WAGGA residents have offered mixed reactions to the Brexit, with one constitutional monarchist saying the decision is a warning not to jump the gun on an Australian republic.
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On Friday, Britons shocked pundits with a vote to leave the European Union.
While the ‘leave’ vote was strongest in England and Wales; voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland advocated strongly to remain in the union.
The decision has plunged financial markets into chaos, with $50 million wiped off the Australian Stock Exchange on Friday afternoon, and the British Pound at 30-year low.
President of the Wagga constitutional monarchy branch John Cohen said he predicted there would be an emotional long-term effect on the bond between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Such a decision could reinvigorate historical ties with the royal family and all thing Britannia, he said.
“For Australia maybe it is going to bring us closer to our previous ways of how we have lived - the old dominions may have closer ties,” Dr Cohen said.
“I don’t think it is going to really affect us politically, I think it is an emotional issue for us rather than a political one.”
But Dr Cohen said the decision would cause uncertainty in the UK, with the only saving grace the “stability” that a constitutional monarchy model of government gave.
The referendum should have required a majority in each country, similar to what Australian referendums require, he said.
“It is certainly not time to think of a republic push at this stage,” Dr Cohen said.
“Not only with the election coming up the near future, [but] we need to think whether we want to have this disruption that we have seen in the UK.”
But London-born and Wagga resident Justine Isherwood said she didn’t buy the doom and gloom predictions about Brexit, and it could start a trend of others leaving.
She cited other non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, as examples who haven’t been hampered in trade.
“Yes there's going to be a period of uncertainty, but when you have had free movement of Europeans putting a strain on Britain's national resources, welfare expenditure, [it] added to the stress of terrorism and criminality,” Ms Isherwood said.
“I honestly think the British have done the right thing, and members of my UK family who I've discussed this with recently agree totally.”
Ms Isherwood said Brexit provided one big plus to Australians thanks to the fall in value of the British Pound.
“An immediate benefit would be for Aussies to go to the UK on holiday,” she said.