Kammala wannan jumla: Ko Ostiraliya ta kasance masarauta ko ta zama jamhuriya ta kasance batun da ake takaddama a cikin 1990s. Tun daga wannan lokacin bai zama fifiko ga gwamnati ba har zuwa 2019. A cikin 1998 lokacin da muhawara ta kai kololuwa, Howard ya ɗauki matsayin masarauta wanda yawancin masu ra'ayin mazan jiya suka fi so. Howard ya yi jayayya cewa mulkin mallaka ya ba da dogon lokaci na kwanciyar hankali kuma yayin da ya ce babu wata tambaya cewa Ostiraliya ƙasa ce mai cikakken 'yanci, ya yi imanin cewa "rabuwa da ayyukan bikin da na zartarwa na gwamnati" da kuma kasancewar tsaka tsaki "mai kare mutuncin tsarin mulki" ya kasance fa'ida a cikin gwamnati kuma cewa babu wani tsarin jamhuriya da zai yi tasiri wajen samar da irin wannan sakamakon kamar mulkin mallaka na Australiya. Duk da binciken da aka yi na nuna cewa 'yan Australia sun fi son jamhuriya,
Zaben raba gardama na shekarar 1999 ya yi watsi da tsarin da yarjejeniyar 1998 ta gabatar wanda ya hada da nadin shugaban kasa ta majalisar. Masu ra'ayin mazan jiya gabaɗaya suna goyon bayan kiyaye tutar yanzu (tare da alamomin Burtaniya) kuma suna alfahari da al'adun Burtaniya na ƙasar.