God Save The Queen.

Even if I wanted to be the Australian Prime Minister, I’m not allowed.

It’s not some weird conspiracy theory or a reflection on the slow pace of change for women in politics. It’s because despite being born in a hot climate down under I am a British Citizen. Like many Australian born children I acquired my citizenship through my parents and my Dad was born in the United Kingdom. My family is from Colchester, not far out of London.

Like many other Millennial children of 10 Pound Poms I am a dual Australian and UK Citizen. I even have the passport, acquired when I had plans to move away from my small town to the forward-thinking opportunities of the EU back before Brexit.

In recent years I’ve been wondering what this all means? Why do I care about my UK passport and what does it mean for my inability to represent my community in our Federal Parliament. What does it mean for my views as an Australian Republican? What does it mean for my views as someone with the right to reside - and run for Parliament - in Great Britain?

What does it mean for my sister Savanah, a tri-citizen of Australia, Great Britain and the Tjungadji nation - a living culture that dates back far further than most of humanity can imagine?

I couldn’t vote in the 1999 referendum. I wasn’t old enough but I cared immensely. I thought a Republic would change all - that by changing the laws, no Australian child would be prevented from earning their place as an Australian head of state.

Culture doesn’t change through laws alone.

The older I get the more I understand how deeply embedded our cultural systems really are. The cultural systems which govern the choices we make and the opportunity we are given from birth. The cultural systems that tell us what leadership looks like and those in society we should pity for being poor.

I have spent much of my life thinking about and working to gain equality for so many - gender equality, equality for all sexualities, equality for first nations communities people and the one that matters most to me - equality for the poor.

I haven’t figured it out, but each time I become frustrated I learn something more. More about where to put my effort, what matters, what connects us.

Along the way I’ve travelled far and wide. I’ve been to India, the country that my British great grandfather was in when my nearly 100 year old Nanna was born in Colchester. I’ve been to Fiji and the United States and I’ve been to London. I’ve been to Cape York and I’ve seen the impact of colonisation first hand.

I’ve also seen the progress that has been made.

The right for women to stand for Parliament won by Scottish and other migrant women here in South Australia in a place set up to do colonialism better, then taken abroad. I’ve met with young people from around the world, gathered together to talk about how to create a better future and I finally saw Australia elect our first female Prime Minister, more than 100 years after laws were changed to allow that to happen.

But I can’t escape the statistical reality that in the last hundred years there has been a greater chance of getting a woman as a national leader through an accident of birth or because an uncle chose love over public service than through a vote. I can’t escape the statistical reality that more women have led the British Conservatives than the Australian Labor Party in Federal parliament. I can’t escape the statistical reality that so far the South Australian ALP have not once had a female Parliamentary leader, even though we pride ourselves on our progressiveness and pat ourselves on the back for leading the world in forward-thinking change.

So I hold on to my UK passport and my citizenship, keeping my options open.

Do I want to see an Australian Republic? Yes. But if the choice is between electing a head of state that is almost guaranteed to be a privileged white man without a woman or person of colour to be seen? What’s the point of that?

As a woman there’s statistically more chance of being elected to be the Conservative PM of Great Britain than a progressive Australian political leader. We’re legally and culturally allowed to do that. I doubt that my great grandfather would have thought there would be a day when the Indian people he was colonising would have a greater chance of being the Prime Minister of Britain than women being the leader of a colonial outpost like South Australia.

My little sister Savanah announced a few weeks ago that she’s like to be the Prime Minister. Her campaign launch was excellent. Her platform is respect - respect for people, respect for the environment. I could get behind that.

But I can’t escape the knowledge of how much work is required to change the cultural landscape of Australia to allow that to happen. She’s 6 years old now. If she has any chance of being the Australian head of state there is so much work to do and we need to get cracking. It’s not just a referendum on a Republic to win. It’s changing the cultural fabric that dictates who gets opportunity and who doesn’t. Who we think of as leaders.

We need to take a deep look at ourselves.

I’m not about to tell a 6 year old little girl about the amount of work we have to do for this to be a possibility. I’m not going to tell her about the work that’s already been done and the frustrations of many trying to change our culture to ensure every child gets every opportunity. I’m not going to tell her that right now, statistics say she’s got a greater chance of leading the UK Conservatives or being elected as a Liberal Senator for South Australia than for the SA Labor Party. I’m not going to tell her to give up her UK Citizenship just yet - she might have a greater chance of being the Prime Minister in the UK than in Australia.

I’m just going to get to work and try to change things for her, because every Australian child should have the opportunity to be our head of state if that is what they dream of and where their talents lie.