Australia should move to be a republic when reign¹ of Queen Elizabeth II ends, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Tuesday.

澳大利亚总理茱莉娅·吉拉德于本周二称，澳大利亚应在英国女王伊丽莎白二世退位后推行共和体制。

Gillard also planned to lead a national debate on republic after the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 84, ends.

The prime minister said that despite being a republican, she understood that Australians had a "deep affection" for the British monarch²（君主，帝王） .

"What I would like to see as prime minister is that we work our way through to an agreement on a model for the republic," Gillard told reporters in Townsville of Queensland.

"I think the appropriate time for this nation to move to be a republic is when we see the monarch change.

"Obviously I'm hoping for Queen Elizabeth that she lives a long and happy life, and having watched her mother I think there's every chance that she will."

According to ABC News, Gillard's comments put her absolutely at odds³ with（争执，不和） Opposition⁴ Leader Tony Abbott, who is a staunch（坚定的，忠诚的） monarchist and was at the center of the anti-republican cause in the 1999 referendum（公民投票） , which rejected the notion of change.

Since Federation⁵ on January 1, 1901, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and is a Commonwealth⁶ realm, which has Elizabeth II as its monarch.

The comments reveal one of the few areas of genuine difference between the candidates ahead of Saturday's elections, where Gillard is leading Abbott by four percentage points, according to the latest Newspoll.