According to the Daily Mail, Albert's minister responsible for promoting Australia as a republic admitted that it was "not a priority", prompted an ABC anchor to question him why he was in the role. 
Assistant Minister for Republic Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite told The Australian over the weekend that it would be "difficult" to push for a national vote to abolish the monarchy in a second term after the Indigenous Voices referendum failed. Thistlethwaite reportedly said "this is not a priority at the moment" and that "the priority at the moment is clearly tackling cost-of-living pressures." Thistlethwaite was questioned when he appeared on the ABC News breakfast show on Monday. Moderator Michael Rowland questioned whether it was necessary to create a ministerial post when becoming a republic was not a national agenda. 
Thislethwaite acknowledges that there are more pressing issues that need to be addressed first. "The top priority is the cost of living pressure for Australians, and all of our policies are designed to help Australians through this period. Cheaper childcare, energy subsidies, cheaper medicines, tuition-free TAFEs, all to help communities and families with the cost of living. Having said that, in the long run, we believe that Australians should be the head of state, which is part of the Labour platform. Despite declining to provide a timetable for when Australians will be offered a referendum on the republic, Thislethwaite said he would not "give up" on the cause. "I am certainly committed and remain passionate and remain passionate about Australia and hope that one day Australians will become Australia's Head of State. The current approach to selecting a head of state is undemocratic and does not represent the values of modern Australia. This is something that we would like to start a long-term discussion with the Australians. Thislethwaite also acknowledged that the fiasco of the Indigenous Voices referendum on October 14 last year had hampered progress in proposing another referendum to the population. The "Indigenous Voices" referendum was unsuccessful, but we will not give up, this said. "Six days after Queen Elizabeth's death on September 8, 2022, Thistlethwaite met with the senior **to discuss the matter of the vote, and was later accused of disrespecting Queen Elizabeth. 
Thistlethwaite argued that the meeting had been planned before the Queen's death and said the panel had concluded that "this is not the right time for a referendum." Thistlethwaite told The Australian: "This is the first meeting I have organised with department secretaries and other representatives, mainly to discuss the role I will play in the voice referendum. "As far as the Republic is concerned, given the recent death of the Queen, we agree that this is not the right time to discuss the Republic, and that the first priority is the 'Indigenous Voices' referendum. "Prime Minister Albanese has long been a staunch supporter of the Australian Republic, appointing Thislethwaite to the post of Assistant Minister for Republic Affairs shortly after winning 2022** to assist the Governor in the hope of garnering public support for a future referendum. 
Proponents of the republic welcomed Albanese's victory and the creation of the position, but were concerned about its achievements. Scholar and Republican Dennis Altman told the ABC in 2022: "I don't quite know what Matt Thistlethwaite will do in this position, but I guess he'll be attending a lot of dinners." Thislethwaite said his duty was to "explain to the people that our head of state is a foreign monarch and our ** representative is the governor-general, but our head of state can be Australian." Shortly after his appointment, Thislethwaite said: "The Australian republic is about celebrating our independence and our unique culture and identity. While some people thought that Queen Elizabeth's death would propel Australia to become a republic, ** set their sights on the "Voice of Aborigines" referendum. Those hopes were dashed after Indigenous Voices were vetoed in all jurisdictions except the ACT.