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REUTERS

Vice published an article on Wednesday saying that Australians could get a free portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from the government.

Politicians have since been inundated with requests, with one MP calling it "excellent trolling."

One Melbourne lawmaker said he had received "dozens" of request within 24 hours.



Australians are demanding portraits of the Queen from their government after realizing that they can get them for free, thanks to a little-known law.

Under the little-known "constituents' request program," Australian citizens are legally entitled to "nationhood material" such as flags and portraits of the Queen and Prince Philip. The program was relatively unknown until Vice reported on it on Wednesday.

Tim Watts, a Melbourne MP, said on Thursday that he had already received dozens of requests in the 24 hours since the story was published.

"I can say before the story was published, I had received zero requests for portraits of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth," Watts told Australian broadcaster ABC. "The last 24 hours, I would say about four dozen."

He also tweeted at Vice: "Excellent trolling... I do find this to be comfortably the dumbest part of my job."

The Queen is technically the head of state of Australia, which has its own prime minister and laws separate from the UK. The country rejected the idea of becoming a republic in a 1999 referendum.

It's not entirely clear which portrait of the Queen Australians would get. Nick Lord, the Vice journalist who reported on the law, said he got this portrait when he asked for one:

Watts said that people usually use the program for more educational purposes, he said, such as getting flags, including the Aboriginal flag, or copies of the constitution. Lord said he received "some complimentary Aussie flags" with his portrait, which arrived three weeks after his request.

Watts isn't the only politician inundated with requests.

Rebekha Sharkie, an MP in Mayo, South Australia, tweeted that she had received 25 requests in 12 hours.

Terri Butler, an MP in Brisbane, also tweeted that Lord, the Vice journalist, was "not popular" in her office and joked that she tried to give out portraits of Beyoncé to anyone who didn't specify which "queen" they were talking about.

But there's a catch: MPs are not legally obliged to provide "nationhood material" to all citizens who requested them, Watts said. It's not clear whether Watts or any of his colleagues will respond to all their requests.

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