Monarchies

We have recently been able to view the early 1970s communications that took place between the then Governor General John Kerr and Buckingham Palace. This has been thanks to the tireless work of Melbourne academic Professor Jenny Hosking. The mainstream media have published extracts from this correspondence. The picture that emerges from the correspondence, chiefly between John Kerr and the Queen’s principal private secretary Sir Martin Charteris, is that Kerr disapproved of the Labor government and in particular the foreign policy stances that it embraced.

We are living in strange times indeed.  This crisis raises many questions about the  nature of freedom and what our expectations are, or should be.  Everyone has their own notions about what freedom means and how far that should extend to oneself and indeed, to everyone else.
I want to start with a look at where we’ve come from before I look at where we are now, as I feel it gives a better understanding of our definitions of freedom and a better context for viewing where we are, at this moment in time.