Issue
This is issue has recently come back into the spotlight due to an interview with the current Australian of the year, Simon McKeon. In the interview, he urged Australian’s to bring up the republican debate suggesting that now is the time to become a republic. This has sparked many people coming forward and debating the issue.
Introduction
Australia is currently a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the Queen is our current head of state. We also have a written constitution, which limits the Queen and other authorities power. The governor general, who is appointed on the advice of the prime minister, represents the Queen.
In 1931, Britain passed the Statue of Westminster which gave independence to the Australian parliament. Australia, however, did not ratify this law until 1942. As this law only applied the federal parliament, Britain passed the Australia Act, which gave independence to the states as well. The High Court of Australia is now the final court in deciding constitutional matters and the final court of appeal. Due to these laws, Australia has become an independent nation. However, it is believed that we are not truly independent due to our link with the British crown.
Some Australians believe that the time is right, for Australia to become a republic. There are many arguments, both for and against, regarding this issue.
Arguments for a Republic
The main for a republic is that for Australia to be truly independent, it is essential to sever the ties with the British monarch. Currently the only person who can become the official head of state is the eldest male heir to the British throne. A republic would allow for equality in this respect, as any Australian would be eligible for the positi...
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Australia is a monarchy of the United Kingdom. It always has been, and yet this does not seem to have significantly and adversely affected our development and growth towards our country. Thus, there seems no legitimate purpose to change this; since a republican Australia displays a lack of conclusive benefits towards our economy and ‘way of life.’ An Australian republic would cost billions to undertake and is simply unnecessary as there are more important issues facing Australia; and if the Australian citizens are not calling for a referendum, then any serious discussions from politicians or other related public figures are irrelevant and meaningless.
Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901 when the British Parliament passed certain legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to regulate their own authority as part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia was established, and remains as, a constitutional monarchy, meaning that it was founded with a written constitution, and that the Australian head of state is also head of the Commonwealth (Queen Elizabeth II.) The Australian Constitution was initially drafted by several men in the 1890’s though it wasn't passed by the British Parliament until 1900 as part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. By definition the Australian Constitution is a composition
Russell, titled ‘End Australia Day’, which simply advocates that it’s ‘time to let it [Australia Day] go’. Contrasting with Roberts-Smith, who was calm and collected, Russell is abrupt and almost pleading at times. The day has ‘outlived its usefulness’ and it’s adamant to Russell that it is time for a change. Noting suitable day changes, such as ‘July 9’, is high on his to-do list. However, he also believes the Constitution is ‘outdated’ and that to be fair to all in Australia it would be wise to ‘scrap it and start again’. His factual statements on the past allow the reader to acknowledge that their ancestors did play a part in the oppression of the Indigenous, but the recommendation of changing the Constitution entirely could be viewed as ludicrous. As trying to cater for everyone in the “new Constitution” could still mean that groups are left out, and the cost of this idea could turn heads in the opposite
The issue for all Australians is that if there is a Bill of Rights, it will take some time getting use to new constitutional arrangements. However, by enacting a Bill of Rights, it will be a starting point of something great; providing basic constitutional principles, independence of judiciary, fundamental protection of human rights and the independence of judiciary.
Many people think that Australia gained its independence from England in 1901, in fact, it only became a self-governing colony still under the control of England. The newly formed Australian Commonwealth established itself in 1901 with the signing of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution. Australia was able to self-govern itself, but the colonies were still under the control of the British government. Furthermore, this meant that the British monarch was still head of state, and the Australian Commonwealth had limited power to make laws. Everything had to go through the British Government before Australia could make any final decision. Australia could not enter into any international arrangements; the British government handled any
Australia was originally a collection of six independent colonies and due to many reasons discussed in this essay, they drew together and became a Federation. Although the States still retain their own identities, it is as Australian's that we are united and identified against the rest of the world. Australia has become a recognized nation with political and military standing.
The article by Ann Capling exemplifies Australia’s policy and process of engagement with Asia in the past two decades. Through the use of newspaper article, government speech and scholarly works, Capling highlights the neoliberalism of two political parties and their approaches to improve Australia’s economic, social, security and political levels.
The principle of the separation of powers is that, in order to prevent oppressive government, the three powers of government should be held by separate bodies—the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary—which can act as checks and balances on each other. (Locke, 1690) Australia’s system of separation of powers (SOP) is a hybrid of the UK Westminster system of government and the American federal and constitutional features of government. This system of government was chosen because they provide essential philosophical and theoretical bases for which separation is essential and although this system incorporates the best aspects of the UK and US systems, many crossovers have been incorporated as a result. Consequently this shows vulnerability in the Australian federal and state system exposing it to exploitation, and mistreatment.
The main reason why the actions of the politicians are restricted is because their policies among the citizens are limited by the constitution which must be followed by every elected politician. To illustrate this, in the book called “Five Things To know About The Australian Constitution” Helen Irving argues that Australian constitution brought a responsible approach by the government to the Australian citizens because ‘the government can only do what the Constitution permits’ . Due to this, it ‘shapes the way in which policies are put into effect by government’ and ‘determines what sorts of laws can be made’ . Therefore, the outcome of this is the restriction of power by the government what allows citizens to feel safer beyond the
...at these several events in our nation’s history have demoralised our reputation to other countries globally. To make us known as a better country to other nations, we’ve completely abolished the White Australia Policy, gave back the aborigines their freedoms and we were also the first country in the world to give women rights. Australia today in present day is now one of the most multicultural societies on Earth, and we definitely follow our values of mateship, acceptance and freedom.
Our current flag suggests that as a country, we value Great Britain more highly than our own native people. Yet when the AGB conducted a nation-wide survey it discovered that 66% of those polled supported elements of the Aboriginal flag appearing on a new Australian flag. This is another example of our current flag not representing Australians.
‘I want a Little Fair Play if you will be so kind enough to see on my Behalf’ (http://www.abc.net.au/civics/democracy/struggle.htm, 2001).
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Kirby, M. 1997, ‘Bill of Rights for Australia – But do we need it?’, viewed 30 March 2014, < http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/ljf/app/&id=/A60DA51D4C6B0A51CA2571A7002069A0>
The most general type of republic is parliamentary system, often called parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary system is a type of republic, where the power of parliament exceeds the power of president. Although, president reserves some key competences. Generally, the members of government are also members of parliament, and accountable to Parliament. If the government doesn't get the vote of confidence, it can be dismissed by the Parliament or achieves the appointment of new elections to government. Such republics often have proportional electoral systems. The voters vote for parties rather than candidates. In th...