The British Locomotive Act of 1865 stated:

…while any locomotive is in motion, [a person] shall proceed … on foot not less than 60 yards, and shall carry a red flag to constantly warn riders and drivers of horses of the approach of such locomotives and shall signal the approach thereof when it shall be necessary to stop…

A similar situation has arisen in Australian politics and Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Assistant Minister for the Republic, is the man with the flag. Australian taxpayers are funding an ‘Assistant Minister to the Republic’ who is in charge of transitioning us to a republic, while Labor continues to lick wounds inflicted by the resolute ‘No’ given to the Voice to Parliament referendum.

Labor wants to keep the republic flag flying, so to speak, in the person of Mr Thistlethwaite. Like the man with the red flag walking in front of those early motorcars, he is superfluous to the job but has been hauled in because, for many of its followers, the republic has become one of those holy Grail quests headed for Labor’s ‘this year, next year, sometime, never’ filing cabinet.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, whose clenched jaw in TV appearances seems entirely fitting given Australia’s slip-sliding economic prospects, and Mr Thistlethwaite both believe it is ‘entirely appropriate’ that we should fund his role. This role appears involve moving Australia to a republic despite his claim, ‘Australia should be a republic [but] we have got to work out how we sequence constitutional change.’ Meaning, right now, a republican push is, um, perhaps not brilliant timing for Labor.

This is certainly true after that quite emphatic ‘No’ vote from us all except the ACT, which is a territory kept afloat by taxpayers (also clenching their jaws,) Labor, and the Greens.

Mr Thistlethwaite is Federal Member for Kingsford Smith and also the Assistant Minister for Defence, Assistant Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, and Assistant Minister for the Republic. That’s an awful lot of assisting he needs to provide.

If I was Mr Thistlethwaite, I’d try to quietly let the republic part of his responsibilities go and hope no one notices. We’d hardly miss it.