The call comes after all of the state and territory leaders expressed support for a republic amid a push for a plebiscite for an Australian head of state by 2020.
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As Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said, Australia is “ready” to stand on its two feet “on paper and in practice”.
Mr Shorten’s effort was preceded by every state and territory leader except for West Australian Premier Colin Barnett signing a declaration calling for an Australian head of state to replace the Queen.
He said today’s support from political leaders, including Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, was no less than a “declaration of desired independence”.
“For the first Australia Day in our history, the leaders of both major parties are avowed republicans”, he said.
“If only we had a prime minister who wasn’t so afraid of his own political party that he would champion a cause he believes so strongly in”.
“The real thing we celebrate on Australia Day I think is our freedom as a people and the great opportunities we have and I would like to see Australians have more of them”, Mr Morrison told 2GB radio on Monday.
Other premiers were similarly emphatic.
“I firmly believe Australia is ready to have an Australian as our Head of State”, she said, adding that it’s time the country becomes independent.
Mr FitzSimons said he was “bemused” by Mr Barnett’s refusal to sign, saying the premier sent him a note insisting he was committed to the republican movement but wasn’t keen to sign yet.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk believes it’s time for Australia to be led by one of its own while her South Australian counterpart Jay Weatherill thinks becoming a sovereign nation would profoundly change Australian mindsets.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Lucy Turnbull hosted a morning tea for the Australian of the Year finalists at The Lodge in Canberra on Monday 25 January 2016.
“Never before have the stars of the Southern Cross been so aligned in pointing to the dawn of a new republican age for Australia”, FitzSimons said, adding a referendum on the issue is now the next step.
However, the Australian Monarchist League said the ARM’s petition lacks a widespread public support.
“So I think there’s an underlying sense of support for a republic, always has been, and it’s just a question of rekindling that”. Australia’s shift to a republic would also have a positive shift in the mindset of the people.
“Australia can do better than to find our heads of state from one family of unelected English people living in a palace in England”, FitzSimons told Australia’s Nine Network after being asked if the nation should wait until she passes away.
More recent polling by Essential Media released by the Australian Republican Movement found 47 per cent of Australians want an Australian citizen as head of state, with only 29 per cent against the idea.
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The republican movement wants to act before the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
