After her unprecedented 70-year reign, it’s perhaps inevitable that the death of Queen Elizabeth II will become an inflection point for Australians to consider their relationship with the monarchy.

John Warhurst, a former chair of the Australian Republican Movement, writes that Elizabeth’s passing has the potential to give fresh impetus to the debate over whether and when Australia should become a republic. But he adds that republicans will have to be patient, a sentiment echoed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said on Friday that “today is not the day” to address the issue.

After the previous failed attempt in 1999, influential republicans such as Malcolm Turnbull suggested the question should wait until after Elizabeth’s reign was over. It’s undeniable that King Charles III is less popular with Australians than his mother was, although it remains to be seen whether he will adopt the quiet stoicism for which Elizabeth was widely admired, or decide to rule in his own more outspoken style.

As with the republican movement’s previous attempt in 1999, the path towards change involves putting the question to voters via a referendum. But Warhurst argues that, with 23 years of water under the bridge, the case would need to be rebuilt from scratch, and should rightly take a back seat to the more pressing issue of deciding whether to adopt a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

“Experience and common sense dictate the move towards a republican constitution should not be rushed,” he says.

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