Australia drops royal oath

SYDNEY - New Australian citizens will no longer be required to pledge allegiance to the Queen after the government yesterday decided to change the Citizenship Act and the country's Oath of Allegiance, writes Robert Milliken.

Paul Keating, the Prime Minister, announced that legislation would be introduced for a new preamble to the Citizenship Act. Immigrants taking out citizenship, MPs and members of the armed forces currently have to swear an oath to 'be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, her heirs and successors.' The proposed oath will read: 'From this time forward (under God) I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.'