Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is not pushing for a second referendum on a republic any time soon, despite calling for Australians to rally for such a move on Australia Day.
Mr Shorten reignited the debate for a republic after calling on Australians to breathe new life into the dream of an Australian head of state.
"Let us rally behind an Australian republic - a model that truly speaks for who we are: our modern identity, our place in our region and our world," he told a book launch on mateship in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Labor leader said Australia Day was an apt time to revisit the notion of a republic.
Sixteen years since the first referendum in 1999 was time enough to have learned lessons from Australia voting against a republic, he said.
"I do think that there are lessons from that referendum," Mr Shorten said.
"How is it that in the 21st century we don't have an Australian head of state?
"I think it's something we can positively discuss."
Some republicans have argued that the best time to restart the debate would be at the end of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.
Mr Shorten also called for Australians to be brave enough to demand constitutional recognition for the first Australians.
He said as much as we celebrate the virtues of Australian mateship, it has rarely included everyone.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Australian Workers Union declared itself open to all workers no matter what their sex or occupation, with the exception of "Chinese, Japanese, Kanakas (Pacific Island workers), Afghans or coloured aliens," Mr Shorten said.
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