on abandoning Queen Elizabeth as head of state.
In Sydney on Tuesday, Latham argued that a vote would show the government trusted the will of the people: "This type of republic will provide a powerful statement of Australian independence, in which the people themselves are sovereign. It will be an important addition to our national pride and identity."
His proposal is the most serious step towards dropping the monarchy since a vote in 1999 which resulted in a surprise win for monarchists.
Former Labor leaders Kim Beazley and Simon Crean made little of the issue, but since Latham's elevation last December he has brought it back to the foreground.
The Australian Republican Movement chairman, John Warhurst, said that it was time the question was raised again: "Everything is in favor of this vote taking place at this time."
In a poll in January, 57 percent of voters said they wanted another referendum in 2004, but the prime minister, John Howard, said it would be a "waste of focus" within five years of the 1999 referendum.
"If people want to revisit it they can, but we won't be re-visiting it in this coming election," he said in Victoria.
A senate inquiry started hearings last week and is touring in South and Western Australia to examine attitudes to a republic.
One criticism of the 1999 decision was that the pro-republic vote was split because the referendum offered a choice of either the status quo or change to a president nominated by the elected members of the house of representatives and the senate: Many republicans who wanted an elected head of state voted against.
On Tuesday Latham offered a two-step process -- an initial vote to gauge support for a republic, and a second to decide the form of a new constitution.
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