"'I hope it gets sorted out” — Australia's premier for republic (8)
I believe the answer is:
ethiopia
'republic' is the definition.
(I know that Ethiopia is a republic)
''i hope it gets sorted out australia's premier' is the wordplay.
'gets sorted out' is an anagram indicator.
'premier' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'australias' is 'a'.
'i'+'hope'+'it'='ihopeit'
'ihopeit' with letters rearranged gives 'ethiopi'.
'ethiopi'+'a'='ETHIOPIA'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for ethiopia that I've seen before include "Modern Abyssinia" , "Country once known as Abyssinia" , "East African country" , "Tie a Hopi up in Africa" , "Strife-torn NE African country, capital Addis Ababa" .)