Back on the campaign trail: Turnbull for a republic Pro-republic: Malcolm Turnbull. Malcolm Turnbull is back campaigning for an Australian republic. Not that he ever really stopped or, as he put it in response to a question: "I have never not been in the cart." It is just that he has kept a low profile on the issue, particularly compared with the years before the 1999 referendum when, as head of the Australian Republican Movement, he led the unsuccessful campaign and one of his main opponents was the former head of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, Tony Abbott. On May 10, Mr Turnbull will have star billing at an ARM fund-raising dinner at Lilyfield. For $180 a head for ARM members and $200 for non-members, diners will witness a "conversation about our Australian identity" between him and Geoff Gallop, the chairman of ARM and a former Labor premier of Western Australia. Mr Turnbull agrees it is the first time for years that he has been to an ARM function, although he has received invitations he could not accept because of other commitments. The ARM's national director, David Morris, said Mr Turnbull readily agreed to participate in the fund-raiser. We are really pleased he wants to help us stimulate the conversation about our identity. Mr Turnbull supports ARM's strategy of building support for a republic from the grassroots by talking about national identity, rather than focusing on how to select the head of state - the issue that split republicans in 1999. He has portrayed himself as a loyal member of the Abbott team, which could be why, after a brief conversation last week, he did not respond to follow-up phone calls or emails. Monarchists have immediately gone on the attack. "Why has Malcolm Turnbull decided to demonstrate to the world that the frontbench is divided on the fundamental question of a politicians' republic?" asks ACM national convener David Flint on the organisation's website.