Push for vote on the Queen

Australia's left-wing opposition parties vowed to push for an early popular vote on becoming a republic, as political brawling threatened to sink an official debate on the issue. The Labor opposition and the Australian Democrats said they would propose a referendum within two years on whether or not the Queen should be ditched.

Conservative Prime Minister John Howard has threatened to cancel a convention on a republic over Labor and Democrat insistence on a compulsory vote for the 76 elected delegates, instead of the voluntary postal ballot suggested by government. Reuters - Canberra