| The Australian Constitution |
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| Saturday, 29 April 2006 | |
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"As an instrument of Government, it has no equal in the world for the purpose of giving democratic government to the people." " ...... that while it is not too pliant and cannot be easily altered, it provides the machinery for doing anything the people of the continent may desire." "We have no flag that has braved the battle and the breeze for over a thousand years. We have this Commonwealth infant in our arms, nurturing and tending it, strengthening and developing it, and if we are to do our duty correctly we shall remember the lessons of the past and observe the watchword of freedom and justice to all."  The above statements on the Constitution and the Federation were, inter alia, uttered by the Honourable W. Trenwith, Minister for Public Works (Victoria), at a luncheon held in Sydney on 5th January 1901 to celebrate the Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia.The Australian Constitution came into effect on 1st January 1901, as did the Commonwealth of Australia a federation of the former six British colonies of New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. The now existing Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were then part of South Australia and New South Wales respectively. Background: Australia's Constitution is one of the world's six oldest continuing constitutions in the world. That said, it's beginning was slow and measured. The concept of a united Australia had its genesis several decades before Federation was actually achieved in 1901. However, it was not until the early 1890s that major steps were undertaken to achieve that aim. Australia's 'Founding Fathers' Henry Parkes, Edmund Barton, Inglis Clark, Alfred Deakin, John Forrest, Samuel Griffith, George Reid, Charles Kingston, Robert Garran were the principal contributors to the Federation process and the drafting of the Australian Constitution. Their surnames are now marked by the numerous inner suburbs of Canberra the nation's capitol. The rest of the 1890s was taken up with the conduct of numerous meetings, constitutional conventions and a series of referenda which were held in each of the six British colonies seeking approval for the draft Constitution. 52% of the people supported the Constitution despite the fact that most women and many aborigines were ineligible to vote. Because each of the self-governing colonies were still subject to British rule, the next step was to seek approval of the draft constitution by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In early 1900, a small delegation of Australian federal leaders took the Constitution with them to London. There they spent nearly four months in discussion and debate with the British who were now seeking to amend it. The Australians resisted most of the proposed amendments, but finally came to a satisfactory compromise. Eventually, The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act Bill was passed by the United Kingdom Parliament on 5th July 1900 and received Royal Assent from Her Majesty Queen Victoria on 9th July 1900. On 29th October 1900, Queen Victoria issued Letters Patent constituting the Office of the Governor-General. Queen Victoria also presented the Letters Patent to Australia's first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, on the same day. On 17th September 1900, Queen Victoria issued a Royal Proclamation which declared: On and after 1 January 1901, the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia shall be united in a Federal Commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia. On 1st January 1901, Celebrations were held at Centennial Park, Sydney to commemorate the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia. The desk where Queen Victoria signed her assent to the document creating the Commonwealth of Australia on 9th July 1900 was the centrepiece of the first Commonwealth ceremony and is now on display in Parliament House, Canberra. The Earl of Hopetoun, Australia's first Governor-General took his oath of office at the desk. After that, the first ministry, with The Right Honourable Edmund Barton as Australias first Prime Minister, was also sworn in and Australia's Constitution came into effect. Toward Independence: Although Australia was now a federation of the six former British colonies, Australia was still part of the British Empire and was still not, in the true sense of the word, independent. That was to come later although the actual date/time frame remains arguable. The events that eventually lead to Australia becoming a sovereign, independent and federal nation are:
With the introduction of the Australia Acts, no Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement date of these Acts no longer extended to the Commonwealth (of Australia), to a State or to a Territory as part of the law of the Commonwealth, of the State or of a Territory. The Australia Acts brought the States into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation. So, whatever argument prevailed about Australia's independence before the introduction of the Australia Acts, no such argument about Australia's independence since then can be made. The Australia Act 1986 (UK) was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in case the Australia Act 1986 (Commonwealth) passed by the Australian Parliament was found to be invalid. It is also interesting to note here that Section 8, the Statute of Westminster, did not confer any power on the Australia Parliament to alter the Constitution or the Constitution Act of the Commonwealth of Australia. However, Section 15 (1) of the Australia Act 1986 now allows for the Australian Parliament, at the request of or with the concurrence of all the State Parliaments, to amend or repeal the Constitution Act or The Constitution. The Constitution at Work: Because Australia is a federation, the various powers are shared between the Commonwealth and the States. Interpretation of the Australian Constitution is left to the High Court of Australia. With any living document such as the Australian Constitution, nothing is set in stone forever. Section 128 of the Australian Constitution details the procedure for altering the Constitution. In short, and in normal practice, a proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution must be passed by an absolute majority of each House (The Senate and The House of Representatives) of the Parliament and is then submitted to the people of Australia to approve. And if in a majority of States a majority of the electors voting approve the proposed law, and if a majority of all the electors voting also approve the proposed law, the Bill will be presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent. Up to and including 6th November 1999, 44 proposals to alter the Australian Constitution have been put to the people of Australia; only 8 of the 44 proposals to change the Constitution have been approved and are listed below:
Summary: The Australian Constitution is now well over 100 years old and has an undeniable track record of providing a safe and reliable framework for Australia's constitutional arrangements. The words stated earlier in this article by the Honourable W. Trenwith, Minister for Public Works (Victoria) in 1901, still ring true. The fact that the Australian Constitution is not too pliant and cannot be easily altered, but provides the machinery for doing anything the people of the continent may desire, is its core democratic value. This is also its supreme benefit over many of the worlds Constitutions as it requires that the people of the country must approve any change. Not even the Constitution of the United States of America does that! Comment on this article
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