Canberra - Less than half of Australian voters responded to a postal ballot for a convention which could put the country on the path to becoming a republic. But both republicans and monarchists said yesterday the response was good for a voluntary postal ballot in a country where voting in elections is compulsory.
About 45 per cent of the eligible voters, or 5.5 million people, voted in the poll, the Australian Electoral Commission said. "We were not particularly happy with the (voting) system to start with, but given that it was forced upon us, I think that's not a bad outcome," said Ms Wendy Machin, deputy national chair of the Australian Republican Movement. "It's a vote for a convention, not a vote on the core issue itself."
The postal vote will merely elect 76 delegates to a constitutional convention next February to discuss the republic issue. The government has appointed another 76 delegates and, depending on the outcome of the convention, there could be a referendum on the issue before the end of the year 2000. Although Australia has been independent since 1901 when the self-governing British colonies federated, its formal head of state is Queen Elizabeth.