The Queen is stopping Australia from being a great country, according to the country's former prime minister Paul Keating.
In an outspoken interview with Sky News Australia , Mr Keating said: "The fact is that Australia can only be a great country when it claims its head of state as one of its own.
"It will forever have that derivativeness about it while ever our head of state is the Queen of Great Britain and we share her with 16 other countries.
"And by the way, we get around with the British flag in the corner of our flag. I mean, great states do not do these things."
The former Labor prime minister, who is known for his anti-royal views, was once dubbed the "Lizard of Oz" by the British tabloid press for touching the Queen on her back during a tour of Australia in 1992.
Such contact with the monarch is against royal protocol.
During the lengthy TV interview he acknowledged the affection many Australians have for the Queen, but criticised current politicians for shying away from demanding a republic.
"We are not going to take our republic, we are going to wait till the old lady dies or leaves," he said.
"Of course the next day King Charles and Queen Camilla will be there. And of course they'll say, 'Let's give the new bloke a go'."
Current Prime Minister Julia Gillard favours a republic, but believes any move in that direction should not happen during the Queen's lifetime.
Mr Keating, who was prime minister from 1991 to 1995, went on to say: "They don't have the imagination about this.
"They don't see the importance to the country. The republic will say much more to us about ourselves.
"You just imagine the impact on this country psychologically, of a shift to an Australian person as head of state."
The outburst comes just weeks after the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited Australia , ending with the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference.
Australians turned out in large numbers to greet the royal couple as they visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
The idea of Australia becoming a republic was rejected in a referendum in 1999 - but Mr Keating has campaigned for the nation to sever its ties with the crown both during his time in office and since.
