Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has urged Malcolm Turnbull to posthumously elevate Sir John Monash to the rank of field marshal — the highest rank in the Australian Army — before the title is bestowed on Prince Charles.
Mr Fischer, who has been waging a decade-long campaign to have Monash promoted to the rank, wants the Prime Minister to announce the move when he opens the $100 million Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux in France on the day before Anzac Day in two weeks.
Bill Shorten has indicated support for the proposal, but the government is divided on the issue.
If Prince Charles becomes king, he would by tradition be made an Australian field marshal, like his father Prince Philip and grandfather King George VI.
Mr Fischer said he had no objection to Charles being named field marshal, but argued “it would be a bitter pill to swallow if that happens and we still have not got Sir John Monash as an Australian field marshal”. The former Nationals leader said the move would “correct a wrong that goes to the core fabric of our nation”. “He was undoubtedly Australia’s most brilliant citizen general, a very successful leader of the AIF who greatly helped turn the tide to victory on the Western Front in 1918,” Mr Fischer said.
Read the article by Ben Packham in The Australian.