The Australian Constitution Essay

Australia is run by a democratic system at all 3 levels of government (Federal, State and Local). Democracy means in Greek "rule by the governed". A democrary has key fundermentals that sustains that type of leadership.

In the Australian constitution the Queen holds the executive power and also has legislative power. The Governor General is appointed by the Queen and is also the commander-in-chief. Another difference between the two countries is the Australian judicature. The High Court of Australia does not have the power of judicial review. Ultimately, in Australia the parliament and the prime minister have the complete power.

A referendum is the only formal process that can be used to change the written words of the Constitution but it isn’t the only way Commonwealth Parliament can gain powers. States can refer or give their power to Commonwealth Parliament by passing an act.

We believe that Australia is highly democratic, but there is nothing democratic about someone inheriting a position of power because they happened to be born in that blood

In this essay, it will be seen that the expansion of the external affairs power since Federation reflects Australia’s growing independence from a Dominion of the United Kingdom and its transition into nationhood.

Now I shall talk about how the Australian Constitution. It’s common knowledge to know that a constitution is pretty much the law of the land and a foundation of the laws that rule there. Constitutions are very important for countries to have. Helen Irving explains in The Oxford Companion of Australian Politics that, “Its Preamble records the agreement of the six Australian colonies to federate in 1901 and to remain together as ‘one indissoluble federal Commonwealth’.” The Australian Constitution was written as a bill when the colonies met in 1890. The constitution has a full draft by the end of 1891 but colonial parliaments failed to pass it (Irving).

The Australian Constitution is a rich amalgam of various classical political principles. The concepts of the Rule of Law and the doctrine of the Separation of Powers evident in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws are both salient examples of political theses that are central to Australian Constitutional Law. The structure of the Constitution itself and decisions of the High Court of Australia unequivocally validate the entrenchment of the doctrine separation of powers in the Commonwealth Constitution . In particular, the High Court has applied this with relative rigour with respect to the separation of judicial power. The separation of the judicial power is fundamentally critical to upholding the rule of law. The High Court in Wilson v Minister for Aboriginal Affairs noted that “the separation of the judicial function…advances two constitutional objectives: the guarantee of liberty and, to that end, the independence of Chapter III judges” . Kitto J in R v Davidson also identified that the judiciary should be subject to no other authority but the law itself . This is a critical aspect ensuring the concept of legal equality is upheld. Therefore, its role clearly extends to providing checks and balances on the exercise of power by the legislative and executive arms of government . This ensures the liberty of the law and limits the abuse of the judicial system. Judicial Power is defined as “the power which every sovereign must of necessity have to decide between its subjects

As the Prime Minister of Australia, it is my duty to present my democratic nation with their elected desires. The current issue is concerning the movement of Australia’s governing system from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. I believe that Australia should become a republic, as our sunburnt country has overtime developed culturally and democratically since 1901 when we become the Commonwealth of Australia, and started living under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth the Second. We have created a place that is in no way similar to the British Empire. As Australians we respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of our land, the Aborigines. Over time, it seems as though we have taken this country out of their hands and handed it to the

Australia’s current political system is a Constitutional Monarchy. A constitutional monarchy requires that a hereditary monarch is appointed as the head of state. The monarch in a constitutional monarchy has got a largely a figurative and official role than a practical one. In this current system, the responsibility to pass legislation is tasked only to the democratically elected parliament. In Australia’s case, the hereditary monarch Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia and the Head of the Commonwealth, of which Australia is a part of. The position held by Her Majesty, cannot be contested by an election like the Prime Ministers, however it is a birth right of those in her lineage. Due to the exclusivity of the position as the hereditary

Australia 's Federal System is dynamic and the division of lawmaking power between the Commonwealth and State since 1901 has changed dramatically; Critically discuss, focussing on the major reasons for those changes.

     Australia’s form of government has been described as a constitutional monarchy, in which the queen of England is the nominal head of state. In the federal government, power rests with the elected political party that holds the majority in the House of Representatives. The leader is the prime minister. The Senate consists of 76 members who are elected every six years. The House of Representatives has 147 members and they face elections every three years. Any laws that involve changes to the Constitution must be decided by a referendum in which the country’s citizens are called to vote on whether or not they want such changes to take place.

The piece Advance Australia … within reason, was conveyed on the 5th of January by Amy Mackintosh, at the annual “University of Students for Youth Political Activism’ meeting held at The University of Melbourne. Mackintosh steadily argues the reasons why Australia should not have become a republic, and how the country should stay as a monarchy. The tone of the speech is very colloquial and even sarcastic, with the middle part being more analytical and serious. The speaker gives the impression that the argument for Australia to stay as a Monarchy is unbiased and logical.

What is the Referendum Process? I define it as the only way the written words of the constitution can be changed. We have this process implies so that parliament doesnt have too much power over the most important piece of Australian legislation. And so that the people can indirectly have a say in how the Constitution is worded. Constitution proposals only come up every so often. But, when they do it goes a little like this. The first thing you do is propose the bill you outline your ID and you have a drop person run up the bill. Than your proposal goes through the same legislative process as any other bill. The bill must be approved by both houses of Parliament. Alternatively if one house refuses to pass the bill the other house can pass

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, adjudicator, opposition and my fellow debaters. The topic for our debate is that ‘Australia should become a republic’. We, Gladstone Park Team 2 agree with the definition put forth by the affirmative team. However, we, the negative team, believe that statement is false.

Possible developments and changes that may occur include the Australian Government deciding not to give sole power and responsibility to the ABCC