Queen receives warm welcome

CANBERRA (AP):

Crowds of cheering children waving Australian flags welcomed Queen Elizabeth II as she and her husband Prince Philip landed at an Australian air force base yesterday in the nation's capital.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Governor General Quentin Bryce, the monarch's representative in Australia, greeted the royal pair, who received a 21-gun salute as they emerged from their plane.

The warm welcome comes despite the ruling Labour Party's desire for the British monarch to be replaced by a president as Australia's head of state. Gillard has said Australia should become a republic after the queen's reign.

Warm reception expected

But Gillard said she did not believe that debate would mar the monarch's first visit since 2006, when she opened the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The 85-year-old monarch will travel to four cities and open a meeting of leaders of mostly former

British colonies during her 10-day visit.

"While the queen is here in Australia, what Australians will be doing is enjoying and celebrating her presence here," Gillard told reporters hours before the queen arrived.

"I believe she's very well respected by Australians and I think she's going to be tremendously warmly received from the moment that she sets foot on Australian soil," she added.

Australians rejected a proposal to make Australia a republic at a referendum in 1999.