Forget the flag-waving jingoism of the US or the nationalistic pomp of the Poms, we Aussies are at our laid-back best when it comes to outward shows of parochialism.

So it’s hardly a surprise the issue of whether Australia should become a republic has fallen out of vogue.

A Fairfax poll in February revealed backing for a republic had collapsed faster than Barry O’Farrell’s political career, with less than 40 per cent of Australians now saying they support ditching the royal family.

The poll was conducted before the current visit of Will and Kate, who have attracted rock-star adulation since gracing our shores.

The young royals are the perfect antidote to the republican push – attractive, personable and, most importantly, seemingly quite normal.

Their “star power” has done irreparable short-term damage to the republican movement, with the poll showing even more 18-to-35-year-olds oppose a republic than support it.

But we should not let the cult of celebrity detract from a far more important issue.

Next year will mark 100 years since Gallipoli, a battle that speaks to our national identity far more than an aristocratic family 10,000 miles away.

Enough time has lapsed since that tragic event for our nation to reflect on what it truly means to be Australian and how we navigate our future without a shared head of state.

Many who oppose a republic trot out the same tired cliche: if it ain’t broke, why fix it? But that logic fails to take into account how important self-identity and self-determination are to a young nation like ours.

It’s 15 years since Australians rejected a republic at a referendum, but we have matured greatly as a country in that period.

Our political leaders must have the courage to restart the push for a republic – and the rest of us should have the courage to support it.