constitution - hofreps - 1970

Contexts in which the word constitution was used in the House of Representatives during the 1970s

Constitution the question of their application to non-metropolitan territories arises only in respect of Conventions ratified by the member-State, that is in the case of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, in respect of the Conventions ratified by Australia. [More…]
Constitution requires a declaration to be made for each non-metropolitan territory in respect of each ratified Convention. [More…]
These of course are related to the nature of the Constitution. [More…]
This is a Bill which, under the terms of the Constitution, the Senate may not amend. [More…]
Under section 55 of the Constitution, duties of customs, duties of excise and other duties are required to be imposed by separate laws. [More…]
However I must add that this Parliament exists under the Constitution and in the parliamentary system to conduct the business of Parliament and government. [More…]
I think I gave the impression that I agreed with an opinion he expressed on the Constitution. [More…]
Technically, it boils down to the very simple question of whether the number of senators referred to in section 24 of the Constitution is inclusive of senators representing Commonwealth Territories under section 122. [More…]
What steps is the Attorney-General taking to tighten up this legislation in order to preserve the rights of citizens using telephones which, under the Constitution, are a Commonwealth monopoly? [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D.Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick andGarran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ Page 951); and [More…]
by leave - Honourable members will be aware that to fulfil the requirements of the Constitution the next Senate election must be held before 30th June 1971. [More…]
The following is a list of Senators appointed by the Governor of a State with the advice of the Executive Council thereof, under Section15 of the Constitution, to hold the place of a Senator which has become vacant: [More…]
Will he in particular examine the extent to which both these restrictions are monopolisation contrary to the Trade Practices Act and in breach of section 92 and other provisions of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act? [More…]
The Commission shall not perform its functions so as to give preference to 1 State or any part thereof over another State or any part thereof or otherwise inconsistently with the Constitution. [More…]
Do the Council’s rules and constitution require an absolute majority on all major’ questions and give any one Slate body power of veto. [More…]
Does this show that the Federal Council’s constitution debars it from adequately representing beekeepers; if so, will he agree to a poll of beekeepers on the matter. [More…]
If money is to be given by the Commonwealth to the States for purposes such as the honourable member for Oxley suggested the proper way to do it would be by way of grants under section 96 of the Constitution and not by giving a lump sum to an institute which is charged with the task of research and giving that institute carte blanche to disburse this public money among the State agencies. [More…]
Clause 9 (Constitution of the Board). [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1971-72 totalling $710,462,000 for expenditure on (a) the construction of public works and buildings; (b) the acquisition of sites and buildings; (c) advances and loans; (d) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure; (e) grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution; and (f) new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
, (3) and (4) Under the Constitution the States cannot validly impose duties of customs and excise. [More…]
Has the Government of a State ever made application under section 119 of the Constitution for the Commonwealth to protect the State against domestic violence. [More…]
Constitution the question of the application of I.L.O. [More…]
If so, is it also a fact that the membership register of the Queensland branch of The Australian Workers’ Union, a federal organisation, includes the names of persons who belong to the State registered union, The Australian Workers’ Union of Employees, Queensland, and that many thousands of these are employed in industries or callings not covered by the Constitution and rules of The Australian Workers’ Union;if not, does each of the organisations keep a separate register of its members. [More…]
How many subject matters are there which are the subject of legislation by the Commonwealth Parliament and are the responsibility of the Commonwealth Parliament other than those which can be exercised under section 122 of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
1 am advised that the Constitution of the Commonwealth provides no general power under which the Commonwealth could take action to deal with man-days lost through industrial stoppages in industries covered by State awards, determinations or agreements. [More…]
However placitum (xxxv) of section51 of the Constitution empowers the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws with respect to conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State and under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, made in pursuance of that power, the Commonwealth [More…]
If it is felt that the judgment does not give the Parliament power to control prices, will be give consideration to the taking of a referendum for an amendment of the Constitution to add prices as a new placitum to section 51 of the Constitution? [More…]
Have State Ministers told the Commonwealth that any such concessions for pensioners sh’ould be provided by the Commonwealth as a social service and as a legitimate function of the Commonwealth under the Constitution? [More…]
In respect of Tasmania, the Constitution Act 1934, as amended, prescribes the boundaries of the Assembly Divisions in the fourth schedule to the Act. [More…]
The Commonwealth Electoral Act, as amended in 1961, authorises the enrolment in the Commonwealth electoral rolls, in the appropriate residential divisions, of any person to whom section 41 of the Constitution applies. [More…]
Later information has revealed that with the certification of the 26th Amendment to the United States of America Constitution on 6th July 1971, 18, 19 and 20 year old persons became eligible to vote in all County, State and Federal elections in the United States of America. [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1972-73 totalling $861,386,000 for expenditure on the construction of public works and buildings, the acquisition of sites and buildings, advances and loans, items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure, grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution and new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
Under the ILO constitution the making of a declaration in respect of Papua New Guinea stating the extent to which the provisions of any convention should be applied does not, of course, arise unless and until Australia has ratified that convention. [More…]
Has the Commonwealth complete powers under the Constitution to pay all social service benefits. [More…]
In the first answer he gave to a question in this House in the new Parliament, the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) acknowledged without qualification that he is bound by the Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party as adopted in Launceston in 1971. [More…]
All I can say to the honourable member is that this is an expert committee designed to make recommendations to the Commonwealth Government as to how it should exercise its powers under section 96 of the Constitution to make grants to the States and also as to direct action in its Territories. [More…]
The grants which the Commonwealth will make to local government bodies will, of course, consonant with section 96 of the Constitution, be made through State governments. [More…]
The advertisement seeks a postal vote on whether people want to change the Australian flag; abolish the Crown in Australia; have the Federal Constitution destroyed and all power centralised in Canberra. [More…]
Both the Parliament and the Executive have to operate within the terms of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Proceedings can be taken to disallow acts of the Parliament or to restrain the Executive if either acts in defiance of the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 7 (Constitution of Commission) [More…]
Why does he not now seek to amend the Australian Constitution with regard to Privy Council appeals by referendum of the people or by joint act of the Australian Parliament and the Parliaments of the States? [More…]
Two types of Senate vacancies are dealt with in Part II of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, he is riding rough shod over the whole of Part II of the Constitution. [More…]
Grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution; [More…]
The States are receiving their share of the costs of tertiary education through grants under section 96 of the Constitution, and this amount is being deducted from the grants to the States, as agreed at the Premiers Conference of June 1973. [More…]
I declare that the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill 1973 is an urgent Bill. [More…]
It denies the rights of the small men of this community the opportunity to earn a wage which might be reasonably negotiated according to the provisions of the present Constitution. [More…]
I have received a message from His Excellency the Governor-General informing me that His Excellency has, under section 58 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, reserved the Royal Style and Titles Bill 1973 for Her Majesty’s pleasure. [More…]
The function of the Commission is to make recommendations to the Commonwealth under section 96 of the Constitution, which provides in effect that the Commonwealth Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State on the terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit. [More…]
But, beyond that, the making of a mandatory provision that State Ministers will give me a panel of names from whom I must choose people to exercise the prerogative of this Parliament under section 96 of the Constitution is not anything that has been required of any previous government in Australia and certainly is not a provision that our prececessors would have accepted from us. [More…]
That the General Council approves the proposals of the Commonwealth of Australia Branch for increased State/Provincial and recommends to the Annual General Meeting that the proposed amendment to Clause 18 and Annexure ‘A’ of the Constitution be adopted. [More…]
Can the Minister give the House an assurance that in the event of the national Parliament rejecting his health scheme he will not resort to surreptitious moves through grants under section 96 of the Constitution and implement for the nation a scheme which the national Parliament has rejected. [More…]
; and then received the same amount through the provisions of section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Pursuant to Section 16 of the Grants Commission’ Act 1973, I present the fortieth report (1973) of the Grants Commission on the applications made by the States of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania for financial assistance under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
This motion seeks to restrict the Committee stage to from 5.00 to 5.15, and the time for the remaining stages of the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill to 5.30. [More…]
As this is a Bill to amend the Constitution, the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution must be observed. [More…]
As 64 honourable members have agreed to the third reading I certify that the third reading has been agreed to by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Australian Country Party would know that last evening I stated that the Speaker has no alternative but to record the number of honourable members in favour of the third reading of any Bill to alter the Constitution. [More…]
It would appear that on this matter everybody in the chamber agrees that everybody entitled to vote for the House of Representatives should be entitled to vote on the question of amending the Constitution. [More…]
It is quite within contemplation that one of the Territories might become a State within the meaning of the Constitution. [More…]
When we are amending the Constitution we ought to propose amendments which will stand for as far ahead as we can contemplate. [More…]
For instance, the founding fathers of Australia’s Constitution certainly would not have expected that after three-quarters of a century there would still be only 6 States. [More…]
On the other hand I would not imagine that there is likely to be more Territories in the sense of the Constitution. [More…]
In those circumstances I believe that the objective that we all have - that is, the giving of a vote on proposals to amend the Constitution to every elector qualified to vote for the House of Representatives - is best secured by removing the limitation contained in the words ‘in each State’. [More…]
As this is a Bill to amend the Constitution, the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution must be observed. [More…]
I refer the honourable member to my second reading speech on the Constitution Alteration (Mode of altering the Constitution) Bill 1974 (Hansard 15 November 1973, pp. [More…]
The Senate’s amendments are not acceptable because they would remove the important provisions of the Bill that would enable the Constitution to be altered by a national majority and a majority in not less than one half of the States. [More…]
These provisions are necessary because the existing requirement of Section 128 of the Constitution (that the proposal to alter the Constitution must be approved by a majority of States as well as a majority of electors voting) has proved a stumbling-block to desirable reforms, as evidenced by the history of proposals to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The other point I wish to make is: Many of us who have listened to the debates in the House and to statements made outside the House should ask ourselves why the Labor Government wants to introduce any amendments at all, because it is well known that the Prime Minister has frequently said, ‘We can never use the Constitution as an alibi for not taking action’. [More…]
In addition, it may be that it is illegal as a contravention of section 48, sub-section 1, paragraph B of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act, which prohibits publication or distribution of untrue or incorrect statements intended or likely to mislead any elector in his vote at a referendum. [More…]
Before the debate on this Bill is resumed I would like to suggest that it may suit the convenience of the House to have a general debate covering this Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill and the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill as they are all associated measures. [More…]
In doing so I invite the attention of honourable members to the second reading speech I have delivered this afternoon in presenting the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974. [More…]
In doing so I invite to the attention of honourable members the second reading speech I have delivered this afternoon in presenting the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974. [More…]
In doing so I invite the attention of honourable members to the second reading speech I have delivered this afternoon in presenting the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974. [More…]
The Bills propose amendments to the Constitution - the document which sets out the powers of this Parliament in relation to the people and to the States. [More…]
I also inform the House that I have advised the Governor-General that in respect of the following proposed laws - Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) 1974, Constitutional Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) 1974, Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) 1974, and Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) 1974 - the conditions in the second paragraph of section 128 of the Constitution have been complied with. [More…]
It was in accordance with the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee in 1958 - the unanimous recommendations of all the members drawn from the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Australian Country Party, and from both Houses. [More…]
It is for that reason that a referendum is being put to the people on 1 8 May so as to adopt the same method of ensuring equal electorates in Australia in both the Federal and State parliaments as the United States Constitution ensures for the Congress and the State legislatures. [More…]
Has the Prime Minister said that he has been under the impression since 14 March that under the Constitution Senator Gair’s seat had been vacated on 14 March? [More…]
The simple answer to the problem is that if the Commonwealth Government has the money today to meet the extra cost of research into road safety, that money should be handed to the State governments - ever if it were tied to section 96 of the Constitution - with a request that the money be spent on road safety. [More…]
They agreed to proceed with the estab- lishment of a Federation and appointed a steering committee to draw up a constitution for further consideration. [More…]
If so, can the Minister say (a) who are the members of CIPEC and (b) what is the organisation’s charter, constitution and purpose. [More…]
This motion has been moved as a result of, to give him due honour, a suggestion by the honourable member for Wentworth (Mr Ellicott) in connection with the application of section 49 of the Constitution in relation to a joint sitting of the Parliament. [More…]
The Senate transmits to the House of Representatives for its information the rules adopted by the Senate for the conduct of the business of a joint sitting with the House of Representatives pursuant to section 37 of the Constitution. [More…]
The result of the division is : Ayes 96, Noes 91.1 declare the proposed law affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives as required by section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
In my opinion, neither section 57 of the Constitution nor the Proclamation authorises the consideration of any other matters by the Joint Sitting. [More…]
1 declare the proposed law affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives as required by section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
I declare the proposed law affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives as required by section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1974-75 totalling $1,670,805,000 for expenditure on: The construction of public works and buildings; the acquisition of sites and buildings; advances and loans; items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure; grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution; and new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
I say that that is not so; the motion was moved for the reasons set out in the Constitution and for the reasons that have motivated 2 other Parliaments, the British and the Canadian parliaments, to do something about this matter. [More…]
The Chair is not responsible for the answer given by a Minister in regard to the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 15 of the Constitution contains the relevant provision and it is probably well known to honourable members. [More…]
One is the role played in the Australian Constitution by conventions. [More…]
All honourable members who have done any reading on the subject would know that the role of conventions in the British tradition of constitutional law is very great indeed. [More…]
It is true that in the Australian Constitution which is in a written form, unlike the British Constitution which is in an unwritten form, the role of the conventions is not as great as it is in Britain. [More…]
There being 64 ayes and 50 noes the question is therefore resolved in the affirmative by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
In accordance with section 58 of the Constitution, the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia returns to the House of Representatives a proposed law intituled: [More…]
I have received a message from His Excellency the Administrator informing the House that His Excellency has, under section 74 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, reserved the Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Bill 1 975 for Her Majesty’s pleasure. [More…]
Does he concur with the view that it is the most historic and far-reaching legislation designed to affect the Australian Constitution introduced into the House of Representatives in 40 years? [More…]
He will be aware that many members of this Parliament, including himself, have had financial agreements or contracts with the Commonwealth- contracts which could be claimed to be in technical breach of the Constitution. [More…]
Surely that is what was intended by the Constitution in stating that the Inter-State Commission should have a trade and commerce power. [More…]
-Will the Prime Minster indicate the provisions of section 57 of the Constitution relating to the rejection of legislation passed in this House? [More…]
The clause with which we are dealing relates only to the constitution of the Commission. [More…]
One might even be bold enough to say that it ought to be the principle embodied in our own Constitution; but that is not for present discussion. [More…]
-There being 65 ayes and 55 noes, the question is therefore resolved in the affirmative by an absolute majority as is required by the Constitution. [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1975-76 totalling $2,268,980,000 for expenditure on: (a) the construction of public works and buildings; (b) the acquisition of sites and buildings; (c) advances and loans; (d) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure; (e) grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution; and (f) new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
Subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court under paragraph 75 (v) of the Constitution, an investigation under this Act, a report or recommendation of the Ombudsman under this Act and an act done by the Ombudsman in connexion with such an investigation- [More…]
The election of senators to fill casual vacancies is covered by section 15 of the Constitution, as was explained in the House yesterday. [More…]
Can the Prime Minister say which Australian Government programs would be affected by a reduction in grants made under section 96 of the Constitution? [More…]
Is the Government giving consideration to conducting a referendum to amend the Constitution to ensure that a casual Senate vacancy is filled by a person endorsed by the political Party of his or her predecessor, particularly in light of the support expressed for this principle by the Leader of the Opposition, the Liberal Deputy Premier of Queensland and the President of the Queensland Liberal Party? [More…]
I ask the Minister for Science and Consumer Affairs: Is it correct that officers of the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne recently received unsolicited copies of the Australian Labor Party Platform, Constitution and Rules, sent to them in departmental envelopes using the internal delivery system of that Bureau? [More…]
The words ‘Constitution of the Telephone Exchange Building in Deakin’ should read ‘Construction of the Telephone Exchange Building in Deakin’. [More…]
The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia is an independent incorporated body controlled, within the terms of its constitution, by an executive committee which is answerable to the general membership of the Service; only Aborigines may be members of the incorporated body. [More…]
This is not a provision of the Constitution, which merely provides a maximum. [More…]
The Constitution specifically gives to the Senate the powers and the concomitant responsibility to bring a government to the judgment of the people if in the opinion of the Senate that government will do serious or irrevocable harm to the people of Australia by remaining in office. [More…]
I restate what I have said this morning and earlier this week, that it is a little early yet to say much more than that, except that I repeat that anything that is done will be done lawfully, within the Constitution and with parliamentary approval. [More…]
the continuing incompetence, evasion, deceit and duplicity of the Prime Minister and his Ministers as exemplified in the overseas loan scandal which was an attempt by the Government to subvert the Constitution, to by-pass Parliament and to evade its responsibilities to the States and the Loan Council; [More…]
There is no term in the Constitution. [More…]
1 ) Section S 1 (xxiiiA) of the Constitution. [More…]
December the seventh meeting of the Polish Communist Party decided to force certain changes in the Polish Constitution? [More…]
That in the opinion of this House the proper adviser of the Governor-General in relation to the discharge of his duties under section 56 of the Constitution insofar as they relate to the appropriation of revenue or moneys for the services of this House is not a Minister but Mr Speaker. [More…]
-Mr Speaker, may I put a question to the Attorney-General concerning the Constitution? [More…]
It is a pity that he, along with the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser), had to go to Oxford to learn about the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It is said that when the Prime Minister was there and was asked about the Australian Constitution people thought he was talking about the effect of horse riding, the diaphragm and the wind. [More…]
The Constitution is something that we all knew about when we studied law in this country. [More…]
Those who have studied constitutional history in this country and all honourable members opposite know that the rules are perfectly straight. [More…]
The proper solution lies in relieving the High Court of some of its present appellate jurisdiction and, to the extent the Constitution permits, of much of its present original jurisdiction, to allow the Court to concentrate on its role as a constitutional court and as the final general court of appeal in Australia. [More…]
Before the debate on this BUI is resumed I suggest it might suit the convenience of the House to have a general debate covering this Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) Bill and the Constitution Alteration (Referendums) Bill as they are associated Bills. [More…]
-As this Bill is a Bill to amend the Constitution, the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution must be observed. [More…]
-As I have informed the House already, as this is a constitution amendment Bill it requires that we record that there is an absolute majority. [More…]
As 1 12 members have agreed to the motion for the third reading, I declare that the third reading has been agreed to by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
-As this Bill is one to amend the Constitution, the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution must be observed. [More…]
I draw the attention of the House to the fact that because this Bill is a Bill which relates to an amendment of the Constitution it is necessary that it be passed with an absolute majority. [More…]
As 1 10 members have agreed to the third reading I declare that the third reading has been agreed to by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
As he would be aware, Standing Committee D of the Australian Constitutional Convention meets this Friday with the prediction that there will not be any resolution of the difference of opinion regarding the Senate’s powers to block Supply or a Budget. [More…]
Has the Government considered a referendum which would seek to change the Constitution so that in the event of the Senate refusing to pass Supply or a Budget a joint sitting of both Houses would be held to attempt to resolve the situation? [More…]
That, bearing in mind the fundamental principles contained in section 92 of the Commonwealth Constitution, this House is of the opinion that it is alien to the concept of federalism if deliberate industrial strike action is instigated for the purpose of interfering, hindering or preventing freedom of trade and commerce between the States or for the purpose ofeffectively isolating one State from the other States and accordingly this House is of the opinion that in defence of the federal system in Australia legislation should be passed by this Parliament at the earliest opportunity to ensure thatthose who choose to contravene the principles of section 92. by isolating States and in particular the State of Tasmania, shall be called upon to publicly answer for their actions and shall be subject to appropriate sanctions in accordance with the law. [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1977-78 totalling $1,329,969,000 for expenditure on the construction of public works and buildings, the acquisition of sites and buildings, advances and loans, items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure, grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution, and new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
1 ) What grants have been made under section 96 of the Constitution to the State Government of Queensland in each of the financial years since 1972. [More…]
Have there been any instances where funds provided to the Queensland Government under section 96 of the constitution have not been spent by that Government and have had to be refunded to the Commonwealth Government; if so, will he supply details of the projects affected and the amounts involved. [More…]
Because the Constitution provides that the salary of the Governor-General will not be altered during his continuance in office, the increased salary becomes payable to the next Governor-General, after he is sworn in in December. [More…]
Following the passage of certain referenda on 2 1 May 1977 was the Commonwealth Constitution altered in certain respects? [More…]
Is it a fact that no amended copy of the Constitution is yet available from the Australian Government Publishing Service. [More…]
Will the Minister use whatever strength of persuasion Australia can muster with the French and British authorities to have a new constitution drafted granting adequate powers of self-government to the local people with new elections to be held as soon as practicable? [More…]
1 ) The International Labour Office has advised that apart from the United States of America and Australia, Canada also has relied on the federal States’ clause in the ILO Constitution (i.e. [More…]
Draft Constitution for a World Parliament (Question No. [More…]
1 ) Has his attention been drawn to a draft constitution for a World Parliament recommended for general circulation and discussion by the World Constitution and Parliament Association at Innsbruck in 1 977. [More…]
The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: ( 1 ), (2) and (3) It is my Government’s view that Australia has been and will continue to be well governed by having as Head of State the Constitutional monarchy provided for in the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that, pursuant to section 66 of the Constitution, provision for the annual sum payable out of Consolidated Revenue for the salaries of Ministers of State is made in the Ministers of State Act 1952-73. [More…]
The responsibility of Permanent Heads under section 25 (2) of the Public Service Act is exercised within the framework of the Constitution which provides that Ministers are appointed to administer Departments of State. [More…]
Would the Government be prepared to use the external affairs power of the Australian Constitution to introduce a Bill of rights? [More…]
My colleague the Minister for Administrative Services advises that since 1971-72 the Queensland Government has made applications for, and received grants of, special financial assistance from the Commonwealth under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
I want to place on record my respectful submission that this amendment may very well be unconstitutional. [More…]
I hope that before the Bill goes to the Senate this provision will be looked at again lest we as a Parliament find ourselves in the situation of not only having broken faith but also having put on the statute book something which involves a clear breach of the Commonwealth Constitution in relation to the confiscation of property without payment of compensation. [More…]
Honourable members ought to be aware that when we talk about the Governor-General under the terms of our Constitution, we are speaking of a single Minister’s decision in this matter. [More…]
This Bill provides for an increase in the sum payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the salaries of Ministers of State, pursuant to section 66 of the Constitution. [More…]
While it is Government policy that the Trade Practices Act should make no distinction between professions and other persons engaged in trade or commerce, the Act does not apply to many professional bodies because of limitations on the Commonwealth’s legislative power under the Constitution. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister whether the Government is prepared to consider a proposition that the Constitution be changed by a simple majority of voters. [More…]
The point which I made and which the honourable member for Dundas failed to mention, was that under the Constitution- I did not refer him to the Bill- a man does not have to be a lawyer to be appointed to the High Court. [More…]
We are controlled by the Constitution. [More…]
Mr Speaker, I wish you would tell the honourable member for Dundas to get down off his pedestal and that in the appointment of a High Court judge we are controlled by the Constitution, not by this legislation. [More…]
It is doing one’s job according to the Constitution. [More…]
Is the Constitution silent on the question of income tax for the very good reason that that tax did not exist at the time of Federation? [More…]
I believe that he is right in his assumption that the Constitution is silent on the question of income tax, but I would point out to him that there have been High Court cases on the subject of the right to levy income tax and that the High Court, as the legally and properly constituted interpreter of the Constitution, has brought down judgments which have led to the present situation. [More…]
While recognising that it is not very easy for the United Nations to do anything under its constitution, how can it work on behalf of countries such as Laos if .nations such as Australia fail to take the initiative on these occasions? [More…]
This is a characteristic of the Swiss constitution and no other. [More…]
No speech could be more calculated to barm a major institution which has been set up under our Constitution, Fortunately, it will not do the harm it was calculated to do because, pitched in such exaggerated and extreme terms, it is identified as being quite irresponsible and uninformed. [More…]
Institute and its constitution. [More…]
The Constitution prohibits discrimination in taxation matters between them. [More…]
In questions of power, let no more be beard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution. [More…]
And bound down by the Constitution both State and Federal Parliaments have been. [More…]
I do not deny the very real protection the Constitution has given individuals and groups, but it is a horse and buggy constitution for a space ship age. [More…]
There is no more fascinating story than the development of our Australian Constitution and the great struggles and the conventions which were held in developing it. [More…]
Eventually it was the propertied gentlemen who decided the main principles of our Constitution, taking what was best from the States and giving it to the Federal Government and leaving a suitable environment for themselves in the State field. [More…]
But as 1 have mentioned, although the Constitution does reflect the attitudes of that time, times have changed considerably. [More…]
Do we leave this unsatisfactory situation as the apologia at all levels for defects in government performance or do we show the same drive and imagination that led the fathers of our Constitution to hold their great, and for those days representative, conventions, to find common grounds for the alterations that are needed? [More…]
This has in fact been the pattern in Australia, where we have observed an increasing Federal dominance of the system as Federal governments have come to realise the extent of the power which the Constitution, as interpreted, bestowed on them. [More…]
The law made by this Parliament for the safety and the maintenance of the Constitution and the government of the country - I am not referring to the government of the country in terms of the Executive who sit on the front bench here, but the government in the wider sense - is the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1940-60. [More…]
There is no sacredness in our Constitution. [More…]
The United States constitution was forged on the anvil of a war of independence and it was hammered into shape by new concepts of democracy. [More…]
Set out in that constitution as an ideal was the inalienable right of all men to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. [More…]
Their Constitution was framed at a time when they were fighting a war of independence; framed at a time when they were beginning a new concept in democracy. [More…]
Our Constitution is a pedestrian document, a concession by parochial politicians, not hammered out in the circumstances that distinguished the situation at the time of the framing of the American constitution. [More…]
It has never seriously looked at the real needs irrespective of State and Commonwealth spheres of direct responsibility, nor has it established rational criteria for making specific grants under section 96 of the Constitution - hence things like the Ord scheme. [More…]
The need for the Commonwealth Government to exercise the powers granted it by the Parliament and the people in the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Act of 1967 to rehabilitate the Aboriginal people, and in particular to rectify the grave malnutrition revealed in the Medical Journal of Australia of 21st February 1970. [More…]
Of course, if we look at the facts, the return of writs fell due on 24th November and it was necessary that the House should meet within 30 days thereof in order to comply with the Constitution. [More…]
To comply with the Constitution Parliament assembled for 1 day to enable members to be sworn in and it then adjourned. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that section 51 (xxxiv) of the Constitution empowers the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to railway construction in a State with the consent of that State. [More…]
In a nation blessed - as I believe we are - with a federal constitution this is seldom an easy task, for in this life, few blessings are unmixed. [More…]
What makes it all the more reprehensible is the fact that the Commonwealth is jettisoning a clear responsibility under placitum 51(xxiiiA) of the Constitution, which clearly commits the Commonwealth to providing social services for the Australian community. [More…]
Admittedly the Constitution does not say that the benefits must be at an adequate standard to guarantee a reasonable living to those receiving them, but surely this is a moral obligation which no government should seek to avoid. [More…]
Almost three-quarters of a century has passed since the debate, to which I have referred, on the adoption of the Constitution and the resulting federation of the 6 independent colonies. [More…]
One of the most important problems of the future is in regard to the Constitution under which we live. [More…]
This Constitution which suited the federation of 6 independent colonies 70 years ago, which suited the growth and development of those colonies into States of the Commonwealth, no longer adequately suits the new visions and new concepts which we must adopt to permit our nation to face the next century, to provide for our future generations and for the role we must fill in this south east Asian section of our globe. [More…]
I should have liked him to have gone a little further on the question of federation and the Constitution. [More…]
He never achieved this objective, but finally a compromise was arrived at, resulting in the Commonwealth Constitution Act being passed. [More…]
As we all know, the Constitution was approved by Her Majesty the Queen on 9th July 1900 and was limited to certain powers, which have been added to in several ways since then. [More…]
I quote from the Australian Labor Party’s ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ for 1969 as approved by the Commonwealth Conference at Melbourne. [More…]
There is little doubt that, both under the trade and commerce powers and the external affairs powers in the Constitution, it could have implemented the international Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil in 1954. [More…]
I would have thought that under the defence power in the Constitution the [More…]
I might add that I have here the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party as approved by the 28th Conference 1969, which was held in Melbourne. [More…]
Earlier tonight the very likeable member for Ryan (Mr Drury) referred to the Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
I have with me the Party’s ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
There was no question about the width of its power under the Constitution. [More…]
The Commonwealth itself, under the Constitution, can make laws in respect of ‘foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth’. [More…]
I rather believe that the High Court might now be inclined to give to this power some of the generous interpretation that it has given to the arbitration power or to section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
We have the power under the Constitution to do this. [More…]
The Commonwealth should not only undertake immediately to see that all pensioners can travel throughout the Commonwealth but also honour its responsibility under the Constitution and make the money available to those States which will not or cannot pay the money necessary to provide this concession. [More…]
At the same time 1 must say that I am disappointed that, in an area such as this where obviously there will be a continuing need for action to be taken to ensure that, as far as the Constitution of Australia will allow, the Commonwealth should exercise authority, the amendment should mention the repeal of the legislation. [More…]
The fact of the matter is that the Minister will not admit that, instead of accepting his responsibility under the Constitution for the welfare of the aged, he is passing the buck onto voluntary institutions from one end of this country to the other. [More…]
Provision has been made for the constitution of review tribunals by persons residing outside Australia to deal with requests for review by officers stationed overseas or locally engaged overseas staff. [More…]
If honourable members opposite had even a basic knowledge of constitutional law they would know that the High Court has said that implicit in the Australian Constitution is the separation of the executive and the legislative functions of government. [More…]
Other nations, too, noting the preoccupation by the honourable member for Moreton with African governments and his evidence before the Rhodesian regime’s Constitution Commission, will draw their own conclusions from the fact that he has now been appointed to the Australian Ministry, and a defence portfolio at that. [More…]
Meanwhile officials of each pistol club in the Territory have adopted a constitution recommended by the Police and have accepted police supervision and advice as to their ranges, the type of pistols to be used, safety measures, etc. [More…]
The Speaker has ruled that to a question declaring the expediency of establishing a tribunal for the purpose of inquiring into a definite matter of urgent public importance, which followed the directions of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act, 1921, an amendment to add another subject for inquiry would not be relevant, but an amendment relating to the constitution of the tribunal has been allowed. [More…]
At dusk, after the mass demonstration had ended, a small segment of the crowd, members of radical splinter groups, moved across Constitution Avenue to the Labour and Justice Department buildings where they burned United States flags, threw paint bombs and other missiles and were repelled by tear gas released by the police. [More…]
They seem to think that all the ordinary citizen has to do is to vote once every 2 or 3 years and then leave everything to the Constitution and to those who happen to be elected to Parliament. [More…]
The place to make political points is in the forums established under the Constitution for that purpose. [More…]
It was ultra vires the Constitution. [More…]
Does he realise that the Constitution has permitted the Commonwealth to provide such medical services not only since the 1967 referendum but ever since the 1946 referendum? [More…]
It is worthy of note that the Constitution made some effort to provide for the division of financial resources. [More…]
The Transkei Constitution Act 1963, established the first partially self-governing homeland or Bantustan in the Transkei. [More…]
But I repeat that, alike in the United States and Canada, the Constitution was held to vest exclusive off-shore control in the Federation, as the Government asserts in the present Bill here; the concessions to the States and Provinces were not required by law but were made as the result of political decisions, the question of legal authority having already been answered in the Federation’s favour. [More…]
The basis of the constitutional compromise of 1967 was criticised by some at the time, and honourable members will recall thai one of the terms of reference of a select committee of the Senate, appointed after the passage of the 1967 Act, was to report on the constitutional aspects of the petroleum legislation. [More…]
Subsequent events have served to underline the strength of the view which indeed the Commonwealth had put to the States during the earlier discussions, that strictly in point of law the Constitution would permit the Commonwealth to go it alone in ihe whole off-shore area below low-water mark, including both the territorial sea and the continental shelf. [More…]
Then a year ago, in an address to the Australian Conservation Foundation, Sir Percy Spender, Q.C., a distinguished former Commonwealth Minister and member of this House who later became President of the International Court of Justice, expressed the view that the off-shore rights of the Commonwealth under the Australian Constitution were as complete and as exclusive of the rights of the States as those established by the Supreme Court of Canada as belonging there to the Federation. [More…]
What the Bill necessarily implies is that henceforward the off-shore legislative powers of the States must always be read as subject, by reason of section 109 of the Constitution, to the. [More…]
The Commonwealth itself imposed death duty in 1914, authority arising from explicit reference in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Mr CONNOR (Cunningham) [10.52)- I do not propose either to butter up the parliamentary draftsmen or to slap them down, but rather to tender them my sympathy for the circumscribed area in which the Commonwealth Constitution allows them to operate. [More…]
As a matter of fact the difficulties are so great that in many respects a parliamentary draftsman, functioning under our present Constitution, is required to be a cartoonist rather than a portrait painter. [More…]
We have to realise that we are functioning under a limited Constitution. [More…]
Unless and until we get a truly national constitution we can expect as we pass into the 1970s and beyond that the difficulties of draftsmanship will intensify and the relevance of our Constitution to the new age into which we have now entered will become more in doubt. [More…]
Let us take in particular some of the more outstanding and more crass examples of the irrelevance of our Constitution to present day conditions. [More…]
The little bit of a mortal layman’s language in this case has been literally responsible for the perversion and frustration of the whole of major sections of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution provides for the imposition of uniform customs duties and states that trade and commerce between the States should be absolutely free. [More…]
That brick wall is the limitations of the fathers of the Constitution, their lack of perspective and their inability to foresee some 80 years ago the needs of a modern national state in an age of science, in an age of technology, and 1 hope in an age of enlightenment. [More…]
I do not want to delay the House unduly, but I would particularly cite one instance of the absurdities we can reach in terms of constitutional arrangements. [More…]
Our Constitution today is productive of subterfuge. [More…]
Unless and until we can get to a point where our draftsmen can do no more than help governments to subvert or to get around the Constitution this Parliament will be an exercise in legal frustration. [More…]
This is more or less illegal trading of wheat, using the provision in section 92 of the Constitution, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it if the wheat is going across a State border. [More…]
It is used in the Northern Territory (Administration) Act, Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act, Christmas Island Act, Norfolk Island Act, Papua and New Guinea Act, the Constitution Acts of the States and, in respect of specified subjects, in the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
The honourable member will know the aid that is given to independent schools is by way of grants under section 96 of the Constitution and these grants are given by the Commonwealth to State governments upon condition that they apply them towards the schools in the way mentioned. [More…]
Many members of the medical profession seem to think that the Constitution is an effective bar to the nationalisation of medicine as in England, but there are at least 2 ways in which the Constitution can be circumvented by a Socialist government determined on nationalisation. [More…]
When dealing with the registration of funds there is still no obligation on them to let members have any say in them or even for members to know the directors, the method of election or even the constitution. [More…]
the Attorney-General (Mr Hughes), both of whom are at the table, can reassure us on this - the Constitution would not permit the nationalisation of the medical profession. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party has no intention of waiting until the Constitution has been amended by referendum before it undertakes to do something about a national health scheme. [More…]
Under section 120 of the Constitution the States are under an obligation to detain prisoners convicted of offences against Commonwealth laws. [More…]
Of course, the Corporation has to be constitutional. [More…]
of clause 6 does not limit the constitution. [More…]
The drafter has or drafters have maximised the use of constitutional power. [More…]
They have used protective clauses so that we do not go beyond the constitutional power. [More…]
We know that this Parliament is covered under section 51 of the Constitution as regards constitutional power. [More…]
Personally I would like to have seen this achieved in harmony and goodwill with the States, with perhaps the Commonwealth paying the expenses of the court case because it is not possible under our Constitution, as I understand it, for there to be any kind of hypothetical judgment or hypothetical case presented for judgment by the High Court, and some kind of actual litigation must proceed. [More…]
The short title - Immigration (Education) Act 1970 - indicates that the source of power for the Bill derives from the immigration provision in the Constitution. [More…]
The definition of an ‘independent school’ is consistent with the similar definition used in the Act which provide financial assistance for independent schools under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Constitution the Commonwealth Government, following ratification of such a Convention, makes declarations in respect of its non-metropolitan territories indicating the extent to which it undertakes to apply the provisions of the Convention. [More…]
The ALP still intends to nationalise, and I quote from page 10 of that Party’s Platform Constitution and Rules’, as approved in 1969, for ‘nationalisation of banking, credit and insurance*. [More…]
Now we will hear them say that the Constitution places limitations on them; that they, the Labor Party, will be restricted only insofar as they can get round the Constitution. [More…]
Section 122 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act provides, in part, that the Parliament may allow the representation for any Territory in either House of the Parliament to the extent and on the terms which it thinks fit. [More…]
They may take as long to evolve their constitution as Australia did to evolve its constitution, and we took from 1891 to 1901 - 10 years. [More…]
There are no Australian citizens under the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The Australian Constitution acknowledges a person only as the subject of the Queen - a British subject. [More…]
Committees must deal not’ only with the realities of the Parliament, but with the realities of the Constitution. [More…]
Just as committees cannot subvert the parties, they cannot circumvent the Constitution. [More…]
The American Constitution in particular prescribes and proscribes in a way ours does not. [More…]
The American Constitution prescribes that the Senate shall advise and consent on a great range of matters, from the treaty making powers of the President to his powers of appointment. [More…]
The American Constitution proscribes a member of the Cabinet from being a member of the Congress; ours of course prescribes what the American proscribes. [More…]
The authority for the constitution of a Promoions Appeal Committee is to be found in section 50 of he Public Service Act 1922-1968 and Public Service Regulation 109d(1) which reads: [More…]
Under the Constitution this is entrusted to this Parliament. [More…]
We must not overlook - this is a point that was adverted to in the 1968 debate - the implications of section 41 of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
However, there is a countervailing consideration to which ] referred when I made my speech in the debate on the second reading of the Leader of the Opposition’s Bill in 1968, which is that when one is endeavouring to construe a written constitution one is permitted, consistent with the authorities to regard it as to some extent being ambulatory in relation to the meaning of its terms, lt is not easy to determine what is the meaning of the word ‘adult’ in this section of the Constitution. [More…]
By the inevitability of gradualness, sometime, somewhere, somehow we will ultimately get legislation in both of these fields; but in the meantime the question of section 41 of the Constitution seems to crop up like King Charles’s head whenever there is a debate. [More…]
In constitutional matters - I am speaking now of section 41 - the modern tendency, which I think is hallowed by authority, is to regard a written constitution as a living, organic document which is allowed, as it were, to some extent - albeit a limited extent - to grow with the times. [More…]
Referring particularly to the use of the world ‘adult’ in section 41 of the Constitution I would venture very tentatively to suggest that it would be difficult today to deny to the word ‘adult’ appearing in section 41 a construction which would include 18-year-old people. [More…]
However, section 92 of the Constitution prevents interference with over the border sales of any commodity, but we still have to try to find a solution to this problem. [More…]
I believe (hat this method could well succeed provided that we gel round any constitutional problems that may be involved. [More…]
The Constitution does no: give the Commonwealth any power in this area and it remains one of the sovereign rights of the States to control production and to determine prices. [More…]
Secondly, the Bill amends the constitution of the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority. [More…]
For instance, in terms of the Constitution the Commonwealth is exempt from the payment of rates to local authorities, but both the Commonwealth Government itself and its authorities have as a matter of practice made ex gratia payments on a very wide scale. [More…]
It is true that many public authorities everywhere would like to receive larger rates or raise a number of specific issues, but the fact is that the Commonwealth, although it is not obliged to do so under the Constitution, makes large ex gratia payments to local authorities in lieu of rates. [More…]
Most of these are embodied in specific agreements and in fact do not flow directly from the Constitution. [More…]
It is my view, and 1 believe my Party’s attitude, that it will be necessary to solve this problem financially by grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
He forgets the origin of the Snowy Mountains scheme - the fact that the Constitution provided a certain basis for the establishment of the scheme. [More…]
There has been reference to defence powers and constitutional approaches but fundamentally there was a starting point which made the scheme possible. [More…]
The founders of the Constitution recognised that the River Murray had a particular significance in this continent. [More…]
We are told thai water development is a Stale function under the Constitution. [More…]
I don’t agree with any of these constitutional reasons because they are all hooey talk from those who don’t want national development.’ [More…]
If need be, let us go to the people with a view to an alteration of the Constitution, even if only on this issue. [More…]
constitution of hospital boards comprised of three nominated and five elected members. [More…]
To honourable members on the other side of the House who talk about these things I say: ‘Do not lose sight of the fact that we have a Constitution in the Commonwealth. [More…]
We have 6 State constitutions in relation to marketing. [More…]
Let us not forget the Constitution. [More…]
Anything it does has to be in line with the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
After that, the Territory’s Legislative Council and first House of Assembly appointed constitution committees and the present House of Assembly has appointed a further committee which has conferred with him and me and some of his colleagues and mine. [More…]
What is proposed here is a scheme by which the Commonwealth will collect, on behalf of the States, taxes which, if levied separately by the States, would be regarded as unconstitutional. [More…]
The decisions in those cases were that a large part of the receipt taxes that were being imposed by the States of Victoria and Western Australia were unconstitutional because they were, in the view of the High Court, excise taxes, and the Constitution provides that only the Commonwealth may levy an excise. [More…]
Then there is a Bill to deal with excise and one to deal with customs, as the Constitution provides that only one subject of taxation can be dealt with in each measure. [More…]
Under the Constitution, this is the only way in which the States can be satisfied. [More…]
The origins of this legislation lie in the High Court’s decision that a receipts duty can be an excise or customs duty in terms of section 90 of the Constitution, which makes the right to levy such duties exclusive to the Commonwealth. [More…]
In the Bill before the House at present not only is a change proposed in the general constitution of the Australian Stevedoring Industry Authority but also an attempt is made to cure some of the problems associated with administration. [More…]
I think we have enshrined it in the Constitution and in the social service amendments carried back in 1946 or 1947 - ‘subject to the fact that there shall be no civil conscription’, I think the words are. [More…]
This Bill contains details of the proposed appropriations for expenditure on: (a) the construction of public works and buildings; (b) the acquisition of sites and buildings: (c) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure: (d) grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution; and (e) new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
The 9 amending Bills are necessary because the sales tax is imposed by 9 separate Acts to meet the requirement of the Constitution that an Act imposing taxation shall deal with one subject of taxation only. [More…]
Ltd. ex parte Federated Miscellaneous Workers’ Union of Australia (97 C.L.R at page 87) express the view that the system of registration governing the Constitution. [More…]
If so, has consideration been given to the question whether section SI of the Constitution could be used by the Commonwealth, following the example of the uniform legislation relating to life insurance passed in 1945, to pass uniform legislation in the field of third party insurance. [More…]
As the honourable member is no doubt aware, water conservation under our Federal Constitution is the responsibility of the State Governments and as a consequence the Commonwealth Government is not in a position to set priorities for these works. [More…]
The present quorum of one-third is fixed by section 39 of the Commonwealth Constitution which provides: [More…]
The Committee recommends that legislative action in accordance with the Constitution be taken to effect this reduction. [More…]
Honourable members will note that there are some differences between the extent and nature of the representation which the Bill provides for each Territory and those which the Constitution requires for the States. [More…]
The Constitution lays down requirements as to the term of senators representing the States. [More…]
The Constitution (eaves it to this Parliament to determine the terms of senators representing the Territories. [More…]
Accordingly I have adapted the method which was unanimously agreed to 12 years ago by the Constitutional Review Committee upon which both sides of both Houses were represented. [More…]
The Committee recommended that the Constitution should be amended to provide for an election for half the senators every time there was an election for the House of Representatives. [More…]
It will be remembered that the Constitution provides in section 122 as follows: [More…]
It is true that in one respect - money matters; the public sector - the Constitution deprives the Senate of initiative. [More…]
The Prime Minister as a matter of practice and the Treasurer, one would think, as a matter of constitutional requirement, must belong to the House of Representatives. [More…]
Having acknowledged this - and my Party endorses these limitations which our Constitution places upon the Senate - one should also acknowledge that in all other matters the powers of the Senate are equal to those of this chamber. [More…]
The Constitution requires this as regards the States; it permits it as regards the Territories. [More…]
I can really understand why it is that the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party has difficulty in interpreting the platform, constitution and rules of the Federal Conference of the ALP. [More…]
1 say that, having read this document which sets out the platform, constitution and rules of the Labor Party and having heard the Leader of the Opposition give an interpretation of Federal Conference policy in respect of the abolition of the Senate. [More…]
I am quoting this time from the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ as approved by the Federal Conference in Melbourne in 1969. [More…]
Referring to the amendment of the Commonwealth Constitution, section IV3 (a) (ii) uses the words: to abolish the Senate. [More…]
I wish to say something about the Commonwealth Constitution and the Senate in the fi rst place. [More…]
Section 7 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The Constitution provides further that, initially, there should be 6 senators for each original State but, by virtue of section 7, the Parliament may make laws increasing or diminishing the number of senators for each State but so that equal representation of the several original States shall be maintained and that no original State shall have less than 6 senators. [More…]
The Senate is probably the most important federal feature of the Constitution in the sense of uniting several co-equal political communities under a common system of government. [More…]
The Constitution ensures this equality in respect of the original States. [More…]
By virtue of section 121 of the Constitution, the Federal Parliament: [More…]
I now turn for a moment to the constitutional provisions in respect of Territory representation. [More…]
Pursuant to section 122 of the Constitution, the Commonwealth Parliament may make laws for the government of any territory surrendered by any State to and accepted by the Commonwealth, or of any territory placed by the Queen under the authority of and accepted by the Commonwealth, or otherwise acquired by the Commonwealth, and may allow the representation of such territory in either House of the Parliament to the extent, and on the terms, which it thinks fit. [More…]
Honourable members will have noted the difference in terminology between sections 121 and 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
In this connection honourable members may be interested to hear extracts from the National Australasian Convention debates in Adelaide on 20th April 1897 where the Constitution was being framed. [More…]
The speakers were dealing with an amendment which had been moved by Sir Edward Braddon, Premier of Tasmania, to the effect that Territory representation in the Parliament should be in accordance with the ratio of representation provided in the Constitution - that is, for the States. [More…]
I will now refer briefly to a further section of the Constitution which perhaps should be considered in conjunction with this Bill. [More…]
The number of members chosen in each State is, subject to the provision of the Constitution - which incidentally requires a minimum of 5 members for each original State - determined by dividing the number of people in the State as shown in the certificcate by the quota. [More…]
Effective and balanced Senate representation is a constitutional right of each original State. [More…]
Honourable members will know that State rights provided by the Constitution have always been carefully preserved by each of the 6 States. [More…]
While no formal decision has been taken in the matter it can be said that the Government, bearing in mind the provisions of section 122 of the Constitution, favours the principle of providing representation for a Territory commensurate with its development and its population growth, but it considers that the present time is not appropriate to introduce senatorial representation for each Territory as proposed by the Bill. [More…]
You can call that a constitution for the Territories if you like. [More…]
I ask him: How long would it take to include these younger citizens on the electoral rolls for any State where they are given adulthood rights and a vote for the more numerous house of the State Parliament and where, under section 41 of the Constitution, they cannot be prevented from voting at elections for either House of this Parliament? [More…]
One of the Australian Labor Party’s major aims is to clothe the Commonwealth Parliament with unlimited powers and with the duty and authority to create States possessing delegated constitutional powers. [More…]
I could go on quoting items from the constitution and rules of the Australian Labor Party which are, in my opinion, all designed to destroy financial freedom, incentive and ambition of the individual. [More…]
Nevertheless, putting all this to one side, one has only to pick up this wonder book, the manifesto of the Australian Labor Party, the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules of the ALP’ as approved by the 28th Commonwealth Conference. [More…]
Our Constitution and our courts guarantee this. [More…]
black marketing; it is quite legitimate under section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in “Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife that is endangered through any cause. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution.’ [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbec, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are Contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ Page 951); and. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as I. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly al) nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being “part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay: and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Austalian Constitution’, page 951): and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact thai historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay, and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than R0 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries n the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the tact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in “Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
I hat their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. O. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in “Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951) and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is die acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land* (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951) and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly ali nations which have perished have done- so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ Page 951): and [More…]
No one person as of today can be certain of what will be tomorrow the fields of validity in the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ Page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as S. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, Page 951); and [More…]
ANZUS, of which so much is said, is most substantial because, allowing for wording made necessary by the United States Constitution, the moral obligation, and what is understood by all parties, is a strong one and a military one. [More…]
The repeated excuse of defence offered by the Government for its negative refusal to adjust progressively the levels of farm production to realistic market demands is that such action is the exclusive right under the Constitution of the States. [More…]
On my return I noticed a tremendous change in the constitution of the Parliament. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
There is provision in the Constitution for a quorum of one-third. [More…]
As I understand the position the Bill had to be passed because previously the quorum was fixed under the provisions of the Constitution with a proviso that it would remain at that figure until such time as Parliament decided otherwise. [More…]
Therefore, would not a solution be to leave the Constitution as it is and maintain a quorum of one-third? [More…]
Act 1968 is vulnerable to challenge under section 51 (xxxi) and sections 92 and 96 of the Constitution? [More…]
As honourable members will be aware the United States has a different basic constitution and a separation exists between the legislature and the Executive; yet Congress is of crucial importance to us in Australia, especially its attitude to foreign affairs and certainly its attitude to the existence of trade barriers. [More…]
After long deliberation the joint committee brought down a report which dealt with a review of the Constitution. [More…]
Nothing has been done about the report by the Parliament since then and the Federal Constitution is such today that it almost inhibits good government. [More…]
I suggest that the honourable member should acquaint himself with the contents of this report related to constitutional reform. [More…]
I cannot recall whether the honourable member was a member of this House when that committee made its deliberations, but the fact is that it is shameful that this document should have been available for so long yet the Government, or for that matter the Parliament, has not seen fit to look at the Committee’s recommendations and to try to put some life into our Constitution which would be hardly fit for the horse and buggy days when it was written. [More…]
It may have been better had it been left until after 1910 when I am quite confident the Constitution would not have been in the form it is in today. [More…]
Constitutionally in Australia an elected government of whatever political persuasion has unlimited and unfettered powers of monetary and fiscal policy. [More…]
The Australian Loan Fund is as old as the Constitution itself. [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife that is endangered through any cause. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that histotrians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in “Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 9S1); and [More…]
J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
We can argue that under the Constitution we cannot pay differential subsidies. [More…]
If the honourable member asks the Attorney-General (Mr Hughes) he will be told in no uncertain terms that it is against the spirit of the Constitution; I think those are the words he uses. [More…]
The Minister said that some real progress had been made towards the establishment of a democratic society in South Vietnam and that under the constitution in South Vietnam individuals have the right to a prompt and public trial. [More…]
That provisional government set up a constitution on which the present bicameral system in South Vietnam is based. [More…]
Every 2 years the Labor Party produces a booklet entitled ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution,’ page 951); and [More…]
On the other hand the development of community based field services operated by regional departments of social welfare will be fostered by direct special grants under section 96 of the Constitution to State governments, local authorities and voluntary agencies. [More…]
This was recommended unanimously by the Constitutional Review Committee in 1958 and again in 1959. [More…]
It was unanimous in recommending that the Constitution should be altered to have one company law for Australia. [More…]
It sets out the constitution of the committee, the tenure of office of members of the committee, and then it provides for resignations, the filling of vacancies, the election of a chairman and vice-chairman, the number of members who would form a quorum, the procedure at meetings, the sitting of the committee during recess, the power of the committee to send for persons, papers and records, the powers, privileges and immunities of the committee and the functions of the committee. [More…]
Thattheir concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianity which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being ‘part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
That their concern arises partly from the fact that historians, such as J. D. Unwin and Arnold Toynbee, have shown that nearly all nations which have perished have done so because of internal moral decay; and partly because obscenity and indecency are contrary to the teachings of Christianty which is the acknowledged religion of more than 80 per cent of Australians, besides being part and parcel of the law of the land’ (Quick and Garran in ‘Commentaries on the Australian Constitution’, page 951); and [More…]
The Commonwealth’s role in education, apart from its role in the Territories, is a comparatively new one compared with those matters given to the Commonwealth under the Constitution. [More…]
We know that the Senate votes on party lines although it was considered by those who drafted the Constitution that it should represent the States. [More…]
It is the ‘Platform Constitution and Rules of the Australian Labor Party’. [More…]
What is needed, of course, is a constitutional change and the introduction of comprehensive federal company law. [More…]
At the moment section 51, placitum (xx), of the Constitution confers on the Parliament legislative powers with respect to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations -formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The first test of this section of the Constitution occurred when the High Court of Australia considered the case of Huddart Parker & Co. Pty Ltd v Moorehead in 1909. [More…]
The Royal Commission on the Constitution in 1929 and the High Court deliberations on the banking case in 1948 also confirmed the opinion that was expressed by the High Court in the case Huddart Parker & Co. Pty Ltd v. Moorehead. [More…]
The Joint Committee on Constitutional Review in its report in 1959 pointed out that the existing Australian company law legislation consisting of Acts of the 6 States and the company ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory exhibited areas of wide divergence that in the view of the Committee could only be overcome by the introduction of comprehensive Federal company law legislation. [More…]
The Committee recommended this course in its report but the Liberals failed to take any action to secure the necessary constitutional change. [More…]
As the Constitution stands at the moment this Parliament is virtually powerless to take any action in respect of companies, unless of course a company is incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory. [More…]
The Commonwealth does have an alternate but less desirable option open to it in relation to controls over companies searching and mining for minerals with a view to export, that is, to use its power under section- 51, placitum (i), of the Constitution to make laws with respect to trade and commerce with other countries, and among the States’. [More…]
.Government to flounder around pointing the bone at State governments and State Ministers for Mines when it itself could overcome its constitutional impediments by , the method I have just outlined. [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife that is endangered through any cause. [More…]
As there has been no referendum on conscription, as there is no state of war and as there are a number of servicemen who are prepared to defend this country but who are unable or unwilling to serve in Vietnam, will the Minister arrange for a test case, by way of a stated case, to be submitted to the High Court to determine whether the legislation which compels servicemen to fight in Vietnam in a time of peace is within the ambit of the defence power of the Constitution? [More…]
I think that the firstpoint to make to answer this question is that there is no power under the Constitution for a stated case to be made to the High Court. [More…]
Possession of Australian citizenship does not, of itself, prevent a person from being regarded as an immigrant’ and as such being denied entry to Australia under laws relating to ‘immigration’ within the meaning of the Constitution. [More…]
It has been held by the High Court that a person wishing to show that he is not an ‘immigrant’, and that he cannot constitutionally be excluded from Australia, has to show that he is ‘a constituent member of the Australian community’ or, in other words, that he ‘has his homein Australia, This means that people in the External Territories, who have not previously lived in Australia, can be as a matter of law prevented from coming to the mainland. [More…]
There is a tiny minority of aliens in the Army whose constitutional position is different, but what I am about to say applies to the overwhelming majority, namely, that they are subjects of the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, according to the covering clauses of the Constitution and other clauses within it. [More…]
Under Section 114 of the Constitution property of the Crown in right of Hie Commonwealth is not subject to local government rating. [More…]
In the Australian Labor Party platform on tax, the Australian Labor Party never mentions these most basic principles that must animate any taxation system.- I refer to the Platform, Constitution and [More…]
In regard to Aboriginal advancement the Commonwealth Government does not have exclusive powers or responsibilities but, as in other matters provided under section 51 of the Constitution, it shares these with the States, subject, of course, to the proviso that in case of conflict of Federal and State laws, it is the Federal law which prevails. [More…]
It thus draws on the external affairs power under the Constitution to cover any apparent deficiency of a power that might otherwise have existed. [More…]
It is sometimes forgotten that the Commonwealth’s power over social services comes under section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
The fact is - I believe this to be the main reason why the amendment should be opposed - that the State governments which under the Constitution are responsible for mental health, have not asked for what the Opposition has proposed. [More…]
All of the Stales have competent mental health authorities in accordance with their responsibilities under the Constitution. [More…]
Decentralisation and regional development is primarily a State responsibility under the Constitution. [More…]
The constitutional function and authority of the Commission flows directly from section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
In conclusion, I want to say this: Unless the Commission is permitted to fulfil the role given to it by the Constitution, with an apparent as well as actual, impartiality, 1 am afraid it is destined to just melt away, to be remembered by historians as a dream that might have become a reality but for a Prime Minister’s prostitution of his political power. [More…]
I would have thought that the honourable member had been in this House long enough to have read the Commonwealth Constitution which, of course, illustrates quite clearly that this Government has no power whatsoever - except under the Defence Act - to fix prices. [More…]
It is therefore quite wrong to say that this Government has not taken any action relating to the control of prices; under our Constitution it has no power to do so. [More…]
Its power flows from section 51, placitum XXXV of the Constitution. [More…]
If one cares to grab hold of that powerful, forward looking document known as the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party- [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife that is endangered through any cause. [More…]
Pursuant to section 14 of the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1933-1966, I present the thirty-seventh report (1970) and supplement of the Commonwealth Grants Commission on applications made by States for financial assistance under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Commonwealth has wide enough powers under its insurance powers as et down in the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
I would like to refer to the book containing the constitution, rules and platform of the Australian Labor Party and particularly to page 20. which under the heading ‘Social Welfare’ deals with pensions. [More…]
That is what we are considering at the moment - for example, which are lower in Queensland, would mean the possibility of contravening section 51 (ii) of the Constitution. [More…]
Again, I do not know whether this Bill contravenes section 51 (ii) of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not know whether the examination should take place on the basis of a constitutional convention, which is very difficult to secure once the Constitution has been formed. [More…]
We found that with, I believe, 17 barristers in court in the case of the Western Australian Government versus Chamberlain Industries Ltd, and with the court office selling the judgments at S27 a set, the outcome of it all was that duties imposed by the various States on receipts of payments in whole or in part on sales of goods manufactured in Australia - and this came to mean even assembled in Australia - are duties of excise within the meaning of Section 90 of the Constitution and therefore invalid. [More…]
But they are limited by the Constitution in what they would like to do and what they know they ought lo do. [More…]
In May 1957 petitions were lodged in the Parliament which were directed towards changing the Constitution to place the responsibility for the advancement of Aboriginals in this Parliament. [More…]
This was done by removing the discriminatory provision from section 51 of the Commonwealth Constitution to enable Aboriginal people to be counted in the census and, more importantly, so that the Commonwealth could make laws for Aboriginals. [More…]
As far as the constitutional powers or rights of the Commonwealth to act in such cases is concerned, I say that no doubt exists because nearly all shipping in Australian waters is engaged in trade and commerce with other countries and among the States and therefore can be made subject to Commonwealth laws. [More…]
Little doubt exists that both under the trade and commerce powers and the external affairs powers in the Commonwealth Constitution the Commonwealth itself could have implemented the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil of 1954. [More…]
The other part of the honourable gentleman’s question concerned, I think, the operation of section 92 of the t Constitution in relation to arrangements between the Hamersley company and the Western Australian Government. [More…]
Mr Speaker, the failure of the Federal Government’s monetary and fiscal policies to halt the insidious increase in costs and prices throughout the nation demands that the Government be given constitutional powers to intervene directly in Australian industry for the regulation of prices of basic industrial commodities such as steel, aluminium, oil, petrol and chemicals. [More…]
The Commonwealth has no direct powersof price control under the Constitution. [More…]
Section 128 of the Commonwealth Constitution provides machinery under which either the Senate or the House of Representatives, despite the opposition of the other House, may submit any question to the people of Australia, for their consideration. [More…]
The honourable member for Cunningham touched also on the subject of price control and the Constitution. [More…]
I remind the House of the report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review which reported to this Parliament in November 1959, almost 11 years ago, and entirely overlooked by the Minister for Primary Industry (Mr Anthony). [More…]
Regrettably, we do not find such action taken by the present Federal Government, in spite of the fact that the Constitutional Review Committee contained a majority of Government members. [More…]
Of course, basically under the Constitution the primary responsibility for water conservation rests with the State governments. [More…]
This Bill is designed to meet the constitutional position disclosed by the decision of the High Court of Australia given last June in Worthing v. Rowell and Muston Pty Ltd and Others. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
For constitutional reasons, some exceptions must be made to the application of State provisions as they stand, lt will therefore be necessary to make regulations modifying the applied provisions so that they can operate effectively. [More…]
For example, it will be necessary to modify provisions of State laws that confer judicial power on bodies that are not courts within the meaning of Chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
Having regard to section 41 of the Constitution, is there an obligation on the Commonwealthto reduce the voting age for Commonwealth elections to the age applying in a State for elections. [More…]
The constitution, rules and regulations of the Buyers’ Association give power to a committee to refuse membership to any buyer, to call upon any member to resign, and to expel any member for any reason that the committee thinks fit, and the member has no redress or any right to take legal action in defence of his rights. [More…]
So while, on the face of it, the suggestion that 2 senators and 2 members of this House should be appointed as members of the Council is a good and proper one, I would tread warily in that direction and try to hold that sort of thing to an absolute minimum, as in fact is apparent from the presently proposed constitution of the Council. [More…]
I recommend that the constitution of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Advanced Education be very closely re-examined by the Government. [More…]
The need for legislation such as this arises out of what can only be described as the legal complexities of our legal system which result from the Constitution as it has been interpreted by the High Court and the provisions of the Judiciary Act, and which have produced a dual system of laws creating Federal jurisdictions over some matters and areas and State jurisdictions over other matters and areas. [More…]
We all know that the Constitution gives power to the Commonwealth Government to make laws on the subjects which are set out in section 51 of the Constitution, and we also know that it imposes certain prohibition and restrictions on the Commonwealth Government, which have the effect of making some of the laws which it might want to pass invalid for one reason or another. [More…]
Sometimes the prohibitions are not immediately apparent, and this can be said to be the case in the section of the Constitution which, as it has now been interpreted by the High Court, has produced the necessity for this legislation. [More…]
of the Constitution which gives to the Commonwealth the exclusive power to make laws in respect to all places acquired by the Commonwealth for public purposes. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
of the Constitution but from some other provision of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
For example, section 55 of the Constitution requires that a Commonwealth law imposing a tax must impose the tax only and do nothing else. [More…]
The draftsmen also bad to be careful about section 109 of the Constitution which makes Commonwealth laws prevail over State laws where they are inconsistent with each other. [More…]
The draftsmen had to be careful that in giving Commonwealth judicial power to State courts and tribunals they complied with section 77 of the Constitution, because many State tribunals are not constituted in such a way that they can exercise the judicial power of the Commonwealth. [More…]
I think that he must have the constitution of an ox to endure the gruelling life of a parliamentarian for 36 years. [More…]
I think therefore that the Government’s view, reflected in this Bill, is a proper and responsible approach to the constitution of the Council at this time. [More…]
What was :he outcome of some attention at departmental level being given to whether section 51 of the Constitution could be used by the Commonwealth, following the example of uniform legislation relating to life insurance passed in 1945, to pass uniform legislation in the field of third party insurance (Ilansard,- 18th August 1970, page 110). [More…]
The short title - Immigration (Education) Act 1970 - indicates that the source of power for the Bill derives from the immigration provision in the Constitution. [More…]
Apparently he believes - and 1 hope he is right - that under the immigration provisions of the Constitution money could be fed to areas such as the States and local government where extra money is needed. [More…]
He had some sort of odd constitutional theory in respect of migration and he felt that we could in some way or other get around the Constitution and feed money into hospitals, health services, mental institutions and local government. [More…]
If the Commission has such a power, does this deny the Court the right to exercise a judicial power reserved to it under the Constitution. [More…]
The truth is that most of the elements of the current crisis were identified by the Constitution Review Committee which the Parliament established after the credit squeeze of 1956. [More…]
They are all matters over which the Government has no more power today than it had 1 1 years ago when the Constitution Review Committee completed its report. [More…]
The Constitution Review Committee identified those innovations which are necessary; Labor supports the Committee’s recommendations. [More…]
This is why honourable members on this side of the House have stressed that there is a need to change the Constitution and to give this Parliament the right to intervene and control the basic commodities of this country such as steel, aluminium, oil, petrol and chemicals. [More…]
He dealt at length with a number of questions, including constitutional reform. [More…]
He said a lot about the need for changing the Constitution. [More…]
Many proposals for changes in the Constitution have been put forward but few have been agreed to. [More…]
What constitutional right does the Government have to continue to place an embargo on sugar without the agreement of the Parliament? [More…]
There is a measure of doubt about this, but I understand that under the Constitution it is quite correct for the Commonwealth to enter into agreements with the States without ratification by the Parliament. [More…]
Every member of a labour organisation shall have equal rights and privileges within such organisation to nominate candidates, to vote in elections or referendums of the labor organisation, to attend membership meetings and to participate in the deliberations and voting upon the business of such meetings, subject to reasonable rules and regulations in such organisation’s constitution and bylaws. [More…]
Yes, the Council’s constitution requires an unanimous vote to carry a resolution. [More…]
The Council believes that the constitutional requirement provides the participating State associations with a strong and genuine incentive to reach agreement particularly in respect of matters for ultimate submission to State and Federal Governments, lt points out that one effect of reaching unanimity before approaches are made to Governments reduces the possibility of dissent at that level. [More…]
Moreover, in view of these facts, the Council feels that it is not unreasonable lo accept the position and look to the necessary modifications, alterations and conditions which would make this or another scheme acceptable to alt rather than blame the Council’s constitution for the present stalemate. [More…]
1 have also been informed by the Council that it is currently considering its constitution generally and will also be examining the Honey Industry Act with a view to recommending a change in the composition of the Australian Honey Board to make it more acceptable to the industry generally. [More…]
The appropriate action in respect of the quorum of the House was legislation, as section 39 of the Constitution requires any changes to be made by the Parliament, that is by both Houses. [More…]
The first defect stems from the fact that it is unclear that the Constitution would permit two quorums, that is : one, quorum for one purpose and a different quorum for another purpose. [More…]
,39. of the Constitution, which, states: , [More…]
It is to be found in the- fact that the proviso relating to numbers required in a division in the Bill now before the Senate purports to deal with a matter which, under section 50 (ii) of the Constitution, should be dealt with by this House alone and not by the Parliament as a whole. [More…]
Section 50 (ii) of the Constitution reads as follows: [More…]
Since the Constitution provides that each House of this Parliament may make its own rules and orders on the order and conduct of its own business and proceedings, the principles expressed in the proviso to the Bill should be contained in the Standing Orders of this House and not in an Act of the Parliament, which of course involves the Senate. [More…]
Section 39 of the Constitution does, of course, leave it to ‘the Parliament’ to deal with the quorum in the House of Representatives and the Bill now before the House does not go beyond that to matters more appropriately and correctly deal with in the Standing Orders. [More…]
I make the point very strongly that the cost of litigation today can be prohibitive, and in many cases public spirited citizens with appropriate assistance from the Commonwealth of Australia would be prepared to test matters of grave constitutional importance. [More…]
Today we are unfortunately labouring under the defects of an imperfect Constitution under which sovereign powers still remain with the States although a limited cession of certain of these powers was made grudgingly by the States to the Commonwealth. [More…]
Under the Constitution the measurement, assessment, conservation, development and control of surface and underground water resources within the States are the responsibility of the individual State governments. [More…]
But the way this is done is quite a different question having regard to a number of things such as the size of the country, its Constitution and who in fact has the right to do certain things. [More…]
Quite obviously this would not be possible under the Constitution. [More…]
The Commonwealth has the main financial strength to finance these projects, but it has not the power under the Constitution to take over the building or to make the decision as to what shall be done within Australia. [More…]
But the establishment of an overall authority by the Commonwealth to do this particular job is not constitutional and in my opinion is not desirable. [More…]
In a few reports, such conclusions are extended to cover chronic use of the drug in only moderate doses but the majority of observers distinguish between heavy dosage and restrained use; restrained use is widely regarded as harmless in its effects, provided the consumer had, from the outset, a healthy mental constitution. [More…]
In defining healthy mental constitution, circular reasoning is apt to creep in. [More…]
There is also the qualification that a person has to have a healthy mental constitution, whatever, that means. [More…]
The point that I want to make is that under section 28 of the Commonwealth Constitution - and I would have thought that the honourable gentleman bad some knowledge of constitutional practice - members are elected to Parliament for 3 years. [More…]
The third point is: Let us have a look at constitutional practice. [More…]
But authoritative instructions, mandates issued, which the member is bound blindly and implicitly to obey, to vote, and to argue for, though contrary to the clearest conviction of his judgment and conscience - these are things utterly unknown to the laws of this land, and which arise from a fundamental mistake of the whole order and tenor of our constitution. [More…]
But the Arbitration Commission’s authority and very existence rests upon the constitutional requirement that it must conciliate and arbitrate to prevent and to settle industrial disputes. [More…]
Where increased prices sap the value of money wages, or where the law of supply and demand increases the market value of labour, an arbitration system which refused wage increases would be courting the very result which the Constitution requires it to prevent. [More…]
The Opposition has within its platform the implementation of a recommendation that there should be an amendment of the Commonwealth Constitution to clothe the Commonwealth Parliament with unlimited powers and with the duty and authority to create States possessing delegated constitutional powers. [More…]
The Constitution provides that a parliament is elected for a 3-year term. [More…]
Under section 92 of the Constitution, of course, we cannot stop interstate sales, but we can stop intrastate sales. [More…]
I also believe that consideration must be given to the Constitution and, if necessary, to altering the Constitution. [More…]
I believe that the Constitution needs bringing up to date so that we can develop this country in the manner which was envisaged by our founders, with close association between Commonwealth, State and local government. [More…]
I hope that the Prime Minister also will give consideration to a review of the Constitution which I believe is necessary. [More…]
We know, however, that constitutionally the Commonwealth is limited to making laws with respect to its own Territories, its own properties. [More…]
The British North America Act gives the Parliament of Canada the exclusive power to make laws with respect to the criminal law, except the constitution of courts of criminal jurisdiction but including the procedure in criminal matters. [More…]
Within the limitations of our Constitution the present type of arbitration system has served Australia over a great number of years, as well as any system that could be devised. [More…]
The fact that the role of fixing minimum standards of wages throughout Australia has fallen upon the Commission is an accident of economic history thrust upon it by the lack of force of the Australian Constitution, most likely by a lack of foresight on the part of those who designed the Constitution, and by a lack of courage on the part of those who are responsible for giving effect to the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
Under the terms of its constitution the Corporation does this in many cases in conjunction with private consultant firms. [More…]
Although no specific debarment is included in the existing law, the Government believes it was never intended that a person should have the right to such dual nomination and this is borne out by the fact that when consenting to a nomination and to act if elected, the person nominated must declare that he is qualified under the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth to be elected as a senator, or as a member of the House of Representatives, as the case may be. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to bring several of the provisions of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act into line with the proposed amendments of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. [More…]
The terms of the existing section 48 of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act make it an offence to print, publish or distribute any advertisement or document containing a representation of a ballot paper, or any representation apparently intended to represent a ballot paper, having thereon any directions intended or likely to mislead an elector in relation to the casting of his vote at a referendum, but it is not an offence where the adver tisement, etc., does not contain a representation of a ballot paper. [More…]
Section 37 of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act, which relates to the rates for telegrams, is amended by this Bill to accord with the relevant provisions of the Post and Telegraph Rates Act. [More…]
The penalties prescribed for offences against the provisions of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act are outofdate by present day values. [More…]
section 21 of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act specifies that a ballot paper shall be informal only on grounds prescribed by Part XII of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and the regulations relating to postal voting. [More…]
If they are not within that power, it only strengthens the Labor Party’s claim that a sensible solution of disputes between employer and employee cannot be finally and fully achieved without amending the Constitution. [More…]
A Labor government will, therefore, hold a referendum to seek approval from the Australian people for the removal of the anomalies and ridiculous restrictions inherent in today’s horse and buggy constitutional powers to settle industrial disputes. [More…]
I am a little tired of the argument that this cannot be done because of the constitutional requirement that the principle of one in all in should apply to any concession or monetary advantage that is made available to a section of the community. [More…]
If this is the case then I say let us alter the Constitution; let us have a referendum so that special allowances can be made to pensioners who live in remote areas. [More…]
The Constitution itself provides for an Inter-State Commission. [More…]
I have cited the establishment of the interstate commission for which there is authority in the Constitution and the extension of the commissions for which there is already statutory provision as the proper machinery for government consultation and public information which my Party advocates in the field of Commonwealth, State and regional finances and functions. [More…]
It required an amendment to the Constitution. [More…]
We must remember that under our Constitution the States have sovereign rights and are responsible for certain functions. [More…]
States have certain constitutional powers and rights. [More…]
This is the meaning of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
to point om in good faith errors or defects in the Government or Constitution of die United Kingdom or of any of the King’s Dominions or of the Commonwealth as by law established, or in legislation, or in the administration of justice, wilh a view to the reformation of such errors or defects. [More…]
In the Constitution of the United States the first amendment reads: [More…]
The Constitution of the Commonwealth, Section 49, states: [More…]
He said that he objected to a Bill of Rights with entrenched guarantees in a constitution because any legislation was examinable by the courts. [More…]
It is also worth noting that the Government appears to have no objections to the Australian Constitution, dedicated as it is to the protection of property, because it has done nothing about the recommendations for constitutional reform made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reform. [More…]
Even when its esteemed Party colleague, Sir Henry Bolte, spectacularly joined the ranks of the dissenters and called for a referendum to update the Constitution it did nothing. [More…]
We can only assume that Government supporters agree with their colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr Bury), who dis missed Sir Henry’s plea for constitutional reform as a ‘fatuous exercise’. [More…]
How can the people of Australia accept the sincerity of this Government, a government opposed to any explicit definition of the rights of our people; a government committed to perpetuating all the inadequacies of our Constitution; a government that has done nothing to combat our rising crime rate; a government that is utterly unconcerned about our appalling road toll, a government that plays confidence tricks on our pensioners; a government that blames everybody but itself for the plight of rural Australia; a government that has shown itself not only to be opposed to law reform but also to have no hesitation in using both the law and the Public Service for its own political advantage? [More…]
As I have said earlier in the debate tonight, this principle is enshrined in the American constitution. [More…]
It was intended that it be enshrined in our Constitution. [More…]
This Bill means that the rights of the individual are to be determined not by this Act of Parliament or by the Australian Constitution because they are not mentioned there, but by a policeman on the spot at a public incident and by the magistrate. [More…]
It is all very well to have a guarantee in a constitution. [More…]
In the 1936 Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics section 125 guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, but after the invasion of Czechoslovakia 3 citizens had placards iri the Red Square which were critical of that invasion and they were prosecuted. [More…]
Their defence’ was section 125 of the Russian Constitution. [More…]
That was the result of a constitutional guarantee, but it happened in a state where the philosophy is that the judiciary is an arm of the executive. [More…]
It cannot be argued that people in this country have no rights because they are not written into a constitution, for what that is worth. [More…]
I know a country which has these guarantees in its constitution and where 70,000 cases are awaiting trial. [More…]
It would take a person 12 to 14 years to get his case before the courts because this guarantee is in the constitution. [More…]
This is not the position if all one has to rely on is words in a constitution and resort to a court appointed for life. [More…]
It was written into section 80 Of the Constitution. [More…]
This is a reference to the section in the Constitution. [More…]
That is the way we have watered down the ideal that is expressed in the American Constitution and that we, through shoddy draftsmanship - that is all it comes to - allowed to escape from us. [More…]
The Americans have it firmly built into their Constitution. [More…]
It is a queer intention to ascribe to a constitution; for it supposes that the concern of the framers of the provision was not to ensure that no one should be held guilty of a serious offence against the laws of the Commonwealth except by the verdict of a jury, but to prevent a procedural solecism, namely, the use of an indictment in cases where the legislature might think fit to authorise the court itself to pass upon the guilt or innocence of the prisoner. [More…]
There is high authority for the proposition that the Constitution is not to be mocked.’ [More…]
The Constitution did not envisage that we would ever be independent or that we would ever need ambassadors or representatives in an independent way. [More…]
It is important to remember that under the Constitution the Commonwealth can initiate talks with the States on a broad basis. [More…]
this operation is concerned is very limited by constitutional considerations. [More…]
The Pig Division of the Victorian Farmers Union has been seeking a poll of producers and an alteration in the constitution of the Federation to allow for any member group to have the power of veto rather than to allow for decisions to be made by a simple majority. [More…]
the principal objection is to the constitution of the Australian Commercial Pig Producers Federation rather than to the legislation and to research itself. [More…]
Tariffs, of course, bulk very largely in our Constitution. [More…]
If honourable members choose to examine the Australian Constitution they will find that no fewer than 10 of some 130 sections relate specifically to questions of tariffs. [More…]
I am sure that if the honourable member continues to butter his bread on both sides both the dairy farmers and his own constitution will benefit. [More…]
Section 65 of the Constitution, coupled with section 51, placitum 36, gives to the Parliament, and to it alone, authority to vary the number of Ministers of State. [More…]
These Assistant Ministers - I use that term to describe all the persons I have hist referred to- are not Ministers of State in the strict Constitutional sense. [More…]
The Queen’s Ministers of State are, under section 64 of the Constitution, only those members of the Executive Council who are appointed to administer Departments of State. [More…]
Because they are not Ministers of State in the constitutional sense, section 44 of the Constitution precludes the payment of any salary to Assistant Ministers in respect of their duties. [More…]
They will thus form part of the Federal Executive Council whose function, under section 62 of the Constitution, is to advise the GovernorGeneral in the government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Besides, the Constitution leaves education as a State function. [More…]
Invariably he invoked the Constitution as an impregnable barrier which would prevent the Commonwealth from playing any part in pre-school, primary, secondary or technical education. [More…]
The Government has the prerogative under section 96 of the Constitution to make funds available. [More…]
I plead with the House to accept that in fact it is not too late - some 10 years after the report was presented - to pay some real regard to the position of this country today, because the Federal Government is inhibited, to some large degree, by the restrictions placed upon it by a Constitution that was spelled out in the horse and buggy days. [More…]
Perhaps we, as a nation, would have been better off if the Constitution had been delayed for some 10 or 15 years until we could see the emergence of a concept which was different from the old colonial separate State system. [More…]
Perhaps the honourable member for Angas could explain why the Government is not prepared to debate the Commonwealth Electoral Bill 1971, the Senate Elections Bill 1971, the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Bill 1971, the House of Representatives (Quorum) Bill 1971 and also a number of other notices which are relevant to this matter. [More…]
This is something which, under the Constitution, has been since Federation a State government responsibility. [More…]
It was left in the Constitution for very good reasons, among them being the fact that the State governments are much closer to the felt needs of the community than is the Commonwealth Government located in Canberra. [More…]
I think it is an unduly narrow reading of the Constitution to say that there cannot be Assistant Ministers, even through I disapprove of a third tier of the Ministry in that sense. [More…]
But from my reading of section 62 of the Constitution relating to the functions of the Executive Council and the functions of government it would seem to me not to be difficult to overcome the constitutional problems. [More…]
The answer is that under our Constitution communications between the Commonwealth and the States go through the Prime Minister and the Premiers - the heads of the respective governments. [More…]
I pointed out that we already have under the Constitution an inter-State Commission, a Commonwealth Grants Commission and a Universities Commission. [More…]
Mr Archie Cameron, a former Speaker of this House, on one occasion stated in this House that it was very suspect whether or not an Assistant Minister under the provisions of the Constitution, could take any expenses for an office of profit under the Crown. [More…]
He said in this Parliament that it was constitutionally challengeable whether those who accepted these positions of Assistant Ministers should not forfeit their places in this Parliament. [More…]
lt was dropped on the basis that he felt it was unconstitutional. [More…]
It is a proposition about which the present Prime Minister has indicated that he does not think the Constitution would allow these men to be paid. [More…]
Yet they are prepared to look past the constitutional position and to hell with the Constitution as it were. [More…]
They ignore the famous ruling of that famous personality and famous Speaker, and at the same time give effect to a proposal about which there is constitutional doubt. [More…]
I am shocked that the Minister, who was involved previously in a similar matter, would sponsor a proposal in this Parliament when he had to fight for a chair to sit on in 1952, because the then Speaker thought his appointment was not constitutional. [More…]
1 note also in the constitutional recommendations of the Select Committee’s report that the system of government for Papua New Guinea should be a single central government as at present. [More…]
1 am concerned at the proposal to establish a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. [More…]
But it has to be remembered that, when the High Court decided in 1930 that conciliation committees were illegal or unconstitutional because they became part of the Arbitration Court as it then was, it pointed out - it was correct in doing so - that a conciliation committee could not exercise judicial powers without being outside the scope of the Constitution. [More…]
It may be said cynically that it <was> inevitable that the Government would have to do something about company legislation and something about restrictive practices legislation in view of the unanimous recommendations in 1958 and 1959 of the 1 Constitution Review Committee. [More…]
One can only hope that in the pending concrete pipes case in the High Court there will be a decision giving a contemporary interpretation to the corporations power in our Constitution. [More…]
If: the High Court’s decision shows that the Commonwealth’s constitutional power is still inadequate the Labor Party will certainly support any referendum to modernise, amplify, that power. [More…]
By reason of financial domination and to some extent the way in which taxes are allocated under the Commonwealth Constitution, it has become inevitable that the preponderance of financial resources should be available to the Commonwealth but that there, still is a variety of constitutional responsibilities that lie with the States and the local authorities but which are not matched by the availability of finance. [More…]
But 1 should like to say to the honourable member that I rather envy the easy way in which he sets the Constitution on one side on the ground that it is out of date. [More…]
If so, will the Government initiate steps for a” referendum to be held to alter the Constitution in order to -require all judges appointed under Federal jurisdiction to retire at the age of 70. [More…]
132 add: Constitution of the Universal Postal Union with Final Protocol 10th July 1964;; Additional Protocol to the constitution of the Universal Postal Union 14 November 1969; General Regulations of the Universal Postal Union with Final Protocol 14th November 1969; Universal Postal Convention with Final Protocol and Detailed Regulations 14th November 1969. [More…]
How does the present national service scheme fit in with the rights of individuals in accordance with the Constitution? [More…]
The proposals for such a plan must be developed through a well tried and proven system of consultation and negotiations between the Government and an industry so that, when they are presented to the Parliament, it can be confidently affirmed that the proposals conform to the requirements of the Australian Constitution and to our responsibilities in the field of international trade; that they are legally and practically realistic and that their implementation is sought by the industry concerned. [More…]
The Constitution of the Australian Apple and Pear Board as presently laid down in the Apple and Pear Stabilization Act 1938-1966 includes a member to represent the Commonwealth Government and this member is mandatorily the Chairman of the Board. [More…]
But of course in the Constitution there is the right to remove a federal judge by an address of both Houses of this Parliament. [More…]
I know, Mr Speaker, that you will disapprove of the move that is contemplated because as the chief custodian of the Parliament’s rights and its obligations under the Constitution of the Commonwealth you will see to it that the Constitution is not abrogated in any way. [More…]
The first thing you will recognise is that the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives cannot override the Constitution no matter how much a Prime Minister would like to see it done. [More…]
I will read the relevant part of the Constitution. [More…]
That is the Constitution. [More…]
They will thus form part of the Federal Executive Council whose function, under section 62 of the Constitution, is to advise the Governor-General in the government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Let us incorporate into Hansard the text of section 62 of the Constitution. [More…]
There will be nothing to stop him because the Constitution does not say: ‘You may appoint 6 Assistant Ministers’. [More…]
The Constitution states that no person shall hold an office of profit under the Crown unless he is a Minister. [More…]
We might as well close up the place if we are to ride rough shod over the Constitution and the Standing Orders, and allow one man to become virtual dictator of Australia. [More…]
I believe, as everyone does, in the prerogative of Parliament and the Constitution. [More…]
In thu case this is something which refers to the constitution of the Executive and the appointment of personnel to the Executive. [More…]
I came quite clearly to the conclusion, which I still hold without any doubt, that the appointment of Assistant Ministers - they receiving no emolument for performing the duties they will perform - offends against nothing in the Constitution and offends against no constitutional convention or principle. [More…]
may be appointed to be a member of the Federal Executive Council under section 62 of the Constitution; [More…]
The relevant part of paragraph 4 of section 44 of the Constitution reads: [More…]
The Constitution makes provision for Ministers to hold their positions for, up to 3 months before they are elected to the Parliament. [More…]
It also alters the powers and constitution of the Board. [More…]
Section 49 of the Constitution states: [More…]
The Constitution has entrusted it to the Parliament to determine the law on privilege. [More…]
In addition, it is vital that there should be a re-constitution of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission so that its members will have to accept some responsibility for the economic consequences to the community as a result of its decisions. [More…]
They have also indicated a lack of interest in long term rural loans, even if they can be insured with a Commonwealth rural loans insurance corporation similar in constitution to the present Housing Loans Insurance Corporation. [More…]
I realise of course that, because of our peculiar Constitution, control of the environment rests chiefly with the States. [More…]
Following upon my correspondence with him regarding the rights of 18 to 20-year-old persons to vote in Federal elections under section 41 of the Constitution, what is the reason for the Government’s refusal to allow 18 to 20-year-old persons to vote in Federal elections in States where they have the right to vote for their State parliaments? [More…]
I would hope that an opportunity would be taken during the currency of this Bill, when it becomes an Act, to have a proper code of criminal procedure developed by the Commonwealth for all fields open to it, including the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, courts martial and all those matters of commercial law which fall to the Commonweath under the Constitution. [More…]
The decision in the concrete pipes case was a momentous decision in that it extended what was previously thought to be a limitation on the Commonwealth’s power under the Commonwealth Constitution Act. [More…]
Under the Constitution the Australian Parliament has power to make laws with respect to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Some of us were members of the Constitution Review Committee which recommended that there should be trade practices laws and company laws on a national scale. [More…]
The Act was not valid, but the relevant paragraph of the Australian Constitution was shown to have the force that the last [More…]
At the same time the decision threw new light on the power that section 51 (xx) of the Constitution has conferred on the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws with respect to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
This decision has now been overruled by the High Court, which has made it clear that the corporations power in the Constitution can be used to support legislation dealing with restrictive trade practices of foreign and trading and financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth, that is, whether they are trading interstate or intrastate. [More…]
By this I mean that it reflects the extremely rigid legalistic Constitution that not only divides power between the various governments and imposes limitations and restrictions on the exercise of that power, but also requires that the system chosen for us is a system that was chosen by gentlemen who lived and worked about 80 years ago. [More…]
They created it not for us but as a sort of compromise solution to the problems which they experienced at that time and they devised the powers contained in our Constitution to suit their ends. [More…]
The traditional excuse offered by our conservative governments when defending themselves against criticism that they are not doing anything about the problems of the country - the sort of problems that are touched upon in this debate - has been to say that they cannot do anything because the Constitution does not give them the power to do it. [More…]
It seems to me that our experience proves one thing beyond doubt and that is that given the Constitution that we have and given our High Court made up of people who live within our society, any Parliament worth its salt must make more extensive use of the High Court to obtain judgment on legislation that is of doubtful validity so that we will quickly build up a body of law that is in keeping with our modern conditions. [More…]
It will be a small price to pay to have a working Constitution that is more in keeping with modern requirements. [More…]
The Constitutional Review Committee pointed out in 1959 that there is now one Australian integrated economy and that its various components are interdependent and the condition of any one affects all the others. [More…]
To me, federalism involves as a basic fact living under a federal constitution and if one is to live under a federal constitution it is one of the primary duties of the federal government, the national government, to explore the limits of constitutional power given to it under that constitution and then, having explored them with a view to ascertaining them by judicial decision, act within them in what one conceives to be the national interest. [More…]
The question is not one of transferring to the Commonwealth specific powers consciously left with the States under the Constitution, but of allocating between the Commonwealth and the States the power necessary to fulfil a responsibility of government which did not exist when the Constitution was originally framed but which, in the Committee’s view, is now generally accepted in the light of developments since Federation . [More…]
We are gratified to find that apparently what was thought to be a restrictive clause in the Constitution is now regarded as having much wider ambit. [More…]
If honourable members look, for instance, at the collection of ‘Cases on the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia’ edited by Professor Geoffrey Sawer, they will see that he included in this collection of cases as a momentous decision the decision in the case of Huddart Parker v. Moorehead in which the Court’s decision was recently overruled. [More…]
of the Constitution relating to the corporations power: . [More…]
He then cites Quick and Garran’s book on the Constitution for that proposition. [More…]
Constitution, something which the Government was going to look at way back in, I think, 1959. [More…]
He pointed out correctly that under the Commonwealth Constitution the Commonwealth Government does have power over insurance, and while it does not have power to compel the States in this respect as to what they are to do, nevertheless it has power to introduce its own forms of insurance. [More…]
This is a matter with which all wheat organisations and the Australian Wheat Board are concerned and because of this the various producer organisations in the field have suggested that there might well be reason for the Government looking at the proposal to hold a referendum on changing section 92 of the Constitution as far as marketing our primary products is concerned. [More…]
Is it a fact that the leader of the largest political party allowed to operate in Pakistan, Mr Ali Bhutto, has issued a warning to President Yahya Khan that his party will not support any constitution imposed by the army? [More…]
I had wished to speak on some constitutional questions in Papua New Guinea. [More…]
I can now discuss the points that I wanted to discuss about the constitution of Papua New Guinea. [More…]
In none of these requests was a specific reference made to section 119 of the Constitution. [More…]
lt has been suggested that there may be some constitutional difficulties which would prevent this because whilst there is no doubt that the Commonwealth has the ability to charge such a tax the Constitution is so written that if a tax is imposed, it must be imposed equally throughout the Commonwealth. [More…]
I am not a constitutional lawyer and I do not propose to argue that point. [More…]
Parly, from the A LP’s Platform, Constitution and Rules, as approved by the 29th Commonwealth Conference of the Party held in Launceston in June of this year: [More…]
We have not written into our policy anything which requires a change in the Constitution before it can be implemented. [More…]
The current Labor Party policy as found at page 33 of “The Australian Labor Party Platform, Constitution and Rules’ states: [More…]
In relation to the third question I believe that as a result of the recent decision in the concrete pipes case the Commonwealth now has authority under the Constitution to legislate with respect to financial organisations and that this power would cover at least three-quarters of the kind of organisation mentioned in the table that was prepared by the Deputy Governor. [More…]
I think everyone is aware of the fact that President Thieu rushed through a constitutional amendment that virtually forced every other candidate for the presidency of South Vietnam out of the field. [More…]
After 7 years this is what we are left with - one man manipulating the constitution of the South Vietnamese nation and the Supreme Court of South Vietnam. [More…]
Mr Mullen is undergoing imprisonment in a State prison as the States are required by section 120 of the’ Constitution to make provision for detention in their prisons of persons convicted of offences against the laws of the Commonwealth. [More…]
constitution the making of a declaration in respect of Papua New Guinea stating the extent to which the provisions of any convention should be applied does not, of course, arise unless and until Australia has ratified that convention. [More…]
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory was established on the basis that it was a federal Court for the purposes of the Commonwealth Constitution and that the tenure of office of the Judges of the Court was accordingly governed by provisions in Chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
A consequence of that decision is that the provisions in the Constitution with respect to the tenure of office of federal Judges are not applicable to the Judges of the Supreme Court of the Territory. [More…]
Courts and accordingly governed by the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution shows that the railway systems in the States are in the control of and operated by the States. [More…]
In relation to those 2 points I quote the policy from the latest publication entitled ‘Australian Labor Party Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
lt used to be said some years ago that the Constitution did not permit the Commonwealth to do anything about schools but, of course, the Constitution permits the Commonwealth to do anything about schools that it does about universities. [More…]
But the honourable member questioned the availability of finance and the position of the Constitution with regard to the setting up of a marketing authority. [More…]
Had they done this, they would have been supplied with a very fine exposition setting out the cost of the authority, the question of constitutional powers and so on. [More…]
Where Commonwealth and State legislation conflict the Constitution of the Commonwealth prevails. [More…]
The proposals for such a plan must be developed through a well tried and proven system of consultation and negotiations between’ the Government and an industry so that, when they are presented to the Parliament, it can be confidently affirmed that the proposals conform to the requirements of the Australian Constitution and to our responsibilities in the field of international . [More…]
As a matter of fact I do not think any State would carry it by referendum and as the honourable member would be aware, if he is at all knowledgeable in regard to the Constitution, the Senate can be abolished only by a vote of the 6 States with a complete majority in each State. [More…]
of the Constitution the Commonwealth has power to make laws with respect to insurance, other than State insurance, and also State insurance extending beyond the limits of the State concerned. [More…]
As I understand the position, under, I believe, Chapter 21 of the Platform and Constitution of the Labor Party the Labor Party took out that part of the old platform that said that the ANZUS Treaty is of crucial importance to the alliance between Australia and the United States. [More…]
There have been great changes in the interpretation of the Constitution since, shall I say, 1901. [More…]
It is not that the Constitution has changed so much but it is the interpretation of the High Court of Australia that has changed. [More…]
Indeed we never know until we go to the High Court what the Constitution means. [More…]
When the Bill to phase out the bounty was introduced into the Parliament the Australian Labor Party proposed an amendment which included the following 2 provisions: That an immediate review of the economic position of the raw cotton industry be made with the object of providing adequate financial assistance to those areas which were still in need of the bounty and which had not had time to become established viable economic units, such as the Ord River and the Queensland Irrigation areas, and that ‘special payments to assist the developing areas to become established viable economic units be implemented within section 96 of the Constitution’. [More…]
The second problem we have is the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members can sling off at it if they like but we have a Constitution that makes it very difficult to have a marketing system for agricultural produce that operates across Australia. [More…]
But as we have the Constitution, let us admit that we have this problem on our plate. [More…]
To put it in simple terms, I am told by my legal friends that they can do it for the very good reason that Britain does not have a constitution and we have. [More…]
We all should realise that whether we like it or not, the Constitution stipulates that the responsibility for the provision of primary and secondary State education shall remain with the States. [More…]
The Commonwealth progressively has contributed more and more moneys towards the maintenance and expansion of State educational systems and also towards the nongovernment system; but because of constitutional requirements it has been forced to do this mainly through grants under section 96, with the money earmarked for specific purposes. [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife that is endangered through any cause. [More…]
I have inquired into this matter since my appointment as Minister for Customs and Excise, and I have learned that some years ago a predecessor of mine was so concerned about it that he went to the Government and the Government, being concerned about it in principle, obtained top legal advice and was informed that constitutionally it was not possible to do anything about it in Australia. [More…]
I am not a lawyer and when I asked why Britain could take action and we could not, the answer, I understood, was that we have a constitution and Britain has not. [More…]
Add to the Constitution a clause giving power to the Commonwealth Government to act to safeguard any species of wildlife thatis endangered through any cause. [More…]
First of all the Constitution imposes limits upon what the House can do. [More…]
Section 56 of the Constitution lays down exactly the procedures by which funds shall be allotted for any purpose. [More…]
So all this has to transcend the sovereignty inside Pakistan and India, the Standing Orders themselves, the Constitution, and all the precedents that we have always accepted. [More…]
All that the right honourable Sir Robert Menzies wanted was an alteration of the Constitution that Aboriginals would be counted in the census. [More…]
Pursuant to section 14 of the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1933-1966, I present the thirty-eighth report (1971) and supplement of the Commonwealth Grants Commission on applications made by States for financial assistance under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not want to say very much about the Bill itself except to state that it aims to ensure that no-one, with one or two exceptions, which I think are technical by reason of the Constitution, of some of the savings banks attached to the private trading banks, or that no single shareholding in a bank shall be of more than 10 per cent - that is to be the maximum holding by one interest. [More…]
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, which is the group whose constitution was affected by the recent amalgamation of the 2 banks, had a 21.7 per cent shareholding in Industrial Acceptance Corporation Ltd and it is reported that the First National City Bank, New York plans to acquire a total equity of 40 per cent in this company. [More…]
But the fact remains that, in the past 20 years, various money markets have arisen in Australia, many of them performing functions that constitute banking in every business sense if not in the sense that the word ‘banking’ appears in the Australian Constitution as so far interpreted. [More…]
The Bill does not make them liable to pay but it removes the barrier that would prevent them from paying under their constitution. [More…]
Several times the constitution of Bengal has been suspended with President’s rule, into this Bengal situation have now come desperate people. [More…]
You will know also that section 41 of the Commonwealth Constitution provides: [More…]
Now 1 am sure that you would have expected that, under that provision of the Constitution, 18 to 20-year-olds in Western Australia would be entitled to vote at a Federal election and that 18 to 20-year- olds in New South Wales, South Australia and other States, when legislation was introduced to provide to those people the right to vote in elections in those States, would similarly be entitled to vote at a Federal election. [More…]
As that provision is in the Constitution I contacted the Minister’s Department again to find out what it intended to do about this matter because I believe that the provision was clearly there for these people to vote at Federal elections since they had the right to vote at State elections. [More…]
1 believe that the Department is going outside the intention of the Constitution. [More…]
Perhaps under Commonwealth law the Department’s interpretation is legally correct; but, as I said, I believe it is not in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution. [More…]
I was careful to mention that so that he would know that this was something on which he had given me a decision and also because he has a facility for remembering correspondence from members on the Country Party benches - regarding the rights of 18 to 20-year-old persons to vote in Federal elections under section 41 of the Constitution, what is the reason for the Government’s refusal . [More…]
I asked what the reasons were because the Government’s attitude appeared to me to be in conflict with the spirit of section 41 of the Constitution. [More…]
I believe that the decision made by the Minister for the Interior (Mr Hunt) with regard to 18 to 20-year olds in Western Australia, where they have the right to vote and where they ought to have it under section 41 of the Constitution, in refusing to introduce legislation to operate throughout the Commonwealth is a clear indication of the desire of this Government to restrict the franchise as far as possible. [More…]
But the consequence of it was that the judges of those courts need not have life tenure as envisaged by chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
But the questions would be of such a nature and likely to recur with such melancholy frequency as to increase beyond suitable bounds the work load of the High Court in its constitutional supervisory role in relation to officers of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The judges of the superior court would be officers of the Commonwealth within the meaning of section 75 placitum V of the Constitution and therefore would be subject to review by the High Court in their decision by means of the prerogative writs of mandamus and prohibition. [More…]
As it will inevitably become increasingly important in the national interest for this Parliament by its legislation to seek out the limits, and make full use, of Commonwealth power under the Constitution, we must also remember at the same time that we shall also serve the national interest by making full use for Federal purposes of existing judicial organs in the States and Territories. [More…]
That is to be found in section 51 placitum (xxxv) of the Constitution. [More…]
Having said that, may I very briefly place the background against which placitum (xxxv) of section 51 of the Constitution was written in. [More…]
1 believe this is to be found everywhere, but I am dealing with the power given to the Commonwealth Parliament to legislate, subject to the Constitution, with respect to conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State. [More…]
Nothing seems to me to be more absurd than the propounding of quite inadequate policies in the fond belief that we are adding lustre to a constitutional arrangement that began to subside into irrelevance more than a generation ago. [More…]
Respectfully I disagree with the view reached by the joint committee of the Parliament dealing with constitutional reform where the committee took the view that: [More…]
I suggest that what we must do is to alter the Constitution in order to enable the Parliament of the Commonwealth to establish industrial machinery for the resolution of all questions relating to, and the determination of, the terms and conditions of employment and the terms and conditions of contractual relationships with independent contractors; to extend Federal jurisdiction to State-employed teachers, nurses, police officers, fire fighters and the like; to give to the Commission power to grant applications for a common rule for all employers in a particular industry; to abolish the present system under which judicial and arbitral powers in industrial matters must be exercised by different bodies; to enable the Federal jurisdiction in industrial matters to be exercised by State industrial tribunals and wage boards; and to limit the High Court’s power of intervention to cases where a question of law is referred to it. [More…]
Under the present Constitution we are in the ridiculous position that we have powers as a parliament to make laws with respect to and concerning conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State. [More…]
It was easily understood, I have no doubt, at the time the Constitution was written. [More…]
High Court which said that there is no power within the Commonwealth Constitution to deal with managerial policy. [More…]
Thirdly, the Constitution imposes obvious limitations in regard to industrial matters. [More…]
Looking further down the list of orders of the day under Government Business I direct attention to items- 29, 30 and 31 which deal respectively with the Commonwealth Electoral Bill 1971, the Senate Elections Bill 1971 and the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Bill 1971. [More…]
Rule 35 of the Constitution and General Rules of the organisation provides, inter alia, that each branch shall be entitled to one delegate for any number of financial members up to 4,000, and an additional delegate for every 4,000 financial members or part thereof. [More…]
Persons entitled to membership are those engaged in industries or callings set out in rule 6 of the Constitution and General Rules of the Organisation. [More…]
In response to a direction the Queensland Branch Secretary of The Australian Workers Union informed the Commonwealth Electoral Officer that the number of financial members engaged in industries or callings which fall within the ambit of Rule 6 of the Constitution and General Rules of The Australian Workers Union, as at 31 May. [More…]
The privileges of this Parliament are, as they are spelt out in the Constitution, those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom until such time as they are otherwise defined. [More…]
Labor appreciates that the Constitution prevents Commonwealth control of our oil, natural gas, coal, uranium and other natural fuel and energy resources. [More…]
I understand that the obligations of our Constitution are such that to be a Minister one has to be in charge of a department. [More…]
Looking at the matter from the point of view of this Parliament, let us consider the Constitution - this book of rules by which we have got to abide, which was brought down in 1900. [More…]
We get a complete reversal of the interpretation of this old Constitution depending upon which Commonwealth law report we read. [More…]
The United States has a Constitution, and that Act has been able to work. [More…]
Canada has a Constitution, and that Act has been able to work. [More…]
If we did we might well find some bright lawyer getting up and saying that it is an infringement of section 92 of the Constitution because our forefathers decided under section 92 that trade and commerce between the States should be free. [More…]
For example, the Constitution could contain powers to deal with foreign investment. [More…]
The Constitution itself should be re-written and brought up to date and again submitted to the Australian people for their approval. [More…]
There should be a brand new Constitution in the light of the present problems facing the Australian nation. [More…]
Although attempts have been made or appeals have been made to codify such privileges, we rely on section 49 of the Commonwealth Constitution for our guidance in this matter. [More…]
This is merely an excuse, I must confess, to raise the whole question of the inadequate Constitution of this country. [More…]
I do not know who stated it, but it was truly said that we are in the jet age attempting to exist with a horse and buggy Constitution. [More…]
Wherever we turn we are being inefficiently governed because of our out of date Constitution. [More…]
So much for the uniform laws under this Constitution and under this laissez-faireism that we have suffered in this country over the past 20 years and more. [More…]
J am referring to the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Review. [More…]
Until this Government realises that we are living under a Constitution which is totally inadequate for the proper governing of this country we will not have proper laws for the governing of Australia. [More…]
As a starting point, of course, there is the fact that the Constitution clearly debars the States from imposing any of the usual forms of sales tax and other widely based indirect taxes. [More…]
(a) and (b) A detailed check of the constitutions of all of the above clubs would be necessary to accurately state which clubs, if any, exclude Papuans and New Guineans as members or guests. [More…]
Since 1960 leases have not been granted to any club which contained discriminatory clauses in its constitution. [More…]
There are some clubs built on freehold land and their constitutions have not been checked. [More…]
the Commonwealth under the Constitution a wide range of measures and concessions has been implemented over the years with this aim in view. [More…]
the constitutional powers believed to be available to sustain the legislation, it was open to legal objection. [More…]
The AttorneyGeneral ako pointed out that the High Court had made il clear that the corporations power in section 51 (xx) of the Constitution could be used to support legislation dealing with the restrictive trade practices of corporations and that the Government had accordingly decided that the immediate remedial legislation should be founded on that power alone. [More…]
We have had lectures on education over the years from the former Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, showing that there was no Commonwealth constitutional obligation for education. [More…]
Then suddenly the Commonwealth Government found, with no change in the Constitution, that it could begin to assume quite large obligations in education. [More…]
Under theAustralian Constitution the States are responsible for the utilisation ofnatural resources within their own boundaries; in forestry they grant franchises for forestry utilisation based on crown land forests. [More…]
1 ask the Prime Minister: Has the Government any proposal to enable this House to decide and declare its privileges under the power which was provided 70 years ago in the Constitution but which has never been exercised? [More…]
ls he satisfied with the present stopgap procedure outlined in the Constitution under which this House acts on the rules of privilege of the House of Commons of the nineteenth century but actually dating in precedent back to the Middle Ages, a procedure in which the accused person has none of the rights of an accused person in any court of justice anywhere in the British Commonwealth? [More…]
So that the Treasurer (Mr Snedden), the Government and its supporters may have an adequate idea of what is the Australian Labor Party’s economic policy and what it would do to remedy the present situation, I seek leave to have incorporated in Hansard an extract from the Platform, Constitution and Rules of the Labor Party. [More…]
century .Constitution. [More…]
Section 51 of the Constitution states that: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: [More…]
I do not know why there was any kind of scepticism in Australia about our powers constitutionally over what are described in placitum 51 (x.) [More…]
of the Commonwealth Constitution as foreign corporations. [More…]
If was argued that we had no power to operate in this field, lt was suggested from our side that we would treat this sort of thing as though it was within the scope of the constitutional power. [More…]
in short, the judgment is a victory for Chief Justice Barwick and for Professor Richardson and a slap in the face to those who, over many years, have used the celebrated section 92 of the Constitution as an instrument of constitutional subversion. [More…]
Bill limited to corporations, leaving aside the question of incidental power and things of that sort in the Constitution. [More…]
That section has been in the Constitution since 1900. [More…]
The Government has a Bill which, was once dependent upon accepting transfers of power from the States and using the other powers in the Constitution but now it relies entirely on Commonwealth corporation power. [More…]
1 think that the Federal Government should use to the maximum the power that is in section 96 of the Constitution, that is the power dealing with grants, to say that there is to be rural reconstruction there must be a completely revolutionary approach to the problems of restoring some of these large properties so that there is the prospect of maintaining pastoral activity in difficult times. [More…]
Before moving on to that amendment I would say that the Act which was introduced into this House last year to enable the setting up of the Commission was introduced under the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
The Commission was set up for the purpose of putting a buyer into the market, which is the only power in relation to this type of exercise which the Commonwealth had under the Constitution. [More…]
It would be entirely unconstitutional for this Parliament to set up such an authority without complementary legislation being passed by the 6 Australian States. [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution the States have powers relating to commodities produced within the States, and they have the sole power. [More…]
Those words alone would make it unconstitutional, if there were solely Commonwealth legislation. [More…]
There is a very great need for financial assistance -by the Commonwealth in the form of a grant under section 96 of the Constitution to provide for incentives for teachers’ to serve in defined areas of extreme teacher shortage as this is the only way in which we can ensure that the less advantaged areas have the benefit not only of quantity of teachers but also of quality of teachers. [More…]
One would think that plenty of experience has been gained of distributing funds via the States - provided, 1 assume, by way of section 96 of the Constitution - to local authorities and semi-government authorities. [More…]
The States Grants (Special Assistance) Bill, which is an annual one, provides for grants to the States of Tasmania and South Australia under the terms of section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
It has the power under the Constitution to better manage the financial affairs of the Commonwealth. [More…]
I want to discuss education not only because it is a matter that is primarily the concern of the States under our Constitution but also because the Commonwealth Government has claimed on a number of occasions that it is as a result of these new financial arrangements between the Commonwealth and the States that the State governments are now able to meet their commitments in education. [More…]
The inclusion of this paragraph of the Bill - and he was referring to paragraph (xiv) in the referendum which was designed to give the Commonwealth power to do something for the people of the Aboriginal race - is necessary only because of what has become a complete anomaly in paragraph (xxxvi) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
We do not believe that what is evolving in Papua New Guinea is an ideal constitution but most of the proposals which the Minister for External Territories (Mr Barnes) has put before us are proposals which the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly accepted from the Select Committee on Constitutional Development. [More…]
Constitutions perfect on paper will work only if there is a consensus of agreement surrounding them in the community. [More…]
The constitution of the United Kingdom works because there is a disciplined and restrained community. [More…]
The constitution that we are enacting tonight will work if there is a real sentiment of mutual respect for one another in the langauge groups in the community. [More…]
One can only reach the conclusion that the facts are that the Government is incompetent and that it has not the political courage to do its job properly, to clarify the position and to assert and to establish its position in the way that other nations have done, particularly those operating under a federal constitution, such as Canada and the United States. [More…]
Dr Evatt then emphasised, a basic principle which is equally true today when he said: ‘that, within the limits permitted by the Constitution, the maintenance of industrial peace, and the adjustment of the terms and conditions of employment, are matters not merely of local or private concern, but also of vital importance to the. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
Within the limits of the constitution, the Government believes that improvements to the operation of the system can be effected and what it is putting forward is a comprehensive series of balanced and constructive proposals to improve the system. [More…]
The Government proposes to use another section of the Constitution to deal with this matter and it will be very interesting indeed to see what new fields of Commonwealth power might be opened up in this area. [More…]
The Constitution essentially confines it to conciliation and arbitration for the settlement of industrial disputes and incidental matters. [More…]
What legislation has been enacted by the Commonwealth under its powers in section51 of the Constitution, placitum xxiii A - benefits to students. [More…]
Provisions within that Convention place an obligation on this country and therefore give power under the Constitution of Australia to the Federal Government to legislate comprehensively on the matter of drug offences. [More…]
In any event it would appear that the Government has considerable powers to legislate comprehensively under its trade and commerce powers within the Constitution. [More…]
It has been suggested to me by a number of sources that it is very likely that the Government already has this power under the Constitution, specifically under the trading and commerce section. [More…]
Certainly from my understanding of the law, confirmed by many people, we would gain the power by the authority that we derive under the Constitution from international agreements and through our signing of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international convention. [More…]
1 shall quote section 51 of the Constitution, that great section which delineates the fields in which the Commonwealth may make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The Constitution Act Amendment Act (No. [More…]
the Constitution, which specifically prohibits the Commonwealth from discriminating in its- taxation laws between States or parts of States, it would in fact be unconstitutional for it to do so. [More…]
fuel tax, as Section 51 (ii) of the Constitution prohibits discrimination between States , or parts ..of States in laws. [More…]
There is now a strong probability that there is full and adequate power, even in the Constitution itself. [More…]
But even if this constitutional power was not there, the national Government has full and adequate powers of other kinds. [More…]
The Committee considered that the Commonwealth now had to discharge a responsibility of government which did no; exist when the Constitution was originally framed, namely, to safeguard and promote the economic welfare of the community of Australia. [More…]
If so, what action will be taken by the Government to ensure that their rights under section 41 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth will be protected in the event of a by-election in South Australia for a vacancy in the House of Representatives or for the next House of Representatives election. [More…]
This part of the question raises the interpretation of section 41 of the Constitution and I do not propose to answer it. [More…]
Will the Attorney-General take steps to ensure that section 103 of the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942-1969 conforms with section 116 of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
The first is that the Australian people in general, 1 am certain, are disappointed that so little has been done by the Commonwealth directly, in its own right, since the people overwhelmingly amended the Constitution at a referendum in 1967. [More…]
In the United States of America in 1778, even before the United States had a Constitution, the North West Ordinance was passed decreeing that land and property shall never be taken from the Indians. [More…]
It is stated within terms of the Constitution and of our statutes. [More…]
There is no impediment to this Parliament setting up committees to inquire into the pricing policies of corporations in the terms in which they are referred to in the Constitution, namely, foreign corporations or trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The AttorneyGeneral would know section 44 of the Constitution which, stripped to its essentials, says: [More…]
One could be forgiven for thinking that this great basis of the British constitution had just been discovered by honourable members opposite. [More…]
He was selected according to the constitution of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition realised that, under the Constitution, the Commonwealth Government has no power of price control. [More…]
Section V - ‘Economic Planning’ - of the Australian Labor Party Platform, Constitution and Rules, states: [More…]
The whole life of the Labor Party, the whole of its constitution, the whole of its policy, is one of centralism. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: In view of the Government’s proclaimed concern for the observance of the law and in view of the fundamental importance of the Constitution in our democratic processes, will the right honourable gentleman act quickly, firstly, to have 18 to 20- year-old Western Australians enrolled for Federal elections under section 41 of the Constitution, and, secondly, to have a redistribution of House of Representatives electorates in Western Australia commenced immediately to give that State the additional seat to which it is entitled under section 24 of the Constitution? [More…]
The honourable member for Bendigo showed a complete lack of knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution under which our Federal and State, system operates. [More…]
Under our Constitution local government bodies are created, regulated and have statutory provisions made for them by the, State governments, so to the extent that we can do so having regard to the totality of competing priorities in Australia, we provide the States with as much money as we can so that they can discharge that obligation. [More…]
My question to the Prime Minister concerns proposals by the State to hold a constitutional convention to modernise the Constitution. [More…]
In my view the Constitution is in urgent need of review on a wide range of subjects, both from the point of view of the Commonwealth and of the State governments too. [More…]
I also want it to be known to the House that I have taken this matter up with the Attorney-General - this happened some time ago - and I asked him to prepare a paper for me not only as to the method by which we should look at reviews of the Constitution but also to see whether he can give me some idea of the constitutional issues as between the Commonwealth and the States that might be the subject of discussion. [More…]
Federal dairy producer organisations have made submissions to me for some change in the constitution and method of election of members of the Australian Dairy Produce Board. [More…]
Secondly, there are charitable or benevolent organisations; thirdly, servicemen’s organisations; fourthly, other organisations that can prove to the Department at Social Services and the Government that they are responsible people who can take care of aged folk and who can provide a book of rules and a constitution that will satisfy the Department and the Government; and fifthly, municipal and shire councils. [More…]
The provision of continuing religions indoctrination which is undoubtedly prized by Catholics and which is their main justification for the perpetuation of their separate school system, is a matter to be entrusted to their own religious orders, and should not, in fact, probably cannot under the Constitution, be a matter with which the Commonwealth Government can concern itself. [More…]
However, I think the concept of the constitution of a Commonwealth teaching service, which needs a bit of polishing up, is a good one. [More…]
I wonder who is endeavouring to divide the community - and which is their main justification for the perpetuation of their separate school system, is a matter to be entrusted to their own religious orders, and should not, in fact probably cannot under the Constitution, be a matter with which the Commonwealth Government can concern itself. [More…]
Can honourable members conceive of a more loaded term to describe what any honourable member would ‘ have called religious education - which is undoubtedly prized by Catholics and which is their main justification for the perpetuation of their separate school system, is a matter to be entrusted to their own religious orders, and should not, in fact probably cannot under the Constitution, be a matter with which the Commonwealth Government can concern itself. [More…]
The Attorney-General is in the course of preparing a paper for me, but I should point out that no government other than the Commonwealth Government can take an initiative for an alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
About a month ago by a majority decision of 6 to 1 the Californian Supreme Court decided that the section of the Constitution of California relating to cruel or unusual punishments - it is copied from the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution - meant in effect that the death penalty could not be imposed in California. [More…]
Six judges of that very prestigious, esteemed and responsible United States court struck down a California State law on the ground that it infringed the Californian Constitution. [More…]
I have also pointed out in the House that no government other than the Australian Government can initiate a referendum for an alteration of the Constitution, and that consequently at some time or other it must be this Government that takes an initiative to look not only at the substance of changes but at the form m which we shall conduct inquiries, have a convention or have the matter dealt with by this House. [More…]
Under our Constitution local governments are specifically created by the State governments. [More…]
Local government is an instrument of government created by the Constitution within the control and supervision of the States. [More…]
The Commonwealth consistently has believed that the Constitution should be observed; the States consistently have believed that it should be observed. [More…]
That Act also provided for the appointment of an interim council which was to examine the matter of the establishment of the Institute and to make recommendations with respect to the functions and powers of the Institute, the constitution of its governing council, the site of the seat of the Institute and the nature of the cooperation with the James Cook University of North Queensland. [More…]
An opportunity will be given to honey producers, to apiarists, to have a vote in electing their officers and determining the constitution of the Honey Board. [More…]
It would seem that this was one of the major problems, because under the constitution of the Federal Council the major decisions made by the Council must be unanimous, and if they are not unanimous this can cause frustration and even a holdup in the affairs of the Board. [More…]
The Commonwealth collects the moneys from individuals as required by the Constitution. [More…]
Certainly the Constitution would be got around. [More…]
The decisions of that body have, according to its rules and constitution, to be unanimous. [More…]
It may be that a unanimous decision could be taken to do away with the constitution that sets up the Federal Council. [More…]
Obviously the Bill is not going to improve the position, and why amend an Act in minor detail only when the real problem lies in the constitution of the Board? [More…]
Our legal advice - the honourable gentleman did refer to this - is that for the Commonwealth to do as he suggested is constitutionally invalid, and consequently it is extremely difficult to accomplish what I, too, would agree is a reasonable objective. [More…]
I believe that it is unfortunate that where a State or a section of a State seeks to be exempted from a levy for reasons which are justifiable and supportable, under the application of our Constitution it cannot be so exempted, and it is for that reason that Tasmanian apiarists are included in this Bill. [More…]
For this reason it has been quite impracticable for the Board to operate under the present constitution. [More…]
But the Leader of the Opposition has often referred of course, to a Supreme Court decision that was taken in the United States of America and has tried to relate the United States Constitution to the Australian Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
This of course implies that the Australian Parliament has acted ultra vires the Commonwealth Constitution, and that is so much nonsense. [More…]
I have in my hand the report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review which reported in 1959. [More…]
That report contains sections dealing with the sorts of changes that ought to be made in our Constitution. [More…]
The Joint Committee on Constitutional Review was an all Party committee of this Parliament. [More…]
It reported on the constitutional changes which should be made. [More…]
Along with so many other recommendations which have been made to this Government, the recommendations contained in the report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review have been shelved for all these years. [More…]
Now it is plain when such changes should have been made, if necessary to the Constitution, so that the Prime Minister (Mr McMahon) could have stood in this House at question time today and told us and the people outside this Parliament what was the national interest. [More…]
I believe that even in these circumstances, where, as a result of the will of his own Government, the Prime Minister’s hands are tied behind his back because the Constitution has not been properly altered to cover this situation, the Prime Minister should have stood up in this Parliament and told the nation what he thinks about this takeover. [More…]
However, quite apart from that, let us be realists and recognise that the constitutional limitations imposed by section 92 of the Constitution have created really tremendous problems for the transport system of this country. [More…]
The Labor Platform Constitution and Rules as approved at the 1971 Conference stated: [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a special report by the Commonwealth Grants Commission on the application made by the State of Queensland for financial assistance from the Parliament of the, Commonwealth under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Over the years, the Commonwealth has assumed responsibility for many matters that were mainly the responsibility of the States under the Constitution. [More…]
The States, under the Constitution, have the primary responsibility for education, including the education of children living in the sparsely settled areas. [More…]
I speak of the relationships between Ministers, departments and so on that we find imbedded in the Constitution. [More…]
The Cabinet is not mentioned in the Constitution. [More…]
But at that time Parliamentary Secretaries had no standing, constitutionally or otherwise, in this House principally because, so far as payment is concerned, the Constitution refers to Ministers of State but also because at that stage Parliamentary Secretaries had not been sworn into the Executive Council. [More…]
I think that the Executive Government is quite clearly provided for in chapter 2 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 65 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The Prime Minister would say: ‘No, we will have an election in our own time’, or ‘We will have one according to the Constitution, within the time specified for an election’. [More…]
The fact is that bank nationalisation could be brought about only by a change to section 92 of the Constitution through the will of the people of Australia. [More…]
- subject to any special observations, the above-named is in good health and of sound constitution and not suffering from any mental or physical defect which would cause inability to earn a living in Australia; [More…]
Will the Minister consider revising the constitution of the Board to ensure that all members representing both co-operative and proprietary companies are as free as possible from vested interests, and specifically that suppliers whose votes determine the appointment to the Board are given an opportunity to have a say in the nominations? [More…]
Very real difficulties arise in placing restraints on individuals who have a right in accordance with the constitution of a particular body io be elected after the sort of campaign which they might be permitted to run. [More…]
However, I will examine the implications of the honourable gentleman’s question and this will be done, of course, in accordance with the recommendations for change in the constitution of the Board which are now being considered by the Government. [More…]
However, in view of the undoubted constitutional doubts in regard to this question, I think we at least should be furnished with some kind of legal opinion as to why it is that the Assistant Ministers are now legitimate. [More…]
As I said the other evening the Assistant Ministers could be said to be like Mohammed’s coffin - poised somewhere between the realities of parliamentary life and the doubts of the Constitution. [More…]
If one reads the Constitution it will be seen that quite often it mentions Ministers but it makes no mention whatever of Assistant Ministers. [More…]
But I suggest that the legal grounds on which something new has been intruded into the Constitution should at least be presented to the House before it finally gives sanction to these strange new creatures. [More…]
If this is so, will the Minister ensure that the figures are made available without further delay so that a certificate can be issued and thereby establish whether a redistribution is required in accordance with the Constitution? [More…]
There are limits placed on the Commonwealth by the Constitution. [More…]
Because of the limitations of power over shipping in the Australian Constitution, is there the possibility of orders being made under the Imperial Merchant Shipping Aci 1894, applying shipping regulations to Australian Stales? [More…]
If so, does this emphasise the need for an amendment of the Constitution giving the Commonwealth Parliament more extensive power over shipping? [More…]
If so, will the Government initiate the necessary legislation for the purpose of amending the Constitution? [More…]
The Government does not contemplate seeking any amendment of the Constitution in relation to matters referred to in these questions. [More…]
Thank God that because of section 92 of the Constitution they could not tie up motor transport. [More…]
The recommendation sets out what parts of the Constitution ought to be altered to meet the requirements of an ever increasing and ever changing world of transportation. [More…]
The Bill before us provides for a payment to the State of Queensland, under section 96 of the Constitution, through the mechanism of the Commonwealth Grants Commission. [More…]
Will the Government hide behind the Constitution as an alibi for its indecision and inaction? [More…]
At page 13474 of the Notice Paper, one sees listed the Commonwealth Electoral Bill 1971, the Senate Elections Bill 1971 and the Referendum Constitution Alteration Bill 1971. [More…]
If these examples are not sufficient I refer to Australian Labor Party policy formulated and adopted at the Federal Conference in Sydney in 1965 and which appears in the 1971 issue of the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
This cannot be done under the Constitution under the existing legislation because one cannot discriminate between people. [More…]
The Labor Party would use section 96 of the Constitution to make grants to the States to build up and establish a viable Australian dairy industry with the ideal or objective of every dairy farmer being economically viable. [More…]
Section 96 of the Constitution, by allowing grants to be made available to the States for specific purposes, would strengthen the entire dairy industry into a viable Industry. [More…]
I hope that what he will be doing is along the lines I have suggested - that is, by making a greater utilisation of section 96 of the Constitution which will enable a more effective use to be made of the subsidies of $27m a year with the express purpose of upgrading the dairy industry, by using its resources more efficiently, including the phasing out over a period of time those areas whose potential is just not there for dairy production. [More…]
The House of Assembly will decide the form of the constitution New Guinea is to have after independence. [More…]
On page 13 of the Labor Party’s ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ dealing with electoral policy, item 3- [More…]
This question of one vote one value appears on page 33 of the Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
But according to the Australian Constitution - and I think that the Australian elector should know how deep run the feelings of the Labor Party in this regard - it is impossible to have one vote one value because no State in the Commonwealth can have fewer than 5 seats. [More…]
Would it change the Constitution and give Tasmania 2 seats? [More…]
since its constitution in’ 1962. [More…]
I have been advised by Crown Law officers that the 3 islands which the honourable gentleman has mentioned are part of the territory of Queensland and I can also confirm to the honourable gentleman that under, I believe, section 123 of the Constitution, there can be no change in the boundaries of a State without the approval of the State. [More…]
Under the Constitution the Commonwealth has power to legislate for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. [More…]
It cannot give it a meaning different from that intended by the Constitution. [More…]
However, its application has been limited to the prevention and settlement of disputes in an industry in the constitutional meaning of that word. [More…]
Thus, in light of its consideration of the decision in the firefighters case and the particular result that has flowed from that decision in the ACT, the Government sees no reason why the jurisdiction of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission should be restricted in the Territories to dealing with industrial disputes involving only persons who are engaged in an industry in the constitutional sense of that word. [More…]
It wants to end the system of arbitration because that system, as conceived by those who drafted the Australian Constitution, was never intended to apply to the financial and economic exigencies of today. [More…]
This is all they can do under the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
There are excellent chances that men and women of those ages will be able to have a vote in this year’s House of Representatives election, even if the Government does not allow a vote to be taken on the Bill I have introduced today, or on the Bill which I introduced in June 1970, or on the Bill which the Government itself introduced in March last year to which we would move an amendment to give votes at 18 years of age, The reason why these people might have a vote at this years House of Representatives election is because the Constitution states: [More…]
Some people say that an adult in our Constitution means what it meant in Britain when our Constitution was enacted by the British Parliament in 1900. [More…]
Others would say that an adult in our Constitution means what it means in the general law in Australia. [More…]
The Constitution Act Amendment Act (No. [More…]
That section authorises the enrolment in the Commonwealth electoral rolls in the appropriate residential division, of any person to whom section 41 of the Constitution applies. [More…]
The provision was put there in connection with the voting rights of Aborigines, not of persons under 21, but it is clearly applicable to the age issues as well if section 41 of the Constitution is interpreted as 1 have suggested. [More…]
I interpolate at this point to say that 1 would have thought that an 18-year-old would have the right to go directly to the High Court as paragraph (v.) of section 75 of the Constitution states that in all matters in which a writ of mandamus is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth the High Court shall have original jurisdiction. [More…]
First, pursuant to our general national policy of compulsory enrolment of voters and compulsory voting, section 39b brings people qualified to vote under section 41 of the Constitution within the reach of both these requirements. [More…]
This puts a different complexion on the position of tine 18 to 21 group; if they are qualified to vote, under section 41 of the Constitution at Federal elections, it is their legal duty to go ahead and enrol and vote, not hist a matter for individuals to do their thing. [More…]
No doubt this move is intended to enable a challenge to be made in the High Court on the application of section 41 of the Commonwealth Constitution, which provided: [More…]
So the question of legal entitlement to vote at 18 years of age hinges largely on the interpretation of section 41 of the Constitution, and specifically on the interpretation of the word ‘adult’. [More…]
The Government has created a constitutional problem. [More…]
Section 41 of the Constitution provides that an adult who has the right to vote in elections for the more numerous Houses of Parliament in a State shall be entitled to vote at elections for either House of the Commonwealth Parliament. [More…]
However, this legislation is a reminder of an interesting fact about the Commonwealth territories to be found in our Constitution. [More…]
It is that, in large measure, the Commonwealth territories are not the subject of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
They are governed by what is called the territorial power, and many of the safeguards that exist in the Constitution for other Australians do not apply here. [More…]
Further, Section 55 of the Australian Constitution which deals with money Bills, does not apply to the laws of this Territory. [More…]
What is interesting, and what prompted me to make these comments, is that many of the fundamental freedoms in the Australian Constitution do not apply to the Australian Capital Territory. [More…]
Section 51 (xxxv) of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: . [More…]
The extraordinary thing about those words is that they have led to more litigation in the High Court than any other section in the Constitution, including section 92. [More…]
Indeed, in 1935 or 1936 every political party in Australia joined together to support an amendment to the Constitution with respect to civil aviation. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
Sir John Latham had a great understanding of the workings of the Constitution, and he had a very deep understanding of what made people think, tick and behave. [More…]
By the Constitution, the Federal power in this field is primarily limited to conciliation and arbitration in respect of interstate industrial disputes. [More…]
If I know anything about the 160-odd decisions which the judges of the High Court have given so far in respect of placitum (xxxv) of section 51 of the Constitution, I would be very surprised if the judges of the High Court did not adopt a purely technical and legalistic attitude towards the question and say that once the Act empowered a commissioner to take a subjective test as to what was in the public interest, it would not be within the competence of some other body to superimpose, supplant or substitute that primary subjective test with a second one. [More…]
says, in effect that you are not allowed to include any thing in an industrial agreement that is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
I am reminded of the remarks of that eminent Justice of the High Court, Sir Isaac Isaacs, who in 1917 said that the real raison d’etre of the arbitration power in the Constitution is not the mere decision between 2 contesting parties as to disputed industrial conditions, though that in itself is undoubtedly important, but the desirability, sometimes amounting to public necessity, that the community may be served uninterruptedly and not compelled, when threatened with deprivation of perhaps the essentials of existence, to look on helplessly while those whose function it is to supply them stop their work to quarrel. [More…]
And a challenge there will be because under the Constitution as it stands at present this Government cannot impose conditions such as these. [More…]
One alternative would be to make it a condition for the registration of a union that its constitution provide that certain strikes may not be undertaken without the consent of a committee of management that would include the executive of the union and representatives of defined districts or segments of the union. [More…]
Is it a fact that the State Attorneys-General have met to draw up guidelines for a convention of the States to review the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Can the Attorney-General say whether there is unanimity amongst the State Governments regarding the need for substantial reform of the Constitution. [More…]
Is it possible for the Commonwealth to arrange an election of constitution convention delegates at the same time as the next General Elections for the House of Representatives so that non-Parliamentary delegates could then join with Parliamentary delegates at a convention and begin drafting reforms to the Constitution; if so, will the Attorney-General advise the Government to do this. [More…]
It might not be otiose to remind honourable members that under the Constitution this Parliament always has had the responsibility of passing laws with respect to external affairs under paragraph (xxix) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
I did not know that the Leader of the Opposition had offered his opinion on the constitutional power to the Launceston conference. [More…]
The other day a question was asked in relation to insurance and the honourable member for Chifley took a point of order - I think it was the honourable member for Chifley who took the point of order - for the purposes of explaining that Labor Party policy in relation to insurance could not be carried out because there is a constitutional objection. [More…]
The honourable member for Hindmarsh today says: ‘Do you not know that although we adopted this policy at Launceston, for constitutional reasons advised to us by the Leader of the Opposition and by Senator Murphy we could not cany out our policy?’ [More…]
As far as the constitutional power is concerned, I would like to see the written advice of the Leader of the Opposition on the constitutional issue saying that the Labor Party does not have power mandatorily to require adequate representation of the trade unions in the management of such area as broadcasting and television, insurance and banking in which there is undoubted Commonwealth power to legislate. [More…]
As to whether the Constitution would prevent it being carried that far, I would like very much to see the written advice of the Leader of the Opposition on that constitutional question. [More…]
In passing, I observe that this is a singular limitation and if ever I were in a position to argue a case for altering our Constitution to give to the High Court power to give advisory opinions I should certainly do sp. [More…]
In such cases, of course, the Commonwealth power will have ultimate effect in the case of an inconsistency because of section 109 of the Constitution. [More…]
The ALP ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ states: [More…]
Tn the Australian Labor Party’s 1969 ‘Platform Constitution and Rules’ there was a reference to the American alliance as being crucial. [More…]
Both of these references have been changed very substantially in the much more recent version of the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’, the policy document from the 1971 Launceston conference. [More…]
We need to compare the words in the present Platform, Constitution and Rules’ with the words of the Leader of the Opposition spoken in November 1967. [More…]
The Commonwealth must not opt out of the situation by claiming constitutional limitations. [More…]
We should not allow a late nineteenth century constitution prevent us from facing the issues now and from facing them squarely. [More…]
Of course it could not do so because of the Constitution of this country. [More…]
But if the Labor Party introduced legislation, as it says it would, without having regard for the Constitution, the legislation would be challenged in the High Court tomorrow and the Labor Party would lose. [More…]
I recognise the problem created by the Constitution, that it is necessary to have this drawn out process of requiring the Premiers to agree on behalf of their governments and, in turn, for the agreements to be ratified. [More…]
Under the Constitution forestry is a State matter except in the Territories, including the Australian Capital Territory, lt would seem that for many years it did not rate as an important industry. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that when the Constitution was adopted control of Crown lands in the States remained with the States. [More…]
The present constitution of the Board is not intended to cover the making of such judgments. [More…]
In addition, following the submission of the report by Professor Grant to the previous Tasmanian Government to the Commonwealth Government a representation was made concerning the constitution of either a national export board or an Australian marketing board. [More…]
As a third alternative the Tasmanian Government itself was to consider the constitution of a State board. [More…]
When this motion is agreed to I will move similar motions in respect of the Senate Elections Bill 1971 and the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Bill 1971. [More…]
Hunt) introduced the Commonwealth Electoral Bill 1971 and 2 complementary Bills, namely, the Senate Elections Bill 1971 and the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Bill 1971. [More…]
The revenue derived from these and other taxes is, under Section 81 of the Constitution, paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund where it is used to meet the overall financial commitments of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Both organisations are friendly society funds and one of these makes specific provision in its constitution for the election of contributor representatives. [More…]
It was he who insisted on having incorporated in Hansard last December the extract from the Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules’ on economic planning, and he went on in the course of his remarks to make it clear that he supported it, and more. [More…]
Every State government in this Commonwealth has a significant responsibility under its own constitution, and the Commonwealth Government has its responsibilities under the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
1 only say again, as I think I have said before in the House, that it is now up to the States to do their share by introducing similar cuts in probate duty, which under the Constitution is their responsibility. [More…]
For the benefit of the House I will quote section 96 of the Constitution which allows the Commonwealth to provide funds for such a purpose. [More…]
At some stage this Parliament will be dissolved in accordance with the appropriate section of our Constitution - I think it is section 28. [More…]
If it were not for a High Court ruling that sales tax is in the nature of an excise tax and therefore under section 90 of the Constitution must remain with the Commonwealth, I for one would favour the Commonwealth vacating this field of taxation in favour of the States. [More…]
I refer to the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party which states: [More…]
I have considered this Budget in the terms of the authority of the House of Representatives as expressed in the Australian Constitution, a copy of which 1 have with me, and also as expressed in the terms of the platform of the Australian Labor Party in a document produced in June 1972. [More…]
The book contains details of the Labor Party’s platform and the interpretation that the Labor Party has of various sections of the Constitution. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition is trained in the law and in the Constitution. [More…]
He is conscious of the jurisdiction of the sovereign states and of the limitations of our Constitution which has been amended on only very few occasions. [More…]
On many occasions the people of Australia, I remind honourable members, have refused to amend the Constitution. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition finds himself in the position where with his Labor colleagues he is able to say at page 25 of Labor’s book, in the section ‘Industrial Relations’, under the heading ‘The Constitution’: [More…]
The Commonwealth’s power to deal with industrial matters derives from the Constitution 70 years old. [More…]
In this part of my speech 1 am referring to the criticisms of the Constitution because this is the important clue to the way in which the members of the Opposition think and is also the clue to the explanation for the extraordinary speeches they make about problems of government which are not properly the responsibility of this House but are properly the responsibility of the sovereign State governments in the capital cities of Australia. [More…]
In referring to the Constitution as being 70 years old, Labor seems to regard it in a derogatory way. [More…]
It was found by committees which examined the Constitution in 1929 and again in 1959 to be inadequate and to have led to excessive technicality and complexity. [More…]
It works this way: When you are in the States you can abuse the Constitution and ignore the Commonwealth’s power. [More…]
The States are given certain functions to perform under the Constitution, and tied grants should not be used as a means of getting around the Constitution. [More…]
Under the Constitution education is laid down for administration by the States. [More…]
Not only would it run contrary to the spirit of the Constitution but also it would not, I believe, be in the best interests of the schools or of the students. [More…]
The Labor Party says that the Constitution will not permit nationalisation but there are many other ways of crippling an industry which has Labor’s disapproval. [More…]
Indeed, the High Court of Australia unanimously decided that under section 41 of the Constitution people under 21 years of age must be regarded as not being adult for the purpose of the franchise. [More…]
It is not within the province of this Parliament to adjudicate upon industry as a whole, standard hours, minimum wages and that sort of thing unless we amend the Constitution. [More…]
It shelters behind the Constitution in saying that the Parliament cannot legislatively introduce a 35-hour week, but it makes it quite obvious that it will pursue the matter in any way possible to make it a reality. [More…]
It is on page 23 of the Party’s ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ as approved at the 1971 Launceston Conference. [More…]
The Constitution envisages such a system and empowers the Parliament to enact it. [More…]
The change proposed, as I have pointed out, is within the power of the Parliament and it would not require an amendment of the Constitution to achieve it. [More…]
It is time we took some, steps to do something specific about section 28 of the Constitution so that the dissolution of the Parliament should take place on a specific date from the last election unless it is earlier dissolved by a fall of the Government - in other words, by a resolution of the Parliament within the House. [More…]
However, as I am sure the honourable member would know, under the Commonwealth Constitution we cannot discriminate in the application of taxation laws between States or pans thereof. [More…]
There is one quite general question … of supreme importance to the continuance of the rule of law under the British constitution, namely, the right of the public affected to know what that law is. [More…]
Then as a further submission it was argued that there was a provision of the Constitution that had been contravened, that section 52 (J .) [More…]
of the Constitution contained a provision that the Parliament had exclusive power to make laws with respect to the Seat of Government and that that provision of the Constitution had not been complied with. [More…]
Was a meeting of the Foundation, called to discuss a move to dismiss the present manager, not held because the executive refused to convene it, in spite of the fact that 10 signatories, as required by the Constitution of the Foundation, requested the meeting. [More…]
It appears that what the Opposition would like to do is bypass the States and give money directly to local government authorities under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union and other related Instruments, opened for signature on 14th November 1969. [More…]
Some 90 years ago the fathers of the Australian Constitution met. [More…]
They proceeded, in their deliberations, to frame a constitution with which we are still saddled. [More…]
We are saddled with a constitution which is typical of Australia, the land of paradox. [More…]
It is a constitution which leaves the sovereign powers in the major responsibilities, forgetting international relations, with the States, but in fact and as a result of the effluxion of time and a major number of interpretative court judgments it leaves the fiscal and financial powers very much with the Commonwealth. [More…]
To put it in its crudest terms, the States could exist without the Commonwealth; the Commonwealth could not exist without the States, because while we have the present Constitution and the present unwillingness on the part of this Government to alter the situation it will continue and will worsen. [More…]
As the honourable member for Cunningham (Mr Connor) mentioned, the present Constitution and the basic framework of the structure between the Commonwealth, States and local government was laid down in 1901. [More…]
It is true that the Constitution says that the Commonwealth cannot build a railway except with the consent of a State. [More…]
At page 18 of the Platform, Constitution and Rules of the Australian Labor Party, as approved by the 29th Commonwealth Conference in 1971, it is stated that the Australian Labor Party will provide subsidies to institutional lenders to reduce by 2 per cent the rate of interest paid in the first 1 0 years of marriage. [More…]
Are not the State governments, because of the restrictions placed upon them by the Constitution, forced to go overseas to speculators and to areas of finance that are costly even on the standard that this Government has imposed on the community? [More…]
In saying this, such spokesmen always forget that within the common law itself, charters of individual rights have played an important part in the development of the common law and the British Constitution, which rests on the common law and from which Australia draws so many of its values. [More…]
The Magna Carta, the Petition of Right and the Bill of Rights have all been described at times as the pillars of the British Constitution. [More…]
The law of civil liberties in the United States of America revolves around the first 10 amendments to the American Constitution which are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. [More…]
Because of the differences between the Canadian Constitution and our own and because in particular the residual powers in the Canadian system rest with the Canadian Parliament, no constitutional amendment was necessary. [More…]
If we in Australia ever get to the stage of moving for a constitutional amendment to enact a Bill of Rights or to include one in our Constitution, I would hope that the same situation would apply here, I suggest that to argue against a Bill of Rights in such a situation would be something like arguing against the Ten Commandments. [More…]
The history of section 92 of our own Constitution has also proved the need for a distinction to be drawn. [More…]
Britain has not a Bill of Rights, it does not even have a Constitution. [More…]
When our founding fathers drafted the Constitution of this country they had before them the model of the American Constitution. [More…]
The American Constitution contains constitutional guarantees. [More…]
Our founding fathers had to decide whether, in drafting our Constitution, we would adopt constitutional guarantees similar to those in the Bill of Rights. [More…]
I think it needs to be shown by anyone who asserts that we should now have constitutional guarantees that they are the better system, because difficulties arise in practice with this type of guarantee. [More…]
Some countries which have adopted a Bill of Rights with constitutional guarantees have found that the number of cases in the courts endeavouring to enforce constitutional rights so guaranteed have accumulated to a point where it takes a very long time for the cases to come on. [More…]
For example, under the American guarantee of the freedom of the Press and freedom of speech the person who relies on that constitutional guarantee might not be the one whom it was intended to protect. [More…]
There is the instance of the pressman in America who stole property and who, when he was charged with stealing, relied as a defence on the constitutional guarantee. [More…]
He said that he stole the property for publication in the Press and that therefore the Constitution protected him against prosecution for stealing. [More…]
Four pages of guarantees relating to civil rights were, written into the constitution of that country. [More…]
But I think I would rather be living here under the protection of our traditions, our habits of thoughts and our rules of law than under a constitution guaranteeing those rights. [More…]
If we value our freedoms that have been referred to we should think about whether we will necessarily increase them or improve them by writing them into the form of a constitutional guarantee. [More…]
We will respond positively to initiatives which the States take on behalf of centres such as Albany and Bunbury, where there is great potential for accelerated development, and we will ourselves take the initiative in the development of Albury-Wodonga where the Constitution authorises the Commonwealth to become involved in its own right. [More…]
It appears on page 1 1 of the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ as determined by the Federal Conference of the Australian Labor Party held in Launceston in 1971. lt is Labor Party policy to: [More…]
At least I was prepared to proceed to illustrate how little he knew about the Australian Constitution and the method of conducting government in this country. [More…]
This, of course, is an aspect of Australian policy which is actually envisaged in the Australian Constitution because after reference to the power over external affairs vested in this Parliament there is mention of power to conduct relations with the islands of the Pacific. [More…]
As I have intimated, under the constitution the Commonwealth cannot alone legislate to grant the power of compulsory acquisition to the Wool Corporation. [More…]
The old section 51, paragraph (xxvi), of the Constitution excluded the Commonwealth from the power to legislate for Aborigines. [More…]
I should like to remind the House and members of the Government parties in particular, that when this referendum proposing an amendment to section 31 of the Constitution - not the one concerning the census - was put to the people of Australia for the first time in 1944 by the Curtin Government as part of the search for adequate Commonwealth powers to handle the problems of post-war reconstruction and development, members of the now Government parties opposed this referendum. [More…]
I think that we would find it very difficult to do this under the Constitution. [More…]
I believe that it is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution for a government to mobilise these funds and, in fact, take control of them. [More…]
The Constitution requires that a fair price be paid if somebody’s assets are taken over. [More…]
Admittedly we get more back in grants than we pay in taxes, but the Commonwealth Constitution makes it incumbent on the Commonwealth Government to make Tasmania a viable State in spite of that fact. [More…]
At the moment the Constitution makes it impossible for Tasmania to become a duty free State without a referendum. [More…]
But the Constitution does not say anything about the disadvantage of a State being recognised by the Commonwealth. [More…]
I say quite clearly now that, although the Constitution specifically says that no State shall be advantaged over another State, the reverse is absolutely true also, that no State should be disadvantaged over any other State. [More…]
I make this plea to the Government: The Constitution provides that the Commonwealth can help any State that is in difficulties by direct grants. [More…]
Perhaps the only feasible way, as the Constitution stands at the moment, is for this Government to lift its grants to our island to bring us up to the level of the mainland States. [More…]
This is the Commonwealth’s responsibility, as I see it, under the constitutional powers. [More…]
How can 1 accept this bland assurance that he has no wish to nationalise the medical profession and cannot do so because of the Constitution? [More…]
His own Leader, Mr Whitlam, has stated that it would be intolerable if a Labor government used the Constitution as an alibi to excuse failure to achieve its socialist objectives. [More…]
The fact is that it is under the constitution and not under the Electoral Act that Western Australia is entitled to 10 members and not merely to 9 members in the House of Representatives which will be elected in the next few months. [More…]
In fact the only task which the Constitution gives the Statistician is to make this calculation. [More…]
If sufficient resources bad been given to the Statistician to carry out the duty which the Constitution imposes upon him, then whenever the Prime Minister makes up his mind to hold this year’s House of Representatives election there would have been time to have a distribution in Western Australia. [More…]
Australia had the full number of members in the next Parliament to which it is entitled under the Constitution. [More…]
If one takes the population into account - as I believe one should under the Constitution and as the Supreme Court of the United States insists must be done under the American Constitution, from which we have borrowed the same words - the disparity would be still greater because the numbers of electors do not include migrants who are unnaturalised and citizens who are still under 21 years of age and Aborigines who have not chosen to enrol. [More…]
The delayed distribution has meant not only that the people of Western Australia will not have as many votes in the next House of Representatives as the Constitution says they are entitled to have; it also means that the next House of Representatives will not be truly representative of the Australian people or even of the areas where the Australian electors reside. [More…]
Of course, under the Constitution, the Prime Minister can defer everything until 20th January. [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution the States are primarily responsible for many of the matters involved in natural resource development. [More…]
For all its difficulties and shortcomings the Australian Constitution is not an insurmountable barrier against social reform and social justice. [More…]
If section 92 of the Constitution is held up as the bulwark of private enterprise, then section 96 is the charter of public enterprise and section SI is the key to national responsibility and national regeneration. [More…]
Conditional grants will be allocated under section 96 of the Constitution to ensure that the serevices already available to the people of the Australian Capital Territory will become available to Australians in other parts of this land. [More…]
He mentioned that the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Whitlam) saw section 96 of the Constitution as a charter for public enterprise. [More…]
However we may deprecate the parochialism or whatever that represents, the plain fact of the matter - something which is usually obscure to members of the Opposition - is that in a given constitution or governmental structure it is necessary to work with the other people who have some share in it. [More…]
Section 51 of the Commonwealth Constitution empowers the Federal Parliament to legislate in respect of [More…]
He is performing a public service because members of the Opposition, and particularly front bench members of the Opposition, have repeatedly attempted to lure( the public into a sense of false security by claiming over and over again that the Constitution would prevent the nationalisation of health services. [More…]
The constitution was amended- [More…]
It would be intolerable if a Labor government were to use the alibi of the Constitution .to excuse failure to achieve its socialist objectives-doubly intolerable because it is just not true that* it need do so. [More…]
I quote from the Australian Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules. [More…]
Pursuant to section 14 of the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1933-1966 I present the thirty-ninth report of the Commonwealth Grants Commission on the applications made by the States of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania for financial assistance under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Incorporated in this report is the special report on the application made by the State of Queensland for financial assistance under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Unlike other national governments, including those which have a federal constitution, this Government refuses to recognise or accept its responsibilities. [More…]
I am making these remarks today in the hope that those who will be organising and those who will be attending the conference of the Constitution, which it is said will be held next May, will take some of the points I have raised into consideration. [More…]
I understand that most people believe that the Constitution is right in giving all States the same number of senators, but I repeat that it should be right to have the chance of equal House of Representative representation within a State. [More…]
It is one of those matters for which the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr Lynch) would find himself with some degree of responsibility, although it must be recognised that the Commonwealth Government, under the Constitution, can legislate for working hours for its own employees only. [More…]
I think that acquisition would be the Labor Party’s solution to the problem, lt is worth remembering that under the Constitution the Commonwealth has no power to acquire the Australian wool clip. [More…]
One of the problems of the acquisition scheme in relation to the Constitution, as I see it, will be the problem of acquiring all the clip. [More…]
The States also have a responsibility because under our Constitution the produce of the States comes within the jurisdiction of the States. [More…]
of section 51 of the Audit Act, relating to matters on which the Auditor-General should report, states that the Auditor-General shall show: full particulars of every case in which the provisions of the Constitution or of this or any other Act or the regulations or any forms shall not have been carried out or adopted or shall in any manner have been varied or departed from. [More…]
They are the 3 States which are claiming in terms of that rather wide section of the Constitution - section 96. [More…]
I think section 96 is one of the fortunate sections of the Constitution, whereas section 92 is one of the unfortunate sections. [More…]
If the Commonwealth does not intend to extend the principle to all States, does that failure constitute a clear violation of the Constitution in that it is a blatant discrimination between States in the distribution of Commonwealth controlled funds? [More…]
properly decided in a constitutional way, and that situation will be created by the passage of this Bill, which would open the way for a decision by the High Court of Australia in accordance with the Constitution. [More…]
The referendum procedure offers but little opportunity for amending the Constitution. [More…]
That is the effect of section 123 of the Constitution. [More…]
If the States are right, the Commonwealth is purporting to alter the boundaries of the States, in flat conflict with section 123 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Commonwealth has power under the external affairs provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
On a former occasion the Minister had pointed out the position under the constitution of the International Labour Organisation. [More…]
This is one international body at which the Commonwealth alone can be represented, but where the conventions are not, in the terms of the organisation’s constitution, able to be ratified by the Commonwealth alone. [More…]
I would imagine that the Commonwealth could act in this field under the external affairs paragraph in section 51 of the Constitution just as it has done in respect of civil aviation conventions. [More…]
I remind the House that the Commonwealth Constitution in Section 51 (XXXIII) expressly gives the Commonwealth power to acquire State railways with the consent of the State. [More…]
It is clear that the Commonwealth refused to investigate or even seriously contemplate proposals which had been placed before the Government by 2 State Premiers under procedure sanctioned by the Constitution itself ever since it was first enacted. [More…]
Thanks to section 92 of the Constitution they could not do anything about taxing motor transport off the roads. [More…]
Whilst the constitution provides for a minimum of one, all 4 could be on the Executive if* elected. [More…]
He even goes on to suggest that there is not enough power under the Australian Constitution for Labor to nationalise when he himself has said it would be wrong for Labor to hide behind the Constitution and pretend that it cannot socialise, nationalise or do what it wants. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition has recognised - and he said as much - that where section 92 of the Constitution is the charter of private enterprise section 96 is the charter of public enterprise. [More…]
The simple fact is that section 96 would enable a Labor government to do by the back door what it cannot do by the front door under the Constitution, by making grants to the States. [More…]
In the health area, which we are talking about today, by making grants to the States on condition that the States effectively nationalised surgeries, health centres, doctors and the lot, a Labor government could legally, constitutionally and fully nationalise every doctor’s surgery and hospital in Australia. [More…]
In an oration which was reported in the ‘Medical Journal of Australia’ on 1 8th December 1965, when talking about the great power which the Commonwealth has under section 96 of the Constitution, he said: [More…]
The second point I make with respect to representation for the people in the Northern Territory is that they should be entitled to vote on matters concerning the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
Why should not the people in the Northern Territory have the right to vote in a referendum concerning the Commonwealth Constitution? [More…]
But surely where expenditure is involved in housing, roads and so on the Northern Territory people and the Legislative Council have the same right to go to the Com monwealth Government for assistance under section 96 of the Constitution as has any other State which seeks special assistance in these fields. [More…]
This seems to be one of the healthy lights thrown upon constitutional possibilities in Australia as a result of the Concrete Pipes case. [More…]
We were always told that such a move was beyond the powers of the Commonwealth under the Constitution. [More…]
I cannot foreshadow the long term legislation in detail, because this is not the appropriate time to do so, but it will, for instance, provide for the constitution of an independent body. [More…]
The Minister for Shipping and Transport said in his reply to the second reading debate that I was referring to placitum (xxix) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
There is little doubt that under both the trade and commerce powers and the external affairs powers of the Constitution the Commonwealth could have implemented the provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil 1954, which was the first convention dealing with the problem of the pollution of the sea. [More…]
SI, placitum 10, of the Constitution which relates to fisheries in Australian waters beyond the territorial waters. [More…]
The measure we are now debating is pursuant to a different section of the Constitution and that is the section which relates to international treaties. [More…]
It really comes from the external affairs power under section 51, placitum 29, of the Constitution. [More…]
The power is in the Constitution. [More…]
There is power in the Constitution to enable the Federal Parliament to make laws relating to foreign corporations. [More…]
That constitutional power had not previously been invoked but we know that it is there. [More…]
This could be done under the powers of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
As far as I personally am concerned, and I think as far as my Party is concerned, I can only condemn the Government for waiting 2i years and until the last 23 hours of this Parliament to make a decision - which it will fail to act upon - to give to the policy holders of this country, in the interests of the public and the insurance industry generally, the protection that they deserve and are entitled to under the Constitution. [More…]
to (3) ‘Prior to amendments of the ILO Constitution which entered into’ force in 1948 there was no provision for making declarations applying Conventions to non-metropolitan territories except where particular Conventions so provided. [More…]
and (2) During the period of my term of office as Prime Minister, the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review have not been the subject of formal examination by the Government. [More…]
Questions of Constitutional amendment, including the proposals made by the Joint Committee, would seem properly to be matters to be taken up at the Constitutional Convention next year. [More…]
The Government’s decision to meet half the costs of the Convention reflects our desire to see that a full and comprehensive review of the Constitution is undertaken. [More…]
Under the ILO Constitution, the making of a declaration in respect of Papua New Guinea stating the extent to which the provisions of any Convention should be applied does not arise unless and until Australia has ratified that Convention. [More…]
I now ask the Prime Minister, as I asked him several times directly and publicly last year without answer: Is he bound in making his policy decisions by all of the platform, constitution and rules of the Labor Party as approved at the Launceston Conference in 1971? [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that under the provisions of section 41 of the Constitution, no adult person who has, or acquires the right to vote at elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of a State shall, while the right continues, be prevented by any law of the Commonwealth from voting at elections for either House of Parliament of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The Prime Minister had defended the stationing of some Australian troops in Singapore as being consistent with the constitution, platform and rules set out at the last Federal Conference of the Australian Labor Party in Launceston. [More…]
The Commonwealth Electoral Officer has not called for nominations and the people of Australia - the 6i million voters - have no say in the constitution of that Conference. [More…]
Because of the limits of our Australian Constitution the Federal Government will need the co-operation of all States if we are to protect the rights and national inheritance of future generations. [More…]
Are basic changes in administration to mean the overthrow of the Public Service or an assault on the banking or insurance systems to which the Government is pledged in the Platform, Constitution and Rules agreed to at Launceston and to which the Prime Minister said unqualifiedly that he was bound in policy terms? [More…]
The constitutional balance of legislative authority and administrative function in the Australian Federation is to be deliberately distorted without the approval of the people, notwithstanding the repetition of mystical invocations by the advisers to the GovernorGeneral of the ‘national will’, the ‘will of the people’, and a somehow perceived ‘instruction from the people’. [More…]
The only instruction for constitutional change can come from a referendum of the people held under the Constitution, and while this Government’s program is built upon the political foundation of the Constitution, ignoring its fundamental pillars of support, it can expect to be a ricketty structure for in the end the Government cannot be expected to have nor hold the goodwill of the people. [More…]
Honourable members would be excused for thinking this is a fancy description of Australian Federalism as it is and as it ought to be under our Constitution. [More…]
If one looks at it casually one might be forgiven for saying that a few years ago this speech would have been made in a State parlia ment, because most of the matters of substance which are referred to in it are matters for which the Constitution gives responsibility primarily to the States. [More…]
I need only remind the House that it was a great Queenslander, Sir Samuel Griffith, who drew up the Federal Constitution, and the reasons for drawing a Federal Constitution are as valid today as they were in 1901. [More…]
That situation will be a denial of the Constitution which, of course, apparently means nothing to the Government at the present time because it seems to have very little regard for it. [More…]
The Government makes proposals without saying whether they are in conformity with the present Constitution. [More…]
It may fairly be said that a constitutional convention is required to realign the responsibilities of State governments and local government with the available funds that they have to perform their tasks. [More…]
It is the time to keep physically and mentaly fit, for one needs the constitution of an ox to stand up to the pressures and challenges of long hours of Cabinet responsibility. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ states: [More…]
Be the administrative authority carrying out the decisions of Federal Conference, and in the interpretation of any Conference decision, the Federal Platform and the Constitution and Rules of the Party, and the direction of Federal Members. [More…]
Again the Party’s constitution lays down that the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party can have authority to act only within the framework of the directions which it gets. [More…]
Is he bound in making his policy decisions by all of the platform, constitution and rules of the Labor Party as approved at the Launceston Conference in 1971. [More…]
This year a convention is to be held to discuss the Constitution of this country. [More…]
The whole constitutional system of the United States of America rests on the fact that the American people, not without the best of reasons, have the utmost suspicion of people who wield power. [More…]
Therefore, when they constructed their Constitution they provided checks and balances. [More…]
The Australian Constitution has been referred to by many as an anachronistic document and for many reasons. [More…]
Indeed, the Rocla Pipes case of 1970 would seem to indicate that a new avenue is open to the Commonwealth, such as a Companies Act, extending Commonwealth’s powers under section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Federal Constitution - the overriding authority in the matter - provides by section 30 for the election of the Federal Parliament. [More…]
Consequent upon this section in the Constitution, the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 191 8 provided: all persons not under twenty, one years of age . [More…]
These States, jealous of their State rights and justice, would seem justified in demanding votes at Federal elections for their enfranchised under their State laws, but section 41 of the Federal Constitution states: [More…]
This anomaly between State and Commonwealth voting laws and this anachronism of the Federal Constitution was tested in the High Court last year. [More…]
The resolution of this case revolved around the meaning of the word ‘adult’ in section 41 of the Constitution. [More…]
An ‘adult person’ within the meaning of s. 41 of the Constitution is a person who has attained the age of 21 years. [More…]
Four judges assumed, without deciding, that the words ‘acquires a right to vote at elections for the more numerous House of the Parlia ment of a State’ in section 41 of the Constitution refers to a right given by a State law which came into force subsequent to the enactment of the Constitution before the framing of franchise by the Commonwealth. [More…]
The Chief Justice also held that to change the franchise for Commonwealth electors it was not necessary to change the Constitution but only to change the Electoral Act as provided for under section 30 of the Federal Constitution. [More…]
It is fortunate that this Bill we are now debating can remove the anachronism and the anomaly of depriving 18-year-olds of voting rights while demanding of them adult responsibilities,, rather than having to go to the people to change the Constitution. [More…]
Clearly they did not have persuasion to the Court and on reading the judgment this is understandable because the Court was concerned with the nature and function of section 41 of the Constitution and how the term ‘adult person’ in that section should be accorded and that it should not be, in their terms, accorded a vague and imprecise meaning such as mature person’. [More…]
The fact that the High Court was not prepared to accept arguments about earlier maturity today in no way changes the right or indeed the necessity for us to face the fact that younger people are maturing earlier today because these matters, as the Court deemed, could not be considered in interpreting the Constitution itself. [More…]
It possibly was invalid - indeed the Court found that it was - to argue that way in endeavouring to ascribe a meaning to sections of the Constitution itself. [More…]
I certainly believe that in the curricula for young people - young adults who are being given their majority politically by this legislation - there needs to be a study of Australian government and the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Any of us who campaigned on referenda know that a great many of their elders have not got a prayer about either the State constitution which governs them, the city constitution or the national one. [More…]
So there are people who are interested enough to come to political meetings who have no idea of the constitution of their State. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution requires the number of members in the several States to be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people. [More…]
The Constitution thus ensures equitable representation of the people in the House of Representatives, State by State. [More…]
Applying similar constitutional provisions, the United States Supreme Court has, for the last 9 years and more, declared any form of malapportionment within a State to be unconstitutional. [More…]
We should not accept regional discrimination for or against particular regions within States arty more than the Constitution allows us to accept discrimination as between States. [More…]
The Joint Committee of Constitutional Review in its recommendations endeavoured to safeguard the people against gerrymanders either by lapse of time or distortion of population. [More…]
The Committee further proposed not merely an alteration to the Electoral Act but that the principle should be enshrined in the Constitution itself, that the permissible variation from the quota should be reduced to 10 per cent and that this should be written into the Constitution. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution ensures that representation of the States in the House of Representatives shall be in proportion to their respective populations. [More…]
This principle, enshrined in the Constitution, was destroyed by the Liberal-Country Party in 1965 by its amendments to section 19, making it possible for a vote of an elector in one division of a State to be as much as one and a half limes as valuable as the vote of an elector in another division in the same State. [More…]
The Constitution itself restricted the role of this Parliament concerning Aborigines; we have now removed that discrimination. [More…]
All I think I can say about the general matter which the honourable gentleman raised - I would like to praise him for his attitude throughout his life in this Parliament as well as outside for his many activities in this field - is that the Australian Government is resolved to press ahead by every constitutional method available to it - in particular since the 1967 referendum and under the external affairs power - to see that any traces of racism in Australia’s legislation or administration are expunged. [More…]
There will be no shillyshallying by the present Australian Government in using any opportunities available to it under the Australian Constitution and carrying out any obligations under international conventions. [More…]
Growers in all States have been pressing for legislation to protect their position but so far the reaction of individual State Ministers for Agriculture has been to point out the difficulties of making legislation work, given section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
There is, of course, the question of the extent to which Commonwealth participation in a decentralisation program is allowed by the Constitution. [More…]
Section 51 (ii) of the Constitution provides that the Commonwealth cannot discriminate between States or parts of States in matters of taxation. [More…]
I challenge him to look up the references, the constitutional authorities, to see what they say about the concept of a mandate. [More…]
The Government must do, under our Constitution, what it believes is right, not what is in some policy document, and the Opposition must oppose what it believes is wrong. [More…]
Another point about this Committee is whether the Labor Party in government has forgotten about the separation of the powers of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary which is fundamental to our constitution. [More…]
This appears to give it in its constitution and charter some width in its capacity to inquire into matters of foreign affairs and defence generally. [More…]
I will come later to the latter parts of its constitution which are set out in the motion. [More…]
The Commonwealth is constitutionally incompetent to pass legislation that discriminates between the States and it is morally incompetent to make rules or laws that discriminate between citizen and citizen. [More…]
It would appear to go against the spirit of Section 117 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Committee considered the extent of the problems which would arise from inserting in the Constitution a requirement that no division in a State should depart from the quota for that State to a greater extent than one-tenth more or one-tenth less. [More…]
It is a constant debating point to suggest that in Australia there is a constitutional guarantee underpinning citizen rights. [More…]
Not so long ago, in 1962, we passed an Act which gave Aborigines the right to vote, but no citizen guarantee in the Constitution gave them that right. [More…]
If the Labor Party is so attached to the principle, let it ask the people to change the Constitution to get rid of this aberration of one vote one value in Tasmania. [More…]
Let us see Labor ask the people to change the Constitution to give Tasmania only the limited number of senators it would be entitled to under a one vote one value principle. [More…]
He said that section 24 of the Constitution ensures that representation of the States in the House of Representatives shall be in proportion to their respective populations and therefore the vote of an elector in any one State shall be no more or no less valuable than the vote of electors in other [More…]
The Constitution does not provide for equal value of votes. [More…]
The Committee considered the extent of the problems which would arise from inserting in the Constitution a requirement that no division in a State should depart from the quota for that State to a greater extent than one-tenth more or one-tenth less. [More…]
The honourable member is well aware that the electorate of the honour able member for Bass (Mr Barnard) is under the quota because of a situation created at the time of the framing of the Federal Constitution at a convention from which the Labor Party was excluded. [More…]
If the Government is sincere in its desire to achieve a true one vote one value, then it should commence to alter the constitution whereby each State shall have equal Senate representation. [More…]
I turn now to the principles governing the number of Federal seats in a State as laid down by the Constitution in accordance with the population of a State. [More…]
But the Constitution provides that it must not have fewer than 5. [More…]
If this principle is good enough to be included in the Constitution why should we not consider isolation in other parts of Australia? [More…]
According to the Constitution that would be the correct representation. [More…]
I am sure that all honourable members realise, and 1 am sure that the honourable member for Wimmera realises, that these are matters quite outside the legislative control of this Parliament because they would involve amendments to the Constitution. [More…]
If the population of Tasmania, by plague or some other disaster, declined to 20 electors, under the Constitution it would still be entitled to 5 seats in the House of Representatives, and each of those seats would presumably have 4 electors. [More…]
Because of our archaic Constitution, there was no other way of obtaining data that we needed to enable us to become as sophisticated and well-informed as the Japanese. [More…]
Perhaps it is fairly generally well-known that the Constitution makes provision for determining the number of representatives from each of the States, lt is through the adoption of this formula that 45 members currently represent New South Wales, 34 represent Victoria, 18 represent Queensland, and various other numbers represent the other States of Australia. [More…]
Does any person seriously suggest that the Senate today is a reflection of the intention of the founders of the Constitution? [More…]
We further concede that the Constitution Act itself restricts the principle at which we are aiming. [More…]
Section 7 of the Constitution provides that all original States, irrespective of population, shall have equal representation in the Senate. [More…]
A federal Labor government will distribute electorates as the Constitution intended and as the United States Supreme Court has insisted that the corresponding provisions of the United States Constitution be carried out. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides in part: The number of members chosen in the several States shall be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people, and shall, until the Parliament otherwise provides, be determined, whenever necessary, in the following manner: [More…]
The Prime Minister said, in effect, 3 things on that occasion: Firstly, that the present system was ultra vires the Constitution; secondly, that he was going to engineer a new formula to give western Sydney 2 new electorates, therefore removing from the rest of New South Wales 2 rural electorates; and, thirdly, that he was pre-empting any decision that future electoral distribution commissioners might make in accordance with section 24 of the Constitution. [More…]
So, in answer to the statement that the principle is that there should be equal representation for equal numbers of people, the facts are that taking a State as a whole in accordance with the Constitution there is equal representation for equal numbers of people. [More…]
We can refer to the struggle that took place in the United States of America to set up that country’s constitution when lack of representation resulted in the American Revolution and the subsequent setting up of that country’s own form of Government. [More…]
If he believes that all people should be equal in making the law, why is he not first seeking an amendment to the Constitution to abolish this differential between the States? [More…]
Has the Minister sought to have this matter raised at the constitutional review conference? [More…]
I suggest that we should not consider departing from the latter provision until consideration has been given to the broader constitutional provisions. [More…]
I hope that the Committee’s recommendations will include the funding of the States for the education of the handicapped in grants under section 96 of the Constitution, and I hope that the offer of the Commonwealth foi- these and other grants will not be met with the strange reception that our intention to make very substantial grants under section 96 as an offer to the Premiers received last week. [More…]
They apparently do not realise that the idea of having equal representation in the Senate from each of the States comes from what is known as the great compromise of the Constitution convention in the United States of America in 1778. [More…]
Interestingly enough Tasmania was granted 5 seats in the House of Representatives at the beginning of the Federal Parliament, back in 1901, and it is written into the Constitution, at page 8 of the copy that I have: [More…]
But in their wisdom the planners of our Constitution said that Tasmania should have 5, even though it did not deserve that number at that time. [More…]
The number of members for Tasmania was fixed by the Constitution at 5. [More…]
Another thing which the Constitution did for Tasmania was give it the same number of senators as it gave each of the other States and all States started off in 1901 with 6 senators each, a total of 36 senators for the whole of Australia. [More…]
I think the early planners of our Constitution did a magnificent job. [More…]
I am glad that he was born about 60 years after the Constitution was first brought into being. [More…]
I am glad he was born; I am just glad that he was not born way back when he might have had something to do with the Constitution. [More…]
But it is quite wrong to drag Tasmania into the argument against this Bill because Tasmania had its number decided by the Constitution and that number will not be altered for many years. [More…]
It is clear that the job of this Committee would be to consider the situation in the Northern Territory and to make recommendations to the government concerning the type of constitution which should be created by the ‘Federal Parliament for the Northern Territory. [More…]
Given the rigidity of our Constitution, in co-operation with the States we are engaged in an effort to overcome those disadvantages which exist in the Australian federal system. [More…]
The legislation is derived really from 2 provisions, the Constitution and the 1927 Loan Agreement. [More…]
We are bound by the Constitution and we on this side do not like the Government’s departure from it. [More…]
He has a responsibility within the whole concept of our Constitution. [More…]
The second feature of the oath or affirmation is that allegiance is to be sworn to the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
Specific mention of the Queen is not made, but of course allegiance to our Constitution fully embraces allegiance to the Throne. [More…]
The Council was instructed to make recommendations to the Government for the establishment of the Institute, its functions, powers and constitution and for the site of the Institute. [More…]
The monarchy is entrenched in the Constitution. [More…]
The Government has not considered and is not contemplating amendments to the Constitution in this respect. [More…]
The prime method of altering the Constitution is by a referendum of the people on a Bill passed by this Parliament, or in certain circumstances, by one House of the Parliament. [More…]
The Government certainly would be expecting to give the people the opportunity to modernise our Constitution by introducing Bills for referenda. [More…]
This policy was stated in the Liberal constitution as it was when I first came into this Parliament, But because of the need to move towards this gradually we instead undertook a plan of gradual, progressive liberalisation aimed at eventual abolition. [More…]
The Australian Constitution limits this Parliament’s jurisdiction to interstate industrial disputes. [More…]
Our immediate aim is to give effect to those aspects of industrial policy which can be dealt with within the rather limited area of power granted by the Constitution. [More…]
It is against this background of technicality and confusion that the Australian Labor Party platform declares that the Constitution must be amended to allow the system for the resolution of industrial conflict to be modernised by enabling the Australian Parliament to establish sensible means for the resolution of questions relating to terms and conditions of employment. [More…]
In the interim, however, we must work through the existing Constitution, however defective it is. [More…]
The primary purpose of this Bill is to enable Parliament to approve ratification by Australia of amendments to the constitution of the International Labour Organisation. [More…]
In this the Government is following the example set by the Chifley Government in 1947 on the occasion of major changes to the ILO constitution following World War II. [More…]
Of course we face difficulties because of our Federal Constitution but if Australia genuinely wishes to ratify conventions ways can be found to do this. [More…]
It is a matter of some embarrassment to Australia that the requirements of the ILO constitution that declarations must be made for these Territories have not yet been fulfilled. [More…]
As I indicated at the outset, its primary purpose is to enable the Parliament to approve ratification by Australia of the amendments to the ILO constitution adopted in 1964 and 1972. [More…]
Amendments to the ILO constitution come into force only when they are ratified or accepted by two-thirds of the member States of the ILO including 5 of the 10 States of Chief Industrial Importance. [More…]
Under the 1LO constitution at present, when a member State responsible for the international relations of non-metropolitan territories ratifies an ILO convention there is no specific time limit in which it is required to make declarations providing for the applicability of the convention to its non-metropolitan territories. [More…]
The Government is also taking the opportunity while the legislation is before the Parliament to provide for approval of the two amendments to the ILO Constitution accepted by the Australian Government on 20th August 1953 and 21st December 1962. [More…]
This will mean that the constitution of the Committee will be 11 members instead of 10 with 6 from this House and 5 from the Senate. [More…]
The Bill will draw upon all powers available to the Australian Parliament under the Statute of Westminster and under the Constitution. [More…]
The Grants Commission was set up under section 96 of the Constitution to make grants to the States and these grants can be made fairly freely. [More…]
The arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of many political prisoners was made easier by the new constitution pushed through the Vietnamese Parliament by President Thieu. [More…]
The constitution which described communists and procommunist neutralists as persons who commit acts of propaganda for an incitement of neutralism could have been and was applied so sweepingly that many thousands of Vietnamese - many of them often by mistake - who would never regard themselves as even communist sympathisers were gaoled as political prisoners. [More…]
That is set down not by the Constitution - section 71 of the Constitution permits an unlimited number of judges in the High Court - but by section 4 of the Judiciary Act. [More…]
We are trying to stand back and say that this is a grant under section 96 of the Constitution and then coming in with some sort of direct administrative action by this Parliament in this area to make the universities accountable to us instead of to the State Auditors-General. [More…]
That is the way in which it is desired in our Constitution - it is the purpose of the conciliation and arbitration power. [More…]
The first 2 references to the Joint Committee on Prices were made and the constitution of the proposed prices justification tribunal was outlined. [More…]
Let me return to the specifics of the matter, namely, the provisions of the Constitution and the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill itself. [More…]
But let us look at the philosophy of the Constitution and the Act. [More…]
Section 51 of our Constitution provides that the Parliament shall have power to legislate for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
We did not have the power under the Constitution of the Commonwealth to do any more than we have done up to the present - that is, to establish the conciliation and arbitration machinery that will in fact settle a dispute. [More…]
If this occurred, it would be outside, the power of the court or the Commission and if the Act purported to give the Commission such power, the Act would be ultra vires the Constitution. [More…]
It is not very efficient but it has constitutional coverage to deal with nurses, boilermakers, shearers, ex-members of Parliament, ex-Ministers and the like and we want the cover of registration for these kinds of people.’ [More…]
He knew that if I fell for his silly little bait it would be proof positive that I knew nothing about the Constitution and that i knew a lot less about the operation of the arbitration system. [More…]
It clearly and confidently emphasises affirmation of allegiance Whilst on the subject of the oath or affirmation of allegiance it is worth stressing that it is to the Constitution of Australia ‘hat allegiance is to be sworn. [More…]
The British system of a constitutional monarchy with its centuries of continuity was naturally and inevitably passed down to its colonial peoples. [More…]
The oath or affirmation clearly states: ‘I will faithfully uphold the Constitution of Australia’. [More…]
As the honourable member well knows, the Constitution of Australia requires full allegiance to the Throne. [More…]
The Constitution gives the Australian Government powers in the field of weights and measures. [More…]
They are renouncing their formal allegiance to the constitution, the president, the monarchy or whatever it was in their own country of origin. [More…]
The second aspect of the change relates to my belief that it is not sufficient that a newcomer swear allegiance only to the Australian constitution. [More…]
After all, we as members of this Parliament under the terms of the Australian Constitution are required to take an oath of allegiance to the monarchy. [More…]
The monarchy is still a part of our Constitution. [More…]
Can there truly be any objection in principle to our new citizens undertaking to uphold our Constitution? [More…]
As the Opposition well knows, our Constitution gives prominence to the position of the monarch and no Act of Parliament can change that without a referendum of the people. [More…]
The second part of the proposed amendment states that we should swear, not to an Australian Constitution, but to the person of Her Majesty, the Queen of Australia. [More…]
I believe that to swear only to the Constitution is to destroy one of the worthwhile characteristics of our society. [More…]
If they swear to the Constitution they are doing so by the back door. [More…]
The form of allegiance of Australians is contained in the Constitution. [More…]
It is an allegiance to the Throne, to the Senate and the House of Representatives and to the Constitution itself. [More…]
The political institutions of our country may be classed among the accidents of history, for even when we have deliberately set up institutions as a deliberate exercise, and particularly in the case of the Commonwealth Constitution, we have seen that they cannot and have not been able to cope with urban planning. [More…]
Witnesses ask - so should we - that the Malawi Government grant them the provisions set forth in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. [More…]
The right honourable member for Higgins wants the Committee to accept this amendment so that the Government in its wisdom will have the opportunity of appointing to the Advisory Committee 2 professional environmentalists or experts in conservation, a situation which he has said, and which I agree, is lacking under the present constitution of the Commission. [More…]
This Bill seeks parliamentary approval of Australia’s ratification of the amendments to the International Labour Organisation constitution adopted in 1964 and 1972. [More…]
The Constitution, as amended in 1946, now places the emphasis on co-operation between federal and State governments for the purpose of giving effect to Conventions relating to matters appropriate, in whole or part, for state rather than federal action, and in this and other ways significant progress has been made in resolving the problem in respect of all the federal states except the United States; in Australia and Canada, in particular, there has been substantial progress. [More…]
In debating the Bill before the House it must be made clear that the Government has powers to ratify amendments, to the ILO constitution without having to seek formal parliamentary approval. [More…]
It is interesting to see in the Bill the sources of constitutional power that the Minister is endeavouring draw upon. [More…]
It is seeking to use the limits of the Constitution as it views them and in a way in which it will implement its policy of nationalisation. [More…]
I have no doubt that on the Governments side honourable members think that at last they have found the key to unlock the Constitution and to enable them to embark upon their policies of socialisation. [More…]
Mr Speaker, what I think the Party, of which you unfortunately are a member, should do is have a look at its constitution and rules and in particular the section which contains a repudiation of the Communist Party. [More…]
Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party states: [More…]
The Australian Government must give the lead here to get good planning from bureaucracies, such as the Department of Main Roads, by the provision of adequate environmental impact statements; to ensure that the State Government of New South Wales does likewise; and by giving more money to the States under section 96 of the Constitution rather than by general loan funds to ensure that environmentally and socially equitable and sensible transport systems are developed in our cities. [More…]
The Constitution, however, only confers on the Commission the power to arbitrate disputes. [More…]
And it is about time we acknowledged that our Constitution should no longer be used as an obstructive document, which can be quoted by any partisan politician for his own purposes. [More…]
Our Constitution must be clear, dynamic and forward looking, and it must, in my opinion, serve the purpose of an Australian federation of States, and not preserve a confederation. [More…]
If our Constitution cannot serve us like this, it must be changed. [More…]
In light of what I have just said, I propose to look at some of the difficulties created for the Commonwealth in matters concerning offshore areas by our Constitution - difficulties which unfortunately may not be entirely cured by the present Bill. [More…]
Firstly, Section 123 and indeed also Section 128, which is the general referenda section, of the Constitution, prevents the Commonwealth from altering the limits of any State, including the maritime limits, without a nationwide referendum. [More…]
But any attempt to pre-empt a court’s power to decide the issue can only be regarded as an attempt to alter the boundaries of internal waters from some theoretical or posed standard, contrary to Section 123 of the Constitution, and will be ineffective in preventing litigation on whether or not there has been an alteration. [More…]
Thirdly, there seems to be no clear and explicit reason from the terms of the only 2 relevant Acts - the Colonial Boundaries Act 1896 and the Austraiian Constitution - to suggest the boundaries of Australia’s internal waters were frozen at 1901. [More…]
If the territorial sea were to be assimilated with the land territory and also held to belong to the States, the Commonwealth, in attempting to gain control over it, once more would be faced with the problem of infringing section 123 of the Constitution. [More…]
However, if the territorial sea is to be regarded as a place acquired by the Commonwealth under section 52 (1) of our Constitution, then, according to a recent decision of the High Court in Worthing v. Rowell, State laws are excluded from that place. [More…]
From communiques issued to us, it appeared that the meetings reached no agreement except an agreement not to try to solve the central matter at all and not to try to put the question of sovereignty beyond doubt by the only method open to this Parliament - passing legislation making an assertion and allowing the body set up under the Constitution to determine the matter to determine the matter. [More…]
I suppose one reason why it might not happen is that if any State government were ill-advised enough to try it - I am sure that they would not be - the Commonwealth in pursuit of a Commonwealth objective could acquire land under the Constitution and then use it. [More…]
Putting those arguments to one side, I have heard no other argument advanced as to why a national parliament in which every Party represented asserted that the national Parliament has authority over these water* - and every Party in this place asserts that - but which is challenged by State counter-claims should not take action to make that assertion a fact and test it in the proper way as is laid down in the Constitution. [More…]
I refer firstly to the Territorial Sea and Continental Shelf Bill for which the right honourable member for Higgins and also the honourable member for Moreton suffered at the hands of their own Party, and their collective efforts with the honourable member for Berowra in relation to the corporation power of the Constitution which was tested in the High Court of Australia at their behest. [More…]
Sir Percy Spender, who was a Minister and a member of this Parliament for a long time and also a Justice of the International Court of Justice, said in 1969 that the Australian Constitution gave the Commonwealth sovereignty over the off-shore of Australia and that the Commonwealth Parliament ought to be able to legislate in relation to the areas. [More…]
If they were right, that is what happened and the last Government was in conflict with section 123 of our Constitution because we cannot alter the boundary of a State without a Bill of a parliament and a referendum of those living in the State. [More…]
Commonwealth Government is the Government of this nation which has international legal personality and it does this by invoking the external affairs power under the Constitution. [More…]
The passing of the Imperial ‘Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act’ of 1901 rendered it necessary to issue a new Commission to the Governor of Queensland. [More…]
I want to speak on the urgent need for constitutional change in this country, a subject which is, I think, rather appropriate having regard to what has gone on earlier this evening. [More…]
The Act to federate Australia and produce the Constitution finally was carried. [More…]
It was a compromise constitution because State rights were just as strongly held then as they are now, perhaps more so. [More…]
The Constitution was out of date when the Act was passed; it is even more out of date now. [More…]
Therefore I greeted the news that a new constitutional convention was to be held with a great deal of satisfaction. [More…]
It seems to me that a convention to operate on modern lines with overall representation is the best means of changing a set of rules, for that is what the Constitution is, designed in a horse and buggy era, for more modern structure. [More…]
The disadvantages of the States in respect of the Constitution are only too well brought out by what is happening in the States. [More…]
The Constitution enables the Parliament to pass, of its own motion, legislation to limit such appeals. [More…]
With that one exception, the preceding Government did all that it could under the Constitution to limit such appeals. [More…]
Each of the proposed new sections relating to the vesting of TAA with these functions includes a remarkable further proposed subsection which invokes placitum (XX) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is invoked on a basis which is clearly intended to give TAA the widest possible powers to operate hotels, accommodation services, etc., permissible under the Constitution. [More…]
of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is on the strength of those words that the Minister has introduced a Bill that will in its effective use of the corporation power and paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution give a Federal government instrumentality unbridled power and unlimited advantages, financial and otherwise in civil aviation, road transport, the hotelmotel industry and many ancillary industries. [More…]
Again, this clause is given further unknown power and unmeasured thrust by calling into use in the Bill the powers conferred by paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
When I took to him a copy of the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party he wrote in it an inscription. [More…]
I know that there are those valient souls, many of whom support my side of politics albeit fitfully, who say: ‘Well, of course, the Constitution is against any form of socialisation.’ [More…]
I have heard the Prime Minister himself say words to this effect: ‘There is section 92 of the Constitution - a barrier over which the socialist cannot clamber.’ [More…]
We do not have the power to do it because section 92 of the Constitution will stop us’. [More…]
The ‘Australian’ newspaper today says that the 2 key pamphlets, the Federal constitution and the official party platform, of the Liberal Party are not available to anybody. [More…]
These constitutional developments were in accordance with section 122 of the Constitution which provides, in part: [More…]
In 1970 the then Minister for the Interior indicated that his Government: bearing in mind the provisions of section 122 of the Constitution, favours the principle of providing representation for a Territory commensurate with its development and population growth. [More…]
Tasmania and Western Australia at this stage have more senators than members in the House of Representatives and in 5 States in the United States, Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, Vermont and Wyoming, there is but one member of the House of Representatives although there must be 2 senators under the Constitution. [More…]
Accordingly, this is not without precedent under the American Constitution on which our Constitution is based or under the Australian Constitution itself. [More…]
While no formal decision has been taken in the matter it can be said that the Government, bearing in mind the provisions of Section 122 of the Constitution, favours the principle of providing representation for the Territory commensurate with its development and its population growth, but it considers that the present time is not appropriate to introduce senatorial representation for each Territory as proposed by the Bill. [More…]
Before I deal with the main argument in support of the Bill I should perhaps refer to the position under the Constitution. [More…]
Section 7 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The Constitution further provides for an initial number of 6 senators but that the Parliament could make laws increasing or diminishing the number of senators for each State but that equal representation of the States was to be maintained and no original State could have less than 6 senators. [More…]
The Constitution therefore provided for equality of State representation irrespective of the area or the population. [More…]
Section 121 of the Constitution provides that: [More…]
But Section 122 of the Constitution is relevant to the question of representation of a Territory in the Federal Parliament. [More…]
It was therefore the clear intention of the founders of the Australian Constitution that Parliament should be empowered to permit representation of resi dents of the Territories of the Commonwealth in the National Parliament. [More…]
I now refer briefly to a further section of the Constitution which is relevant to the Bill. [More…]
On the basis of advice by the Commonwealth legal advisers, the provision for Territory senators by virtue of Section 122 of the Constitution does not cause an alteration in the number of members of the House of Representatives by virtue of Section 24. [More…]
Again, because the Australian Parliament is responsible in the Territories for making laws in respect of matters reserved under the Constitution to the States, the Government should be answerable to both Houses of a Parliament each of which includes appropriate representation from the Territories. [More…]
This Bill provides for representation for the Territories in the Senate in a manner different in extent and nature from the representation of the States in the Senate and as I pointed out, this difference is authorised by the Constitution. [More…]
The term provided for each of these territorial senators is not 6 years, the constitutional period for state senators (except in the case of double dissolution - always likely to be on); the term for territory senators will be the life of the House of Representatives. [More…]
The Constitution expressly provides requirements as to the terms of office for senators representing the States. [More…]
The Constitution leaves it to this Parliament to determine the terms of office for senators representing the Territories. [More…]
The Government has adapted the method which was unanimously agreed to 15 years ago by the Constitutional Review Committee, upon which all parties in the House were represented. [More…]
It was recommended by the Committee that the Constitution should be amended to provide that there should be an election for half the senators every time there is an election for the House of Representatives. [More…]
The decision to bring the elections of territory senators into line with those of the House of Representatives is in accordance with the Constitutional Review Committee’s findings. [More…]
In the past, some honourable members have seen some inconsistency in the platform, constitution and rules approved by the Federal Conference of the Labor Party in Melbourne in 1969 and the attitude of the Government towards representation in the Senate. [More…]
One of the first planks to the Party’s platform provides for an amendment of the Constitution to abolish the Senate. [More…]
This is one amendment of the Constitution which would require the support of a majority of the voters, not only in Australia as a whole and in a majority of the States, but in every State. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides, in part: [More…]
The Government’s legal advice is that section 24 of the Constitution does not have application in relation to senators who may be provided for a Territory under the provisions of section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, the requirement contained in section 24 for the number of members of the House of Representatives to be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators does not relate to Territory members or senators provided under section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
Thus, consistently with section 24 of the Constitution, the introduction of Territory senators will not affect the representation of the States in the House of Representatives. [More…]
I deplore the statements that have been made by some honourable members opposite, particularly the honourable member for Eden-Monaro (Mr Whan), regarding the constitution of the Australian Wool Corporation. [More…]
Some of this work derives directly from the Constitution and cannot be removed from the jurisdiction of the High Court. [More…]
As the Minister for the Capital Territory (Mr Enderby) has said, it is eliminating first of all section 30c, which makes it an offence for a person to advocate in speech or writing the overthrow of the Constitution, and which authorises deportation. [More…]
What we need to do is ensure that the first units, the States, remain a fundamental political entity in our Australian Constitution. [More…]
In answer to a question yesterday the Prime Minister said that he is a unionist and is looking for a unitary constitution. [More…]
I say clearly that I and my Party favour a federal constitution. [More…]
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia does not mention local government. [More…]
The Labor Government’s objective, as set out in its Platform, Constitution and Rules at Part xxiv under the heading ‘National Insurance Office’, reads as follows: [More…]
It would be intolerable if a Labor government were to use the alibi of the Constitution to excuse failure to achieve its socialist objectives. [More…]
This section when originally inserted in the Commonwealth Constitution provided that for the first 10 years of Federation or until Parliament otherwise provides the Commonwealth could give financial assistance to the States on such terms and conditions as might be provided. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition has indicated that in Committee he will be introducing amendments to clauses 17 and 18 to require the Minister to consult with the States, which after all under our Federal Constitution have ultimate responsibility for this matter. [More…]
Any grants for local government must be made as a specific grant under section 96 of the Constitution to make sure that it reaches its intended objective. [More…]
I have had to take this method of drawing the Bill because of the provisions in the Constitution and the Standing Orders which prevent a private member from proposing any appropriation. [More…]
To say, then, that the Constitution contemplates the continued existence of the States as independent entities is to ignore this vital fact. [More…]
That local government should be included as an active participant in the review of the Australian Constitution and that this review should include recognition in the constitution of local government. [More…]
Together with and in parallel with this propping up proposal will be special purpose grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
in association with the carrying on of that business and to the extent that those powers are capable of being conferred on the Commission in the exercise of the power of the Parliament to make laws under paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
or (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
in association with the carrying on of that business and to the extent that those powers are capable of being conferred on the Commission in the exercise of the powers of the Parliament to make laws under section 122 or paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposed section invokes paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution - that is, the corporation power - on a basis which clearly intends to give Trans- Australia Airlines wider powers than we believe are necessary for it to have to expand its activities to meet the agreed position between the Government and the Opposition in this matter. [More…]
Paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution authorises the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
I say with great respect to the Minister that I think it is a bit unfair of him to suggest that there was a fear or scare campaign worked up over this issue for in simple truth the enormity of this proposition to include paragraph (xx) of section 51 of the Constitution is such that I can understand any crop duster, hotel owner, garage proprietor or any engineering shop proprietor and the proprietors of hundreds of other ancillary industries being nervous about it. [More…]
The Opposition takes the view that, again in the spirit of this recognition of the primary responsibility under the constitution of the States for local government matters, it is proper that, having been consulted in the matter of approving regions and referring applications to the Commission, they should at least be told what has happened. [More…]
Under the Constitution housing is a matter for the State governments. [More…]
The Agreement came about because the Commonwealth, under the Constitution, could not do what it wanted. [More…]
The third Bill, the Representation Bill, is a machinery measure designed to prevent territorial senators from being counted when calculating the number of members of the House of Representatives under section 24 of the Constitution. [More…]
It would not simply provide representatives of the Territory in the Senate, as section 122 of the Constitution contemplates; it would also provide territorial senators who, by reason of the powers conferred on them by this Bill, would be taken into account in constituting a quorum in the Senate and in voting as to whether a resolution was carried by a majority of votes in the Senate. [More…]
In this respect, that substantially affects Part II of the Constitution which constitutes the Senate of the Parliament. [More…]
Our Constitution is not merely an Act of Parliament - a basic law. [More…]
The Constitution compact itself provides in section 128 for the means by which that compact is to be changed and it is part of the compact that alterations must have the approval not only of the Parliament and later of a majority of the people but also of a majority of the people in a majority of the States. [More…]
It is a nice legal question whether the power given by section 122 of the Constitution to give representation to Territories will allow of the appointment of a person who actually becomes a voting senator and one who is counted in making a quorum. [More…]
Was this intended to refer rather to the extent of representation - for example, the number of representatives - and the terms of representation in the sense in which one refers to the manner of their appointment or election or is it without express mention, a way of altering earlier sections in Part II of the Constitution? [More…]
There is of course no constitutional bar to a change in the method of election to the Senate. [More…]
I would not oppose a proposal such as was put forward in the report of the Joint Standing Committee on the Constitution in 1959 to bring the Senate elections into line with the House of Representatives elections by making senators have, say, 2 consecutive Representatives terms as their term of office. [More…]
It is suggested that this method of appointing 2 senators for the short term coming after the House of Representatives election and having 2 senators possibly carrying the balance of power in the States chamber should not be put into effect before the States have had an opportunity, as the Constitution really contemplates, of passing their opinion on the matter. [More…]
The Government’s legal advice is that section 24 of the Constitution does not have application in relation to senators who may, be provided for a territory under the provisions of section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, the requirement contained in section 24 for the number of members of the House of Representatives to be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators does not relate to territory members or senators provided under section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution relates to the number of members of the House of Representatives. [More…]
It depends what the word ‘senators’ means in the Constitution, whether it means the men who will be appointed under this legislation will be senators or not. [More…]
Nothing which can be put in an Act of this Parliament will change the wording of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution can be changed only by amending it. [More…]
The question under the Constitution is: Are they senators or not? [More…]
Section 22 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
This Bill provides that territorial senators are to be senators for the purposes of section 22 of the Constitution but the words do not vary in the Constitution. [More…]
If a senator according to section 22 can constitute a quorum because be is a senator within the meaning of the Constitution he remains a senator under section 23 or section 24. [More…]
Section 23 of the Constitution provides, in part: [More…]
The Constitution has a meaning and it does not change. [More…]
Either they are senators for the purpose of a quorum and senators for the purpose of voting in the majority - in which case they must be senators for the purpose of section 24 of the Constitution - or they are not senators for the purpose of any section. [More…]
But unfortunately, if they are senators, if they can vote and can be part of a quorum, you cannot by excluding them from the machinery make nonsense of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution can be changed only by amending it. [More…]
The Minister has not given us the benefit of the written advice - I presume that it is written - which is available to him and has led him to think that they can be senators for one section of the Constitution and not for another. [More…]
I like to think that I am familiar with the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I recognise the historical fact that the Australian Constitution was originally created with the idea that the Senate would be a State House comprising 10 senators from each of the States. [More…]
Let me say this to the honourable gentleman, to this House and, I hope, to the country: This is one of the most blatant attacks ever on the Australian Constitution. [More…]
This Bill, by dint of that clause, seeks to destroy the whole of the Federal Constitution. [More…]
It was therefore the clear intention of the founders of the Australian Constitution that Parliament should be empowered to permit representation of residents of the Territories of the Commonwealth in the National Parliament. [More…]
For the benefit of those who may not be going to bed with the Australian Constitution tucked under their pillows, I point out that section 122 provides: [More…]
The second thing he says about it is that it was therefore the clear intention of the founders of the Australian Constitution to ensure that representatives of residents in the Territories came to this Parliament. [More…]
And he was harking forward to the evening when the Minister for Services and Property came here with this scrungy little proposal seeking to demolish the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The debate continued, and Mr Deakin, the most percipient of the minds who have ever had anything to do with the Australian Constitution, appealed to Sir Edward not to press his amendment. [More…]
There is nothing in the debates dealing with the Federal Constitution which lends the slightest weight to the proposition put before this House by the Minister for Services and Property. [More…]
If the Minister is correct that section 122 in the Constitution - to use his language, gloria in excelsis - is permissive, what of the consequences? [More…]
If the Minister is now resorting to using section 122 of the Constitution for the purposes of adding a few senators here, a few members there, what is to be the end? [More…]
If the Minister is correct in asserting that section 122 of the Constitution is to be used, as some commentators describe its use, as a unitary section in the Constitution, a section which gives plenary powers to do anything, this section of the Constitution means in effect that all other sections in the Constitution can be trampled upon. [More…]
What the Minister for Services and Property and the Labor Government are attempting to do is to translate section 122 into a power which would enable the Government to control and trample upon every other power in the Constitution. [More…]
Here is a Bill purporting to amend in explicit form a section in the Constitution. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
One of the first planks to the Party’s platform provides for an amendment to the Constitution to abolish the Senate. [More…]
I have 3 reasons for opposing this measure: Firstly, I believe that the constitutional validity of the proposal is, at best, very doubtful; certainly I believe it to be unconstitutional. [More…]
First of all as to the constitutional validity of the proposal, speaking as a layman on a legal matter, in contradistinction to my learned friends the honourable member for Parramatta (Mr N. H. Bowen) and the honourable member for Moreton (Mr Killen) who have put arguments to the House, as I read it section 122 of the Constitution allows the representation of a Territory in either House of the Parliament to the extent and on the terms which the Parliament thinks fit. [More…]
This, of course, must be read in conjunction with the rest of the Constitution. [More…]
It is not ‘term and conditions’ as occurs in other phrases in the Constitution. [More…]
I turn now to section 7 of the Constitution which states: [More…]
This is the fundamental constitutional law of the Senate. [More…]
So it could be said that the new senators will not be senators in terms of the Constitution because the Constitution lays down quite specifically in section 7 that senators are chosen directly by the people of the State. [More…]
I refer to another section of the Constitution. [More…]
This is a very restrictive and carefully drawn section of the Constitution and I think it makes it clear that this Parliament is constitutionally incapable of conferring on the people represented in the Senate - whether they represent the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory in the Senate - the right to vote in the Senate or, indeed, to be senators. [More…]
This seems to be a matter of elementary constitutional law. [More…]
I believe that any law which endeavours to confer on people chosen from the Territories to sit in the Senate the right to vote in the Senate would be an unconstitutional law and would be thrown out by the High Court. [More…]
If one looks at the relevant clauses in the Constitution, one can see that they are quite different. [More…]
Let me contrast for honourable members - I will read the clauses once again - section 7 of the Constitution which applies to the Senate with section 24 of the Constitution which applies to the House of Representatives. [More…]
Again, I should like to contrast section 23 of the Constitution with section 40. [More…]
But section 40 of the Constitution, which is the corresponding section in regard to the House of Representatives, is quite different because it states: [More…]
Since members of the Territories are constitutionally capable of being represented in this House, they are capable also of voting in it. [More…]
I do not think that the Government really has turned its mind to the difficult constitutional questions involved in this Bill. [More…]
It has been misled by the fact that there is no constitutional bar or difficulty in putting members of the Territories as representatives in this House but there is a constitutional bar to putting them as senators in the Senate. [More…]
After all, the Constitution was drafted by lawyers but there were a lot of laymen present and I do not believe that we can entirely ignore the commonsense or the lay view of a constitutional matter. [More…]
The Court has adopted the very widest and non-legalistic principle when it comes to interpreting the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
So my first reason for opposing this Bill is the doubts - they are rather more than doubts, I am afraid - as to its constitutional validity. [More…]
My friend the honourable member for Moreton has pointed out the really tremendous impact which this Bill will have on the whole of the Constitution. [More…]
It is true that, in the phrase used by the honourable member for Parramatta, the Constitution is not only a legal document; it is also a compact between the States and as a compact between the States it does embody a certain inequity in voting power. [More…]
This is not something which New South Wales has always been terribly happy about but we accepted it because it was part of the original Constitution. [More…]
The honourable member, astonishingly, danced over section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not think the honourable gentleman can impose upon us his rather odd interpretation of the meaning of these words especially when in the preceding paragraph of the Constitution the very expression extent of representation’ is included, not just the extent to which a man may be representative, but the extent of representation. [More…]
The point is that the Territories which the Constitution does envisage as being represented in both Houses of the Parliament could very well have additional representation and have representation in the Upper House. [More…]
Members of the Liberal Party in Canberra are not worried about the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that in the United States of America, where it was held that the constitution required one vote one value, it has been conceded that 10 per cent is not necessarily enough to achieve it. [More…]
In fact, on the construction of the constitution in America, 15 per cent and more is permitted. [More…]
One of the tragedies in the change of government and change of attitude is that the Northern Territory, which one would hope would continue to advance towards achieving equal represen tative rights in every sense with the original States under the Constitution, is now being pulled back. [More…]
On 27 March 1972, i.e., after the Norwegian debate had taken place, 17,000 Catholics in Lithuania protested against systematic religious persecution - which is in contravention to the Soviet constitution - as practised in Lithuania. [More…]
The second is the text of a protest by 17,000 Catholics in Lithuania dated 27 March 1972 and refers to the systematic religious persecution going on in that country in contravention of the Soviet constitution. [More…]
I warn this Committee - and I hope that my warnings may filter outside to the country - that this is a most significant attack upon the Constitution and if it should by any chance succeed it will open up the gateway for smashing what is left of federalism in this country. [More…]
The reason why these strange terms are being introduced is simply to accommodate the Government’s intention to increase the size of Senate so that in accord with the Constitution it can increase the number of seats in the House of Representatives. [More…]
I do not believe that our founding fathers - and no doubt some of the people who originally went to the early Constitution conferences were members of the Labor Party - would have believed that a Labor Government today, after wandering in the wilderness for 2 decades, would within its first 6 months of office try to upset the entire concept of federalism. [More…]
As to the proposition of the Minister for Services and Property (Mr Daly) that this will in no way affect the representation in the House of Representatives, I draw his attention to the language used in section 24 of the Constitution, which states: [More…]
There is no suggestion in any part of the Constitution that any government is at liberty to distinguish between senators qua senators and senators of another variety. [More…]
I suggest to the Minister that what he is attempting to do here again lights up the fact that he is seeking to circumvent the Constitution. [More…]
The House of Representatives, recognising the desirability of a thorough review of the Australian Constitution in the light of experience since its establishment and of modern day requirements, welcomes the opportunity for the Australian Parliament to participate with the Parliaments of the States in the Constitutional Convention to be convened for this purpose in September of this year, and at such subsequent times as the Convention from time to time determines, and agrees: [More…]
The Bill is based both upon the Australian Constitution and the Statute of Westminster. [More…]
The Constitution itself excludes appeals in respect of inter se questions excepting upon the grant of a certificate by the High Court. [More…]
Section 92 of the Constitution gives the company immunity. [More…]
I ask: Considering important court decisions both in Australia and Great Britain, does the Treasurer not consider that it is now established that the Government has power under either the banking or corporation powers of the Constitution, or both, to exercise direct control over finance companies and/ or similar money lending institutions? [More…]
It should be remembered that the recommendations of the Commission will be implemented in the form of grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides that the number of members chosen in the several States shall be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people. [More…]
Thus, the Constitution itself ensures equality of representation between States based on the numbers of people resident in those States, a condition which the Australian Labor Party believes should also apply within the several States. [More…]
Obviously, the founders of the Constitution did not take cognizance of the area, density or sparsity of population and disabilities arising out of remoteness or distance, in framing Section 24. [More…]
Part I, section 1, of our Constitution states: [More…]
This is a Constitution not to be lightly altered and which, indeed, experience has shown cannot be lightly altered. [More…]
In certain circumstances the Crown alone can preserve the Constitution or ensure that if it be changed it shall only be the deliberate will of the people. [More…]
I refer again to Part I, section 1, of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The Commonwealth Constitution provides that when land is acquired from a private citizen a just price must be paid and that if a just price is not paid the citizen may resort to the courts which will decide whether the price offered is just or not. [More…]
The Constitution gives an individual citizen a protection against big government. [More…]
Surely to goodness, if he does not know at least we could go to the courts in accordance with the Constitution and act in a proper way by leaving it to somebody who does know. [More…]
As many honourable members know, the Commonwealth under the Constitution is able to acquire land only for defence purposes or for special Commonwealth purposes. [More…]
The second stage which will culminate in May or June next year will be the consideration and adoption by the House of Assembly of a constitution prepared by the Constitutional Planning Committee and the subsequent amendment by this Parliament of the Papua New Guinea Act to make the Act consistent with that constitution. [More…]
These Bills, the adoption of the constitution and subsequent amendment of the Papua New Guinea Act next year, and the final step of independence are all integral stages in the continuous development of Papua New Guinea from dependency to nationhood. [More…]
I turn now to those electoral divisions which have always been recognised by the Commonwealth Constitution and by this Parliament as special cases’. [More…]
Such a situation is contrary to the principles and spirit of the Australian Constitution itself. [More…]
Soon after the Constitution was adopted, James Wilson of Pennsylvania, by then an Associate Justice of this Court, gave a series of lectures at Philadelphia in which, drawing on his experience as oneof the most active members of the Constitutional Convention, he said: [More…]
The Australian Constitution has been based on the principle that there shall be a minimum representation guaranteed for each State but that within each state there shall be equality of representation. [More…]
If one looks at section 1 of our Constitution one sees reference to the Queen in Parliament. [More…]
The permanency in the Constitution is in the Crown. [More…]
It is true that for the future there is importance under our constitutional system in our maintaining a monarchical system. [More…]
To my mind, more than any other aspect of our Constitution, the monarchy applies fundamentally to the protection of the democratic style which we have inherited. [More…]
For that reason I believe it is important that we translate into modern idiom a style and title which through our inheritance has been constitutionally significant but in practice deserves to be related more to the modern manner and to current practice. [More…]
Indeed, instead of promoting the substance of change towards a republic of which even the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) to his discredit has spoken, I believe that this Bill will preserve the monarchy and ensure that through the GovernorGeneral there is continued opportunity for us to preserve a system that is written into our Constitution and which so effectively has protected the rights of every citizen of this country though the years since Federation. [More…]
I was just about to say that in the younger age groups up to 29 years of age, 83 per cent of the people polled were in favour of swearing allegiance to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
While the Government believes it has support among the community for the form of the oath of allegiance to the Australian constitution put forward in the Citizenship Bill I have accepted the intent of the Senate amendment in the spirit of compromise, but let me say clearly that compromise further we will not. [More…]
B., solemnly affirm - or ‘swear’ - that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and that I will faithfully observe the laws of India and fulfil my duties as a citizen of India. [More…]
Is it also a fact that the Government is prevented from taking similar action to protect the rest of the Australian population from soaring prices because the structure of our outmoded Constitution leaves power over prices with the 6 States instead of with the nation’s Government where it belongs? [More…]
Will the Minister inform the House of the steps that the Government will take to rectify this and other distortions at the constitutional convention to be held in Sydney next week? [More…]
It is imperative that the Parliament enact legislation under section 49 of the Constitution following the inquiry to determine precisely what are the powers, privileges and immunities of the House and of its members and committees. [More…]
The implementation of housing policies by the New Zealand and Australian Governments differs in many respects which usually result from the fact that New Zealand has a unitary Government and is therefore able to take direct action, whereas the Australian Federal system makes it necessary for the Government to act through the State Government’s and through private institutions in cases where specific powers are not provided in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
One of the limitations which all governments have in this place is the Australian Constitution and I would have thought it would have taken a lot more than an announcement in this House to change the present constitutional position of Australia. [More…]
At no stage did it change the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
If the next Governor-General happened to be a former member of this Parliament and a member of the Australian Labor Party and of the Labor Government, the effect constitutionally and practically would be exactly the same as having a nominated president as is the case in a number of countries. [More…]
After the Budget is there any area in which State governments have unfettered control, including those areas which the Constitution has stated or implied are within the administration of the State governments? [More…]
There is no doubt about the constitutional position. [More…]
Also it is clear that for a number of years Australian governments have been using section 96 of the Constitution to make available money to be spent in specific areas, such as secondary school libraries and science laboratories. [More…]
The Government introduced the Prices Justification Tribunal, which now getting under way, to do something about the actual price of products although, as is known, the Australian Constitution binds this Parliament fairly substantially with respect to what it can do directly about price control. [More…]
When the Constitution was originally drawn up and the 6 States agreed to become the Commonwealth it was hoped that the Constitution was so devised as to prevent this ever happening. [More…]
Next week we have the historic Constitutional Convention, a much awaited event. [More…]
Might I state here and now that in my view the Convention on the Constitution should not be a time for the States to go along to take or the Commonwealth to go along to take; it is a time when all governments must carefully consider giving and taking to ensure a better run Australia which in the long term will make a better way of life for each and every citizen of this country. [More…]
I wish to refer specifically to section 72 of the Constitution which relates to the judiciary. [More…]
I want to refer to the historical background of section 72 of our Constitution which states: [More…]
These constitutional provisions were the basis of the tenure of the judiciary in the Australian colonies before Federation; that is, judges held office during good behaviour and could be removed by the Crown for misbehaviour without an address from Parliament, subject to appeal to the Privy Council. [More…]
of our Constitution departed from this historical position in Great Britain and the former Australian colonies. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
If counsel has to advise if a certain action is constitutional, he is less concerned with the Constitution than with the composition of the Court. [More…]
The Full Court decided in 1918, in the case I mentioned earlier, that a judge appointed under the Constitution has a life tenure. [More…]
In conclusion, as there is a Constitutional Convention next week, I suggest that delegates from the State and Commonwealth Parliaments give consideration to the system which is used to appoint judges to our High Court. [More…]
As an interval of over 3 months has new elapsed, during which the Senate has failed to pass this measure under the terms of section 57 of the Constitution, the Bill is being introduced so that it may be again passed by this House without amendment, and returned to the Senate for its further consideration. [More…]
The Commonwealth Constitution lays down very clearly that the Commonwealth has 39 powers. [More…]
I am not saying that the Government has acted against the provisions of the Constitution - that is something which is challengeable at law - ‘but I do say that the Government acted very much against the spirit’ of the Constitution. [More…]
A tremendous increase has occurred and a number of the new departments deal substantially with matters which are the prerogative of the States under the spirit of the Constitution. [More…]
I would hope that this Labor Government would give serious consideration to the proposition that, at the first opportunity when a national election is held, the people of Australia be asked by referendum to alter the Australian Constitution to enable legislation of this nature to be given effect. [More…]
We are handicapped by the antiquated structure of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Has the attention of the Prime Minister been drawn to a speech made by me on 30 August in this place in which I addressed myself to the question of the High Court and section 72 of the Constitution? [More…]
Does he recall his statement in 1955 that ‘counsel is less concerned with the Constitution than with the composition of the court’? [More…]
When a referendum is put to permit the Parliament to apply a retiring age to Federal judges, I imagine that the opportunity could be taken also to amend the Constitution to permit the High Court to give advisory opinions, as the Supreme Court of Canada can. [More…]
The founders of the Australian Constitution did not want any appeals to go beyond the High Court of Australia. [More…]
They were, however, forced by the British to include a provision in the Constitution providing for certain limited appeals. [More…]
We did this despite the fact that 71 per cent of all those Australians who were asked wanted to swear allegiance to the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I give notice that the Government will as soon as possible legislate to abolish the meaningless and hurtful renunciation and that the Australian citizen in future will take the following oath - as is proposed in the Australian Citizenship Bill as it was originally brought before this House: I…… swear by Almighty God that I will faithfully uphold the Constitution of Australia, observe the laws of Australia and fulfil my duties as an Australian citizen.’ [More…]
Within the restrictions placed on any government during its first term of office - one of these restrictions, of course, is the fact that many of the Budget items are pre-determined by actions taken by previous governments - and within the scope allowed by the Constitution of Australia and with the exceptions to which I have just referred and to which I object. [More…]
The Constitution may prevent us from introducing what the people want - price control - but if the Tribunal shows that any increases in prices are unjustified the Government will not hesitate to use its fiscal and purchasing powers to drive prices downward. [More…]
I am reminded of the Constitution of the United States of America - this applies to some of the State constitutions in the United States of America - where there is a prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments. [More…]
Some honourable members may recall that a year or so ago the Supreme Court of California, ruling on that section of its Constitution, held that a statute of the State of California that provided for capital punishment was ultra vires, illegal, invalid, because it was a cruel and unusual punishment. [More…]
I can assure the honourable member for Calare that the Bill will seek to do only one thing, that is, to add the word prices’ to section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
Under this Bill, the Government proposes to ask the people of Australia to approve an amendment to the Constitution to enable the Australian Parliament to control prices. [More…]
At the Convention on the Constitution, a fortnight ago this afternoon, I outlined the various courses open to us. [More…]
I said that the Australian Government could seek a Constitutional change by referendum, but I acknowledged that the process takes some months, the number of months depending upon the behaviour of the Senate. [More…]
In approaching this or any other reform of the Constitution, I have to take account of the realities. [More…]
This is the basic approach I took at the Constitutional Convention in Sydney a fortnight ago. [More…]
These are Constitutional matters in the strictest sense. [More…]
Land is a clear instance of a commodity which cannot be covered by section 92 of the Constitution since a block of land cannot be taken across a State border. [More…]
The New South Wales and Victorian governments have a majority in both their Houses so there is no constitutional, legislative or political barrier to the introduction of land stabilisation legislation in the 2 major States of Australia and, in particular, with respect to the 2 major cities of Australia. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister a question relating to answers he gave in the House last week about official- and bank interest rates, that is of banks which are covered by section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to enable the Australian Parliament to control prices. [More…]
That will be achieved by a very simple amendment to add a new placitum by inserting in section 51 of the Constitution a new clause, ‘(xivA.) [More…]
I would have thought that at least there would have been something genuine in his endeavour if he had said, ‘Yes, I want control over prices and incomes’, and the had moved to have a separate Bill that he could bring down to alter the Constitution so as to enable the Australian Parliament to control incomes. [More…]
About 14 years ago the previous Government set up a committee to review the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I asked the Australian people to look very carefully at the proposition that they were being asked to change their nation’s Constitution, with one of the grounds advanced by the Prime Minister in support of this proposition being Mr Hawke’s promise on wage restraint. [More…]
The Opposition Parties reject the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill because this Bill is no more than a further reflection of this Government’s distorted and misconceived approach to Australia’s inflationary problem. [More…]
In that year the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act was enacted because the Constitution gave this Parliament the power to make a law on that subject. [More…]
I brought into the chamber with me a book on constitutional law, only because it conveniently contains a copy of the Constitution. [More…]
If honourable members examine section 51 of the Constitution and the paragraphs thereto they will see there set out the powers of the Australian Parliament. [More…]
The Constitution does not allow the Australian Parliament - the Parliament that is thought by Australians to have the power to govern for them - to do what it can with the limited facilities given to it. [More…]
In the limited time available to me it is interesting to look through die Australian Constitution. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to enable the Australian Parliament to Control Prices. [More…]
Having introduced all these measures the Government now blames the Constitution for the present inflationary situation. [More…]
The Constitution of this country has served it very well for 72 years. [More…]
I do not think anybody will deny that our forefathers who framed this Constitution were quite wise guys. [More…]
The States have their constitutional powers also. [More…]
The Government after taking certain measures and introducing a Budget a few weeks ago blames the Constitution and wishes to have control over prices moved to Canberra. [More…]
There is only one way in which the Commonwealth can obtain power over prices and that is by an alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
The Bill now before the House seeks to amend section 51 of the Australian Constitution by inserting a new paragraph (XiVA.) [More…]
Section 51 provides that the Parliament shall, subject to the Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to 40 different functions of government, such as taxation, naval and military defence, banking, currency, coinage and legal tender, and insurance. [More…]
The concurrent use of power is, however, subject to one vitally important constitutional qualification, that when a State law is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth the latter shall prevail and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid. [More…]
It seems prudent before we become too involved in argument that we should first draw this distinction: The Bill is designed to amend the Constitution to empower the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws relating to prices. [More…]
Two separate conditions are necessary: Firstly, the constitutional power and, secondly, the exercise of that power by Parliament. [More…]
Heaven help us if these failures are the basis for the attempt to change the Constitution to give power to the Commonwealth to control prices. [More…]
Finally, there is an easier and quicker method to achieve the same objective than by holding a referendum, and that is for the Commonwealth to persuade the important States to refer to the Commonwealth powers, under section 51 of the Constitution, over prices and incomes for a limited period, say for 6 months or 1 year. [More…]
Where the Australian Government has authority to tackle inflation - that is, under the Constitution or by statute - it has already done so, in respect of revaluation, capital inflow, tariffs and interest rates. [More…]
In other matters where we have the constitutional power but not yet the statutory power we are moving to bring in Acts which will enable us to tackle inflation. [More…]
This matter is laid down very clearly in our Constitution. [More…]
I admit that I am moving away from the amendment but it is important to realise that under the Constitution there is a responsibility on the Government, when it brings in Bills for the collection of particular moneys, to set out precisely in those Bills what the money is for. [More…]
As I see it, these Bills should be withdrawn and redrafted so that they can be brought back into this chamber in a constitutional manner. [More…]
The Minister can go and look at his copy of the Constitution if he likes. [More…]
Yesterday afternoon we had the instance in this Parliament of the Leader of the Country Party being most vigorous and vehement in his opposition to the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill seeking a referendum on prices. [More…]
The Government already has fulfilled the conditions of the Constitution which would enable the Governor-General to grant a double dissolution, but we all know that the Government is scared to put its position to the test. [More…]
However, it should also be pointed out that the United States Constitution does not appear to have equivalents to sections 123 and 128 of our Constitution, which impede Federal Government action. [More…]
Again, however, it is submitted that in the Australian federation it is unlikely that a court will be able to incorporate current international criteria into the Australian constitutional structure. [More…]
Furthermore, it is doubtful whether the Commonwealth will simply be able to apply the Geneva Convention to the States because of section 123 and section 128 of our Constitution, and perhaps because of more general fundamental constitutional principles. [More…]
I just wonder what relevance that has to the Australian Constitution and the particular document before the House. [More…]
But I thought that, having displayed that erudition, he should at least have been aware for example of how the influence of the American Constitution upon Australian constitutional law was put to rest by Mr Menzies, as he then was, in the Engineers case in the early 1920s, when the decision of the United States Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland - a decision delivered by one of the most famous chief justices of the United States Court, Chief Justice Marshall - was clearly decided by the High Court of Australia to have no relevance to the interpretation of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Section 123 of our Constitution provides that this Parliament cannot unilaterally alter the boundary of any State. [More…]
How can this country legislate with respect to the 200-metre mark outwards to hand it over to anybody in infringement of section 123 of the Constitution unless we know where the sovereignty lies? [More…]
The Territory might have a new name but Papua and New Guinea - as it was then known - would continue as 2 separate Territories and the Territories’ constitution would remain in a Commonwealth Act, and the United Nations trusteeship agreement would continue in force for New Guinea. [More…]
In discussions with members of the Executive of the ACF I was assured that the Foundation would review its role and constitution. [More…]
According to my notes section 67 of the Constitution provides that until the Parliament otherwise provides, the appointment and removal of officers of the Executive Government, other than Ministers of State, shall be vested in the Governor-General in Council. [More…]
This section traditionally has been regarded as making provision for the appointment of officers for the purposes of section 67 of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposed amendment seeks to delete from clause 6 the words ‘in an industrial establishment or elsewhere’ and to add the words ‘which is lawful’ and ‘in accordance with the constitution of the organisation’. [More…]
Unions have a great responsibility to act within their constitutions. [More…]
It may be that what needs to be done cannot be achieved within the concepts of conciliation and arbitration as they appear in the Constitution. [More…]
tralian Constitutional Convention held ii: Sydney a few weeks ago. [More…]
That is, from the Constitution in respect of conciliation and arbitration as stated in section 51- and the national Parliament should have ample plenary power over the whole question of terms and conditions of work. [More…]
For the life of me I cannot understand how the honourable senator can say on behalf of the Government that the Constitution should clothe the Commonwealth with plenary power over industrial relations, which power must include incomes, and then for his own Caucus to deny the holding of a referendum to give effect to that proposal. [More…]
As was mentioned to some extent earlier today, I think it is important to look at the situation in Australia in relation to this matter of conciliation and arbitration from the constitutional point of view. [More…]
It is dealt with in section 51 of our Constitution which states that the Parliament shall have power with respect to [More…]
That is all our Constitution says, in those few words. [More…]
Therefore, the Act is extremely complicated perhaps for that reason, namely, that there are very limited powers within the Constitution on which the Act can be drawn. [More…]
Australia played a significant role in the drafting of the ICEM constitution in 1954 and subsequently in developing the operating principles of that great humanitarian organisation. [More…]
I hope an earnest endeavour is made not to shout from the Federal Parliament to the Queensland Parliament that the decision will be taken unilaterally but that cognisance will be given to the provisions of the Constitution and that negotiations will be held between the Queensland Government, the Federal Government, the people of the Torres Strait Island and, in particular, the people of Papua New Guinea. [More…]
This Bill will allow Papua New Guinea to have its own home-grown constitution. [More…]
Discussions have been held not only with Government leaders and leaders of the coalition, party, but also with members of the Opposition, members of the Constitutional Planning Committee and town councillors throughout the length and breadth of Papua New Guinea. [More…]
We have agreed in consultation with the Government of Papua New Guinea that there will be a 2 stage development in Papua New Guinea in which the opportunity would be given to the Constitutional Planning Committee and, through it, the House of Assembly for a home grown constitution. [More…]
This Bill comes before us by reason of an amendment made to the Constitution in 1967. [More…]
Senate and thus give some meaningful expression to section 122 of the Constitution in respect of the Senate as an integral part of this Parliament. [More…]
Section 122 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
I turn now for a moment to a matter which has been the subject of legal advice in relation to section 24 of the Constitution which provides, in part: [More…]
On the basis of the advice by the Commonwealth legal advisers, the provision of Territory senators under section 122 of the Constitution does not cause an alteration in the number of members of the House of Representatives by virtue of section 24. [More…]
Before dealing with the amendments of the Representation Act proposed by the Bill, I will refer briefly to section 24 of the Constitution, which is relevant. [More…]
The Government’s legal advice is that section 24 of the Constitution does not have application in relation to senators who may be provided for a Territory under the provisions of section ‘ i22 of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, the requirement contained in section 24 for the number of members of the House of Representatives to be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators does not relate to Territory members or senators provided under section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
Thus, consistently with section 24 of the Constitution, the introduction of Territory senators will not affect the representation of the States in the House of Representatives. [More…]
If the 2 proposed amendments to the Constitution to give the Commonwealth Government control over prices and incomes are passed at the referendum to be held later this year, will he assure the House that his Government will use both powers and not just the power over prices? [More…]
That so much of the Standing Orders be suspended as would prevent a Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to enable tile Australian Parliament to make laws with respect to incomes being introduced and passed through all its stages without delay. [More…]
The Government apparently expects this House to pass the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill as some kind of formality. [More…]
I remind the Opposition that yesterday the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill passed its second reading stage in the Senate and at the moment is in its Committee stage in the other place. [More…]
The Senate must go through certain constitutional requirements with respect to legislation proposing referenda. [More…]
Last week the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill was introduced. [More…]
Now we have before us a purported second issue or companion issue, the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill. [More…]
He did not even want the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill at the start. [More…]
The caucus, that economic committee of 93, had other ideas and the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill was introduced. [More…]
Like the Constitution Alteration (Prices) Bill, we believe this Bill to be unnecessary. [More…]
In spite of this the Prime Minister has chosen to press on with proposals for constitutional change. [More…]
It might not always be clear to a court, concerned with the strict interpretation of the words used in the Constitution or a particular law, that legal fees as theprice of a lawyer’s services to his client are exactly analogues to the cost of a pound of butter or the yield of a government bond. [More…]
This first clause relates to the naming of this Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill. [More…]
It is a name which seeks to insert into the Constitution a change which will have a very significant bearing on the opportunities for future returns for every Australian. [More…]
A constitution alteration, of course, refers to an extension of powers, in this instance into the whole field of incomes. [More…]
of section 51 of the Constitution in relation to conciliation and arbitration? [More…]
After all this definition refers to the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill 1973. [More…]
As we know, under section 39 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution we are bound to a proportion of 33 1/3 per cent of members for a quorum. [More…]
Today, because of the way the Parliament was conducted, the voice of the Country Party was not heard in the debate on the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill. [More…]
That the General Council approves the proposals of the Commonwealth of Australia Branch for increased State/Provincial and recommends to the Annual General Meeting that the proposed amendment to Clause 18 and Annexure ‘A’ of the Constitution be adopted. [More…]
(a) That the General Council approves of the proposal of the Commonwealth of Australia Branch for the abolition of Clause 19 Councillors and recom mends to the Annual GeneralMeeting that the proposed amendments of Clauses 18, 19 and 20 of the Constitution be adopted, and [More…]
That the General Council approves the recommendations of the Executive Committee with respect to the proposals of the Commonwealth of Australia Branch for increased Regional representation on the Executive Committee of the General Council and recommends to the Annual General Meeting that appropriate amendments of Clause 33 of the Constitution be adopted. [More…]
However, as in many cases with this Government, the Constitution is completely ignored. [More…]
The Government seems to imagine that the Constitution is something which was written many years ago and which does not really apply today. [More…]
It may find that the Constitution is a vibrant and living document which curtails any ambition for power which it may have. [More…]
When the Government gets into constitutional difficulties its favourite tack is to say: ‘We will have a referendum’. [More…]
I shall deal briefly with the constitutional difficulty that lies in the way of this Bill. [More…]
Section 7 of the Constitution, which deals with the creation of the Senate, provides that the Senate shall be composed of senators from each State. [More…]
It seems to me curious because the basis of that advice would seem to be that the word ‘senator’ in section 7 of the Constitution means something different from ‘senator’ in section 24 of the Constitution. [More…]
As 1 have suggested the legal opinion which the Leader of the House has received and which would suggest that ‘senators’ under one section of the Constitution should be read differently from ‘senators’ in another section of the Constitution can only amount to a certain degree of sophistry - window dressing to avoid the real issue which is to provide more seats for his particular persuasion in the other House. [More…]
The people who live in these Territories are not under the trusteeship of Australia; they are Australians disfranchised by the Constitution. [More…]
In the initial stages the Constitution was drafted by State governments with State outlooks and they did not consider people who did not live in the colonies of that time. [More…]
I know that penguins would be as good members of Parliament as some honourable members on the other side of the chamber, but there is no provision in our Constitution for penguins to be given the vote. [More…]
It was conceived as the States House by the people who worked on the Constitution in 1890. [More…]
In the second reading speeches on these 2 Bills which we are dealing with in this cognate debate the Minister for Services and Property said that for the purposes of section 24 of the Constitution a Territorial senator is not to be regarded as a senator for the purpose of requiring that the number of members of the House of Representatives should be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators. [More…]
If the Government were genuine about giving a full measure of representation to these 2 Territories it ought to introduce into this House another constitution alteration Bill for a referendum to give the Territory senators equal status with the State senators so that for the purposes of the Constitution- [More…]
Along with all the other referendum proposals that are being put forward by this Government, pulled out of the hat after being put into the hat at the whim of Caucus, why is it that the Government has not thought of amending section 24 of the Constitution - if the legal advice the Government has received is good - so as to make it clear that the representative of a Territory referred to in section 24 is equal, under section 1 22, to a State senator? [More…]
I call upon the Minister for Services and Property to tell us why the Government will not introduce a Bill to amend the Constitution to give to a Territorial senator status equal to that enjoyed under the Constitution by a State senator. [More…]
Presumably he is not going to give us the benefit of his exquisite knowledge of the Constitution and his great desire to give representation to the people of these 2 territories. [More…]
It was recommended by the Committee that the Constitution should be amended to provide that there should be an election for half the senators every time there is an election for the House of Representatives. [More…]
The decision to bring the elections of Territory senators into line with those of the House of Representatives is in accordance with the Constitutional Review Committee’s findings. [More…]
The provisions contained in sections 16, 19 and 20 and sections 42 to 48 (inclusive) of the Constitution, to the extent, if any, to which they do not apply, by virtue of the Constitution in relation to a senator for a Territory apply, by force of this Act, in relation to such a senator in the same way as they apply in relation to other senators. [More…]
They deal with the constitution of the Commission and its committees. [More…]
Such a situation is already provided for in the Constitution, and one wondered why all of a sudden such a provision should appear in this Bill. [More…]
They are a reminder of the requirement in the Australian Constitution that a member of Parliament cannot hold an office of profit under the Crown. [More…]
I recall to the Prime Minister a statement that he made at his Press conference yesterday that if the prices and incomes referendum were carried - I hope I quote him verbatim; he will correct me if I do not - ‘the same procedure for determining non-wage incomes as the Constitution has always provided for the determination of wages’ would toe adopted by his Government. [More…]
Since the Constitution has always provided for the determination of wages, we would extend the operations of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to specified forms of income other than wages. [More…]
I believe that the advice which .the lawyer gave after a 6 weeks sojourn here at unspecified expense to the Commonwealth was that before he could tender any advice to the Attorney there would need to be an amendment to the Constitution to give the Commonwealth powers similar to those enjoyed by the Federal Government in America. [More…]
That was advice which a first-year student in constitutional law could have given to the Attorney. [More…]
The Federal Government can make laws only on those subjects which are given to it by our Constitution. [More…]
Of course that is against the backdrop of our constitutional situation. [More…]
I was of the impression that the Australian Capital Territory was in a similar category to the States but I have since found out from my inquiries into this matter that the High Court in the past has ruled that the ACT is not a State and therefore the protection of section 92 of the Constitution does not prevail. [More…]
The situation - I make this statement quite categorically - is that the Senate has the power under the Constitution to refuse supply. [More…]
Had the Constitution been drafted at a later time when certain events had taken place in the United Kingdom relating to matters of supply, the passage of Supply Bills in the Senate would no longer be necessary as they now are no longer necessary in the Upper House of the United Kingdom Parliament. [More…]
Under the Constitution each State is represented by 10 senators. [More…]
Grants to schools and school systems will be made to the States under section 96 of the Australian Constitution, and they will be made, as is right and proper under section 96, on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit. [More…]
The Constitution places the responsibility of public education on the States. [More…]
In other words the Constitution has not been violated. [More…]
If the Bill is to be mangled in the way that is proposed by the Opposition and if the Senate’s amendments are no more intelligent, then the Opposition will be advising the Government how to exercise its power to make grants under section 96 of the Constitution without having a schools commission. [More…]
But anyone who has made any study of the concepts of criminal justice in the United States could not be but appalled at the maze into which the Supreme Court of the United States has brought the administration of criminal justice by interpretations of various sections of the United States Constitution. [More…]
I am satisfied that a very great number of trade unionists and their wives will support the Australian Government in its efforts to update the Australian Constitution. [More…]
There is no protection to shareholders of companies whose assets are compulsorily acquired as to a just and fair price being paid for them other than that contained in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Our Constitution, of course, presents formidable obstacles to the socialist who is attracted to the idea of socialising an industry - say, the steel industry. [More…]
At this time the Australian Parliament can pass laws and, of course, for 70 years has passed laws concerning wages and salaries in the context of the arbitration paragraph in the Constitution. [More…]
Mr McMahon said he would like next year’s convention reviewing the Commonwealth constitution to discuss the possibility of giving the Federal Government power to fix wages and prices. [More…]
That’s why I believe we need an alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
The alteration to the Constitution was clearly in the context of a referendum or referendums proposed. [More…]
This Government has advanced money, as the previous Government did, to Aboriginal organisations which seemed to have a cohesive element, a constitution and a program that looked worthwhile, in order to allow them to spend the money in the interests of the Aboriginal people and in accordance with the priorities that the Aborigines determined. [More…]
The procedures laid down by the present Government require an Aboriginal organisation to have a constitution, to have a proper accountability, before it receives assistance. [More…]
The responsibility lies with the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), but he is a man who is intent on using this Parliament as a forum for his own grandiose pretensions and not as a house of legislative review, as its democratic functions are prescribed under the Constitution. [More…]
2) was guillotined on 20 September, the Constitution Alteration (Incomes) Bill was guillotined on 26 September and the Australian Industry Development Corporation Bill was guillotined on 17 October. [More…]
Section 51 (XXiiiA) of the Constitution makes that clear. [More…]
Nationalisation in the sense of placing all doctors on the Government payroll and forbidding the carrying on of private medical practice is legally impossible without a drastic amendment of the Federal Constitution. [More…]
I was given the job of drawing up the constitution for a certain voluntary organisation. [More…]
It seems to me that when people try to write into the constitution of an organisation that it shall always conduct itself in this way or that way, that it shall always meet at least once a week or not more than once a month, they buy into trouble. [More…]
It is making a virtue out of telling those countries affected by that war that its Constitution won’t let it spend more on defence.’ [More…]
The Government’s Bill, which proposes to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and which is designed to give effect to the mandate of the Australian Constitution to prevent as well as settle industrial disputes, is still awaiting the approval of the other chamber. [More…]
Even the Parliament’s power to confer powers on the Commission is severely limited by the Constitution. [More…]
Even in the case of interstate disputes the Australian Parliament is severely limited by the Constitution in the kind of powers that it may confer upon the Commission. [More…]
Contemporary federalism in Australia, as a result of judicial interpretation and Government policy, is far removed today from that contemplated by the Constitution. [More…]
Second, the existence of the taxing power of the Commonwealth and the unlimited use which may be made of section 96 of the Constitution render it possible for the dominance of the central government to increase. [More…]
We also consider that there is merit in seeking limitations in the application of section 96 of the Constitution to restrict the nature of the conditions which the Commonwealth can impose on grants made under this section. [More…]
Its Constitution is drawn up in such a way that there always has to be a Fijian government. [More…]
It is why there is a need for special allocations under section 96 of the Constitution to provide special incentives to keep those good teachers in the west where they are. [More…]
The constitutional power of the Australian Parliament to enact legislation such as that contained in the Bill was clarified by the very important decision of the High Court in what is known as the concrete pipes case. [More…]
For present purposes that case established that restrictive trade practices and monopolisation legislation contained in the Australian Industries Preservation Act could validly derive support from the corporations power in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution gives us the power to regulate completely advertising in those fields. [More…]
The Constitution does not give us the power to regulate advertising in the other media. [More…]
I refer to clause 6 of the Bill, which refers to the constitution of the Trade Practices Commission. [More…]
But it does not matter what the Minister says or what is written in the Bill; section 109 of the Constitution says that where there is inconsistency between State and Federal law the Federal law shall prevail. [More…]
There is no way of legislating out of that constitutional provision. [More…]
The long defeat had been commenced, but that defeat was to be drawn out year in year out until now, as I said earlier, 15 years after the Constitution Review Committee brought down its original recommendations, we are still as a nation denied effective protection against the conspirators and the manipulators with whose activities the legislation before us today is designed to cope. [More…]
About a century later in 483 A.D. there was the Constitution of Zeno. [More…]
Fifteen centuries later that Constitution was to influence heavily, of all things, the Sherman Act in the United States of America. [More…]
The Committee considered that the Commonwealth Parliament should have an express power to deal with restrictive trade practices so far as they were contrary to the public interest and, for the purpose of determining whether a business practice was contrary to the public interest, it proposed the reconstitution of the Inter-State Commission for which section 101 of the Constitution provides, with a minor change in the method of constituting that Commission. [More…]
of the Constitution, which confers power upon the Commonwealth to make laws with respect to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth, would enable the Parliament to prohibit harmful practices of the corporations described in the paragraph. [More…]
Nationalisation in the sense of placing all doctors on the Government payroll and forbidding the carrying on of private medical practice is legally impossible without a drastic amendment of the Federal Constitution. [More…]
It seems to me that this is relevant to this discussion of clauses 30 to 44 which simply deal with the constitution of the Trade Practices Tribunal. [More…]
The clauses set out the constitution of the Trade Practices Tribunal. [More…]
I suggest also that he should look more closely at the boilermakers case because, in simple terms, that decided that for Federal jurisdiction there had to be a separation of the judicial from the non-judicial functions and where they were judicial functions they had to be carried out by a judge appointed in accordance with the Constitution. [More…]
My purpose this evening is to introduce 3 Bills to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The first proposes an amendment to the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections of the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
The second is designed to amend the Constitution to ensure that members of the House of Representatives and members of the Parliament of the States are chosen directly and democratically by the people. [More…]
May I also intimate to the House before proceeding in detail to introduce the proposal for simultaneous elections that I intend next week to bring forward a fourth proposal for amendment of the Constitution. [More…]
I now turn to the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill. [More…]
The key provision in this Bill is a proposal for a new section in the Constitution. [More…]
The other is a special provision for senators whose terms, as to half, commenced on 1 July 1971 and as to the other half will commence on 1 July 1974, each of whom would in accordance with the existing constitutional provisions have a 6-year term. [More…]
In normal circumstances, there will be elections for the House of Representatives in 1975, 1978 and 1981. lt is proposed under the transitional arrangement that a currently sitting senator, whose term began in 1971 and would in accordance with present constitutional provision expire in 1977, will continue in office until the second House of Representatives election after the constitutional alteration comes into force, that is, until 1978 unless there is a double dissolution or early election for the House of Representatives. [More…]
This will mean, in normal circumstances and, of course, excluding any senators elected to fill casual vacancies, that the senators serving when the constitutional alteration becomes law could have a term of up to about 7i years. [More…]
At the Australian Constitutional Convention held in September this year in Sydney, I said on behalf of the Australian Government that we would propose to the Parliament, for decision by the people, an amendment of the Constitution which would write into it the principle of substantial equality of electoral divisions for all the Parliaments of Australia. [More…]
This Bill therefore seeks an alteration to the Constitution so as to establish electorates within each State in which the number of people is, as nearly as practicable, the same. [More…]
The Bill therefore, simply stated, is a Bill for an Act ‘to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that ‘the members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly and democratically by the people’. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution requires the number of members in the several States to be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people. [More…]
The Constitution thus ensures equitable representation of the people in the House of Representatives, State by State. [More…]
Applying similar constitutional provisions, the United States Supreme Court has, for the last 9 years and more, declared any form of malapportionment within a State to be unconstitutional. [More…]
We should not accept regional discrimination for or against particular regions within States any more than the Constitution allows us to accept discrimination as between States. [More…]
At the other extreme, and excluding Tasmanian divisions for which the Constitution makes specific provision, the Division of Wakefield had a population of 77,195; Wimmera 77,526; Lyne 80,475; Maranoa 81,500; and Hume 82,365. [More…]
We propose that the new provision in the Constitution should deal with State Parliaments also. [More…]
The Bill also proposes an amendment of the Constitution so that each House of each State Parliament will be elected directly by the people of the State. [More…]
Mr Speaker, section 25 of the Constitution provides that if by the law of any State persons of any race are disqualified from voting at elections for the more numerous House of the State, then in reckoning the number of people of the State or of the Commonwealth, persons of that race resident in that State shall not be counted. [More…]
The way in which this is done is to include a new section of the Constitution that will permit an elector of the Commonwealth to bring a relevant matter before the High Court, and an elector in a State to raise a matter relating to that State. [More…]
Mr Speaker, I introduce a Bill to alter the Constitution in relation to borrowings for, and financial assistance to, local government bodies. [More…]
The aim of the proposed amendment to the Constitution which will be submitted to a referendum at the time of the next Senate election is to make funds available direct to local government, both by way of grants and by loans at lower interest rates, so that urban and rural councils and other local government bodies can be freed from the straitened circumstances of the past. [More…]
Under the Constitution it is a State function. [More…]
I believe that the High Court will find that the Constitution gives to the Parliament the power to do all the things upon which the Conference is likely to reach agreement. [More…]
If the State Premiers reject the Prime Minister’s request, the Australian Government will seek the necessary amendment to the Australian Constitution to clothe the Australian Parliament with the same powers to regulate labour relations as those which presently reside with the 6 State parliaments. [More…]
That in relation to the proceedings on the following Bills, so much of the Standing Orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the House making one declaration of urgency and moving one motion for the allotment of time in respect of all the Bills: The Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974, the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill 1974 and the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974. [More…]
They seek the agreement of this Parliament to proposals to put before the people of Australia 3 important changes to the Australian Constitution. [More…]
If the Bills are obstructed in another place they will be passed again in due course by this House and the referendums will then be held in any case in accordance with section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is not every day of the week that a nation working under a federal structure turns to alter its Constitution. [More…]
The Government is proposing 3 very significant alterations to the Constitution. [More…]
The Government’s action in seeking to apply the guillotine, especially on a question dealing with an alteration to the Constitution, is deplorable. [More…]
This is a proposal to change the Constitution of the nation and the future destiny of our children and our grandchildren. [More…]
The proposals for these constitutional reforms can be traced back virtually to the turn of the century. [More…]
That the people of Australia - not this House - should be given the chance to consider whether they want to change their Constitution. [More…]
The Government’s proposal is not that the Constitution be changed here and indeed it cannot be changed here. [More…]
The first is the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill. [More…]
The Minister came in and said that he had 3 Constitution Alteration Bills of great importance to Australia. [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974: [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill 1974: [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974: [More…]
Legislation that goes through this Parliament is based on powers granted by the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
Under this allotment of time in respect of legislation relating to amendments to the Constitution we will be allowed in the Committee stage 15 minutes on each of the 3 Bills, including voting time. [More…]
Of course what he forgets is that under the Constitution itself in this country there can ‘be no referendum unless this Parliament makes provision for it to be held and the Parliament must be given the opportunity to have a full discussion as to the warrants, the arguments and the benefits of the case that will be put before the people. [More…]
Finally, in passing - by way of illustration - I refer to the Bill to alter the Constitution to enable the Commonwealth to borrow money for and to grant financial assistance to local government bodies. [More…]
If the Government has that power to enable it to feed local government and to starve State governments we shall move to a constitution similar to the Constitution of the United Kingdom which provides for Westminster and county councils. [More…]
This would mean a complete and radical change in our Constitution in the course of time from a Federal Constitution to a unitary constitution with local government bodies, as is the case in the United Kingdom. [More…]
It has deliberately chosen terms which put the rosiest possible complexion on the proposal for the amendment of the Constitution. [More…]
The title of the Bill states that it is a Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections. [More…]
It would have been more honest for the Government to have titled this Bill ‘a Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to provide that the term of office of a senator shall be for 2 terms of the House of Representatives’, because that is what the Bill is designed to do. [More…]
This Bill purports to require an amendment of the Constitution in order to have simultaneous elections. [More…]
The simple fact is that, by the Constitution, the Senate has been given a position of power. [More…]
It was given that power by those who founded the Constitution. [More…]
It was debated at length and it was decided that the Senate should possess powers which are contained in section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
I have heard so much nonsense about open government but I have seen the prostitution of that concept by this Government in its short term of office and I know that the Government is fundamentally incapable of being plain, direct and honest, which is what it ought to be when dealing with the Constitution of this country. [More…]
He said that a government can live with a Constitution no matter what are the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
He went on to say that the Constitution is not an alibi for a government’s not pursuing the course it wishes to pursue. [More…]
This proposal - that which is called the simultaneous elections proposal - should be rejected on 2 grounds: firstly, because it is unnecessary; and secondly, because its adoption would be dangerous in constitutional and democratic terms. [More…]
This constitutional amendment process is unnecessary because the power is in the hands of the Government. [More…]
Section 57 of the Constitution specifically provides for it. [More…]
If that is intended it should be put to the people directly by way of an amendment to section 53 of the Constitution and not in the fashion of this proposal, which seeks to take advantage of a temporary situation that it is in the Government’s hands to cure and to argue that because of the temporary situation there ought to be a permanent change. [More…]
The way it ought to be put, quite clearly, is that it seeks to achieve the purpose provided for in clause 4, which seeks to insert new sections 12 and 13 in the Constitution that would give each senator a term of office which is 2 terms of the House of Representatives. [More…]
This Bill provides for an alteration of the Constitution so that elections for the House of Representatives and for the Senate are held at the same time. [More…]
Then followed the Senate’s ‘failure to pass’ within the terms of the Constitution the second Commonwealth Bank Bill and the Governor-General on the advice of Prime Minister R. G. Menzies granted on 19 March 1951 a simultaneous dissolution of both Houses of Parliament. [More…]
The consequential elections were held on 28 April 1951 and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the terms of the newly elected senators were taken to have begun on 1 July 1950. [More…]
As the holding of general elections for the Senate is tied by the Constitution to the 12 months period immediately preceding the expiration of the term of service of the retiring senators, the bringing together of the elections for the 2 Houses can be achieved only by a dissolution of the House of Representatives before its full term, except by altering the Constitution as proposed by this Bill. [More…]
The present Bill follows generally the lines of the proposals of the 1959 Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Review. [More…]
It honours an election commitment made by the Australian Labor Party and it takes up the proposal of the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) to the Constitutional Convention held recently in Sydney. [More…]
The vital provision in this Bill is for a new section 13 of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not contest that in the least; nor did the founders of our Constitution contest it. [More…]
Under section 128 of the Constitution, if either House of the Parliament passes a Bill for a referendum and the other House refuses to pass it, the Governor-General, upon the expiration of 3 months, may - the operative word is ‘may’ - submit it to the electors. [More…]
The fact that that provision is in the Constitution argues 2 things, I submit. [More…]
Otherwise why put it in the Constitution? [More…]
Will the honourable gentleman accept an amendment to provide for the deletion of all those provisions in the Constitution relating to the Senate? [More…]
It seeks to amend the Constitution. [More…]
For very sound reasons the provisions relating to a double dissolution were put in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Then the mechanisms of the Constitution could be brought into play. [More…]
If we try to do it otherwise it must significantly disadvantage some of the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
This Bill, if it and the subsequent referendum proposals were carried, would largely suffocate the provisions of section 57 of the Constitution - not merely trench upon it but suffocate it. [More…]
In the Constitution, the provisions relating to dissolution of the Senate are quite clear, It refers to the dissolution of the Senate; not of part of the Senate. [More…]
The whole of the history of the provisions relating to the dissolution of the Senate hinge on the fact that if Bills are rejected twice by the Senate and it appears that the will of the majority of the people - the popular will - is in any way being frustrated, the Constitution enables those provisions to start to move and it enables the country to be kept in a measure of stability. [More…]
What is being proposed by the Labor Government today is a significant attempt to undermine the Constitution not for the sake of convenience - if mere convenience were the argument here we could meet it rapidly in 3 or 4 months’ time - but to undermine the Constitution in a way which, frankly, I do not think the Government quite comprehends. [More…]
I do not believe that if this Bill is carried, and the question is put to the people at a referendum and agreed to by them, it will result in the Constitution’s being undermined. [More…]
Rather, the Constitution will be strengthened, for capricious government, which can be brought about by a Senate’s rejecting legislation that has been passed by an elected House of Representatives, can have the effect of lowering the respect in which the public holds the Parliament and the legislative process. [More…]
Section 128 of the Constitution, which was quoted by the honourable member for Moreton, lays down the ways in which the Constitution of this country can be changed. [More…]
So, this problem will arise again and again, one would imagine, unless we resolve it by changing the Constitution. [More…]
As far as section 57 of the Constitution is concerned, of course the other provisions regarding a double dissolution will apply. [More…]
Therefore, it will still be possible to have a double dissolution regardless of whether the question proposed to be put at the referendum that will be conducted if this Bill is passed is carried and an alteration made to the Constitution. [More…]
The Committee has recommended (19S8 Report, paragraph 49) that the Constitution be altered to omit the provision now made for senators to be chosen for terms of six years and to provide instead that senators should hold their places until the expiry or dissolution of the second House of Representatives after their election, unless the Senate should be earlier dissolved under the provisions of section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
As part and parcel of the exercise of the bicameral system, under our Constitution the Government represents the party with the majority in the lower House and the party with the majority in the lower House at any House of Representatives election need not have a majority in the upper House. [More…]
For that reason under our Constitution the upper House is able to accept, reject or modify legislation that is submitted to it from this House. [More…]
So there is a flexibility within the Constitution which enables the Government to go to the people and seek another mandate through its majority in the House of Representatives, to go to the people by way of a double dissolution or to go to the people by way of an election for the House of Representatives at the time of the normal 3- yearly election for half the members of the Senate. [More…]
The democratic will of the people can be exercised as the Constitution is now framed and those who are in government at any time can exercise any of those 3 options which are available to them. [More…]
Instead of achieving its policy objective in a valid way - instead of turning to section 53 of the Constitution and looking at the exercise of power as it is applied to the Senate in the Constitution - it is seeking to do so in a backhand way. [More…]
It is using sections 12 and 13 of the Constitution. [More…]
Either it wants to change the Constitution through a referendum according to the form of words which is included in the Bill which we are discussing, or it does not. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), in introducing the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill, supported that legislation on 3 or 4 grounds. [More…]
The major ground, apart from the fact that what was proposed was Labor Party policy and had been uttered at that Constitutional Convention so that plenty of notice was given of our intention, was that the legislation seeks to carry out a unanimous recommendation made in 1959 by the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review. [More…]
They suggested that it would be dangerous to create this system under our Constitution because such a system would have an adverse effect on the smaller States. [More…]
I suggest that the 1959 Constitutional Review Committee recommended what is in fact logical, that is, that the Australian Constitution should be altered to achieve the end which this Bill seeks. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate Elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives Elections. [More…]
Clause 4 of the Bill proposes that the Constitution be altered by omitting sections 12 and 13 and substituting new sections 12 and 13. [More…]
The existing section 12 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The existing section 13 of the Constitution provides that senators shall hold their offices for 6 years. [More…]
I implore the Government that, if it is to be taken seriously in its wish to alter the Constitution for the good of the Australian people and not for the good of the [More…]
In the Title, omit all words after ‘Constitution’, substitute the words ‘to provide that the term of service of a Senator shall expire upon the expiry or dissolution of the second House of Representatives to expire or be dissolved after he was chosen, or upon an earlier dissolution of the Senate’. [More…]
I am referring to clause 4 of the Bill, which proposes to substitute a new section 13 in the Constitution. [More…]
Although the clause is too long for me to read out, it can be seen quite clearly I am sure that the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) who is now sitting at the table will agree with me - that the amendment to section 13 of the Constitution which will result if this Bill is approved will provide that senators shall hold office for a term of service which will expire upon the expiry or dissolution of the second House of Representatives to expire or be dissolved after he was chosen’. [More…]
The Constitution provides that the Bill must be carried by an absolute majority. [More…]
The Constitution, I repeat, provides that the Bill must be passed by an absolute majority. [More…]
I would commence by joining with you, Mr Speaker, in referring to standing order 263, which states that no Bill that seeks to alter the Constitution shall be carried unless on the third reading the motion is carried by an absolute majority of the House. [More…]
The requirements of section 128 of the Constitution are that in certain cases Bills for alteration of the Constitution be carried by an absolute majority. [More…]
The Constitution requires the House to pass such a Bill by an absolute majority. [More…]
There are precedents in May and other places, I understand, for legal rulings of that character, especially on a constitutional point. [More…]
If that cannot be said, certain legal consequences follow from the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
There are proper procedures to go through if a matter of constitutional law is involved. [More…]
The matter of the alteration of the Constitution is a most delicate point. [More…]
It is provided for under section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
Where the High Court has as its supreme function the interpretation of the Australian Constitution I submit to you, Sir, that this House and you should play safe, that we should go through the proper procedures and that we should deal with this Bill in accordance with the proper procedures of this House as laid down in the Standing Orders. [More…]
I am not a lawyer but I put it as a point of substantial law, I appeal to you even at this stage and I appeal to the Government to get on the right foot, to do this thing in the right way and to see that the legal forms of the Standing Orders are observed so that the requirements of the Constitution can be properly met without challenge in the High Court. [More…]
The facts are that, a proposal for an alteration to the Constitution having been put and the Opposition not having called for a division, honourable members opposite are therefore claming that we cannot be counted. [More…]
It is the Speaker’s duty to ensure that the numbers are counted in accordance with the constitutional requirement. [More…]
They are, firstly, the Standing Orders and practice of the House and, secondly, the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution comes after the procedures in this House. [More…]
In order to determine whether this Bill has been validly passed in accordance with the Constitution, it is necessary to determine whether it has been passed by this chamber. [More…]
If the House looks at the procedures of this House and then looks at the Constitution it will see that the answer is straightforward and clear. [More…]
They know that they have messed up what this afternoon was declared by them to be a most vital matter of constitutional importance. [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Parliament) Bill 1967: The order of the day having been read for the resumption of the debate on the question - That the Bill be now read a second time- [More…]
Then we come to the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Bill 1967. [More…]
If the Senate does not divide on the third reading of a Constitution Alteration Bill, it is nevertheless the practice to ring the Bells and to record the names of those Senators agreeing, or otherwise, to the third reading. [More…]
This serves the operation of section 6a of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act which provides for the issue of a pamphlet containing the arguments authorised by Members who vote (a) for, and (b) against, the proposed law. [More…]
Whenever the third reading of a bill by which an alteration of the Constitution is proposed to be made has not been carried by an absolute majority of the House, the bill shall be forthwith laid aside and shall not be revived during the same session. [More…]
I heard the Clerk read the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill the third time. [More…]
Because I believe in what I do and because I heard what I heard, in my opinion it must be accepted by this House that there is a real doubt as to whether the constitutional provisions have been satisfied for this question to be put to the people. [More…]
Does the Prime Minister agree that legislation designed to eventually change the Australian Constiution is legislation of considerable significance and that if the Australian people are to be asked to express an informed and considered view on the proposals to change the Constitution, the Parliament should have adequate time to debate the legislation? [More…]
Was the Prime Minister aware of or was he party to the dictatorial decision of the Leader of the House to apply the guillotine to the 3 Constitution Alteration Bills now before the Parliament? [More…]
By those 2 devices it hoped to frustrate the recording of the absolute majority, which the Constitution requires. [More…]
Furthermore, there would have been much longer - about an hour - to debate the first of the constitutional referendum Bills under guillotine if the Opposition had not moved to discuss a matter of public importance yesterday. [More…]
Still dealing with the style of the Government, I move on to the question of the Constitution - not to debate the Bills at present before the House or which may be put before the House but simply to say that an attempt is being made to tear up the Federal Constitution. [More…]
If we starve the States as a deliberate process and policy and feed local government as a deliberate policy we reach a stage where one part of the Federal Constitution, the States, are destroyed and another part, local government, is built up in their place so that we replace our federal form of government with the kind of government which exists in the United Kingdom where they have one central government at Westminster and county councils, borough councils and so forth administering details in the regions. [More…]
One would think that if the Australian people wished to change their form of Constitution from a federal to a unitary system, the right way to do this would be for a government to come out and state plainly what it wished to do, give the arguments in favour of what it wished to do and finally, by referendum, put it to the people instead of seeking to do it by stealth. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to amend Section 128 of the Constitution, the provision in the Constitution which lays down the way in which the Constitution itself can be amended. [More…]
By the first, we aim to facilitate alterations, to the Constitution by amending the requirement that, in addition to a majority of electors voting, there needs to be a majority of States in a referendum to amend the Constitution. [More…]
The real difficulty is that the Australian Constitution has proved in practice to be extremely difficult to amend. [More…]
I remind honourable members that there have been no less than 26 amendments of the Constitution of the United States, of which 11 have been since 1900. [More…]
After exhaustive investigation, the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review in 1958, and again in 1959, recognised the vital interest of the people in proposed constitutional al,tera.tions. [More…]
The Committee’s proposal would not disturb the federal fabric of the Constitution, inherent in Section 128, but its proposal would serve to lay more emphasis on constitutional change by the democratic process of majority vote than there at present exists. [More…]
Section 128 of the Constitution says: [More…]
The need to change the emphasis by amending section 128 of the Constitution has been felt for years; but like so much else, including the second proposal I will put in a moment, nothing - I say nothing - was done by our predecessors in office. [More…]
By the new proposal, it will still be possible to obtain an amendment of the Constitution only if a majority of all the electors voting agree. [More…]
A reference to Quick and Garran indicates that the framers of the Constitution had in mind that new States would quite quickly be created - which would have made more relevant the provision requiring a majority of States. [More…]
But the two-thirds majority is unreasonably high and, given that we have not gone beyond the original six States, means in the elegant words of the Constitutional Review Committee that ‘for every State in which there is an adverse vote there must be a favourable vote in two States … a constitutional change has to be supported not only by a majority of States but by two-thirds of the States.’ [More…]
I believe that this change will bring the constitutional provisions more into accord with the spirit of the founders in 1901; more into accord with today’s mood of national awareness; and more into accord with democratic principles and processes. [More…]
At the same time, in case any have a sense that this change will make amendment of the Constitution too easy, let me remind honourable members that had the original Constitution requirement been for no less than one-half of the States, as we now propose, only two more of the 26 proposals put to the people would have been approved. [More…]
In this Bill we seek to delete from the Constitution that part of section 128 which limits voting at referendums to people qualified to vote ‘in each State’. [More…]
The electors of the Territories may be thought to have an added claim to voting in national referendums on constitutional matters. [More…]
The electors of the Territories may in this sense be able to contribute their informed judgment on many of the matters likely to be the subject of constitutional referendums. [More…]
This Bill will join the three proposals for alteration of the Constitution at present before the House - the proposals for simultaneous elections of the Senate and the House of Representatives, for democratic electorates, and for powers in relation to local government finances. [More…]
These four proposals will be joined later by a further proposal I foreshadowed last week and also in the week immediately following the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
We believe that the two changes to section 128 of the Constitution contained in this Bill will put referendums on a more democratic basis and make it more possible for the Constitution to reflect more accurately, in contemporary terms, the spirit and the fact of Australia as one united nation. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the Members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly- [More…]
A curious result of this is that the Government is alleging that it was not democratically elected and that by the amendment of the Constitution there will be henceforth democratic elections. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the Members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly by the People . [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the Members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly by the People and that the criterion for determining the size of an electoral division shall be the number of the people within it. [More…]
Clause 3 provides for the deletion of section 25 from the Constitution. [More…]
I wish to make it clear that we on the Opposition side would support the deletion of section 25 from the Constitution, but that cannot be done separately. [More…]
Section 25 of the Constitution reads: [More…]
I think this is the sort of thing which historically went into the Constitution or legislation and which progressively ought to be taken out because of its radical overtones. [More…]
It is a most remarkable clause in that it proposes that there shall be added certain words after section 29 of the Constitution. [More…]
The fundamental point is that the Constitution gives to this Parliament the right to provide for the determining of divisions in each State for the House of Representatives. [More…]
Everybody must wonder, upon looking at that section, why it is necessary to amend the Constitution to give the Parliament power to do something which it now possesses power to do. [More…]
This Bill proposes to add to section 29 of the Constitution these remarkable words: [More…]
The first is to make a substitution in the present legislation - not the Constitution - pursuant to the Constitution which now provides that the division into electorates shall be on the basis of electors. [More…]
This clause proposes a constitutional provision to make it ‘people’ instead of ‘electors’. [More…]
I refer next to clause 5 of the Bill - it is another remarkable clause - which seeks to add certain words to section 30 of the Constitution. [More…]
I shall read the power that is given to this Parliament under section 30 of the Constitution. [More…]
Therefore, under the Constitution we have total power to say that everyone who has red hair and is 10 years of age can have a vote. [More…]
Yet, for some unexplained reason the Government is to put a referendum to the people to change the Constitution in order to give it power to do everything which it now has power to do. [More…]
The words proposed to be added to the Constitution are: [More…]
This is what the Government seeks to amend the Constitution to achieve. [More…]
It exists pursuant to legislation enacted under the power of section 30 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 75 of the Constitution is altered by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph: [More…]
The High Court shall have original jurisdiction in matters arising under sections twenty-four, twenty-nine, thirty, fourty-one or one hundred and six a of this Constitution. [More…]
The first words of section 75 of the Constitution deal with the original jurisdiction of the High Court of Australia. [More…]
Section 76 of the Constitution which is not mentioned in this Bill - mark these words - states: [More…]
Arising under this Constitution, or . [More…]
The powers which the Government is trying to obtain by putting, a referendum to the people to alter the Constitution it already possesses. [More…]
The Government wants to go to the people at a referendum to ask for the power to do something which is already provided for in the Constitution and has always existed. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the Members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly - [More…]
Now it wants to amend the Constitution to make sure in the future it will be elected democratically. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the Members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly by the people and that the criterion for determining the size of an electoral division shall be the number of people within it. [More…]
To give powers by the Constitution which were given in the Constitution at Federation is to pretend that the Australian people do not understand and are foolish. [More…]
He would know if he had read the Australian Constitution that section 24 already provides that in determining the number of members from each State the quota shall be determined by the number of people, not electors. [More…]
The present position is a serious abuse of what was intended by those who drafted the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The Australian Constitution is at present severely lacking in respect of control by the people over Parliament. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution really intends that, subject to each State of the Commonwealth having a minimum of 5 members, the members elected from each State shall be in proportion to the number of persons resident in the particular State. [More…]
Yet the apologists - particularly the Australian Country Party - argue consistently that, that having been laid down by the Australian Constitution, they can justify having inequality of voting within those State boundaries. [More…]
In other words, the drafters of the Constitution trusted politicians. [More…]
No matter what obstructionist tactics are adopted by the Liberal-Country Party in this House, the Constitution provides that the matter can still go before the Australian people. [More…]
In his second reading speech the Prime Minister spoke of writing into the Constitution the principle of substantial equality of electoral divisions for all parliaments of Australia. [More…]
This time he wants the Parliament to ask the Australian people as a whole to approve at a referendum a change in the Australian Constitution to give an advantage to the Labor Party. [More…]
Coming back to the proposal to insert a new section into the Constitution dealing with the election of members of State parliaments, I must say that I find it quite remarkable that the Prime Minister is so filled with a sense of power that he has taken it upon himself to initiate this matter. [More…]
I certainly believe that this proposal is arguable as to its correctness under the Constitution, and further I should be very surprised if the States did not challenge it in the High Court. [More…]
Yet here we have the Prime Minister presuming to tell the States that they must change the methods they now use to elect members to their Houses of Parliament - methods which are laid down in the States’ own Constitutions. [More…]
We should remember that the Constitution came into existence as a result of each State, or the people of each State, agreeing to unite in a Commonwealth under the Constitution. [More…]
Not only does he want new powers written into the Constitution dealing with federal powers to control prices and incomes, but he now wants also a whole new section written into the Constitution directing the States as to how they shall manage their parliamentary elections. [More…]
I think we should look closely at section 106 of the Constitution which provides that the Constitution of each State shall continue as at the establishment of the Commonwealth ‘sub ject to this Constitution’ - that is, the Commonwealth Constitution - until altered in accordance with the State Constitution. [More…]
It seems to me that if the Prime Minister’s proposal purports to bring about changes in State Constitutions, then it runs counter to the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
If the words subject to this Constitution’ in section 106 mean the Constitution as passed into law in 1900, then the Prime Minister cannot use the amending power of section 128 to cut down the rights of the states under section 106 simply by the device of inserting a new section called 106a. [More…]
It is interesting to note that Sir Owen Dixon has referred to the Constitution providing for the ‘Independence from Federal control of the State in the discharge of its functions’. [More…]
It may be that section 106 provides the restraint upon legislative power over the States which differentiates it from power over the subject, and that no law of the Commonwealth can impair or affect the Constitution of a State. [More…]
It seems to me that the Prime Minister wants this Parliament to pass laws which will, if approved later by the people, affect in the most fundamental way the Constitutions of the States. [More…]
I believe that this proposal runs counter to the provisions of the Constitution, and certainly to the spirit of the Constitution. [More…]
The principle of universal suffrage was enshrined in the Federal Constitution of 1901. [More…]
The Supreme Court of the United States, however, ruled in a historic judgment that such practices were prohibited by the Federal Constitution - in particular, by the equal rights amendment. [More…]
Unfortunately opinions differ as to whether the Australian Constitution affords such protection to its citizens. [More…]
The only way in which the evils of malapportionment can be banned from the Australian political scene for all time is to inscribe the principle of equal representation into our Australian Constitution - one vote, one value. [More…]
It is useless to attempt to enshrine such a principle in the Constitution of any particular State or States, for such Constitutions can be changed at the will of the Parliament concerned. [More…]
The only Constitution that is unalterable except by the express permission of the Australian people is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
It is in our Australian Constitution that we must provide a strong guarantee of equal representation. [More…]
As the Prime Minister said in his second-reading speech it is designed to seek approval for ‘an amendment of the Constitution which would write into it the principle of substantial equality of electoral divisions for all the Parliaments of Australia and a provision that the State Houses of Parliament be elected directly by the people’. [More…]
Referenda are the means by which alterations to the Constitution are made. [More…]
That is, they ask you, the people of this country, in whom true sovereignty resides, to transfer from the States to the Commonwealth constitutional and legal power over a wide range of matters. [More…]
With one exception, none of the powers proposed to be transferred by the referendum will benefit the people of this country in a personal way, as was done in 1946 in the amendment, by referendum, to section 51 (XXIII a) of the Constitution which conferred power on the Australian Parliament to make provision for such benefits as child endowment, unemployment, sickness and hospital benefits and family allowances. [More…]
Before I turn to the Bills themselves, there is a threshold constitutional problem that should be considered. [More…]
That is the question of whether or not the Commonwealth has legal and constitutional powers to introduce such referendum legislation which touch and concern powers and functions that are clearly within and remain within the jurisdiction of the States, and are related almost exclusively to electoral matters involving the States. [More…]
This matter is discused fully in Quick and Garran’s The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth’, chapter 481, pages 988 to 995. [More…]
Hence it may be concluded that there is no limit to the power to amend the constitution, but that it can only be brought into action according to certain modes prescribed. [More…]
There is also the question of the need for and desirability of changes to the Constitution. [More…]
Even the Prime Minister has on more than one occasion stated that amendments to the Constitution are not necessary. [More…]
Last year, referring to Labor Party policy on democratic socialism, he said that it would be intolerable if a Labor Government were to use the alibi of the Constitution to excuse failure- to achieve its socialist objective. [More…]
A determined Federal Government could find ways of living with the existing Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution imposes great limitations- and it should - but the Constitution is not an alibi. [More…]
Before debating the 3 significant proposals in the Bill let me mention that clause 3 proposes to repeal section 25 of the Constitution. [More…]
Finally the Labor Government wants to add a new section to the Constitution to provide that the same provisions of the Australian Constitution, as set out in clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill, shall apply to the elections in the States with respect to both the qualification of electors and the numbers of persons in electoral divisions. [More…]
Clause 6 of the Bill is designed to amend section 75 of the Constitution to confer original jurisdiction on the High Court in respect of certain matters affecting Commonwealth and State elections and electoral disputes. [More…]
It proposes to add a new paragraph to section 29 of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposal is that the following words be added to section 29 of the Constitution, and I ask honourable members to listen to them intently: [More…]
So far as I can ascertain, the new paragraph is local in origin but the words ‘shall be as nearly as practicable the same’ have been taken out of the Labor Party’s platform, which in turn were taken from an interpretation of Article 1 section 2 paragraph (i) of the United States Constitution which, insofar as it is relevant, says: [More…]
There is no reference anywhere in the United States Constitution itself to the words ‘as nearly as practicable the same’. [More…]
Clause 5 of the Bill seeks to amend section 30 of the Constitution. [More…]
I point out also that under the Constitution the Commonwealth already has power to pass laws relating to such matters. [More…]
Why then does the Labor Government seek to write specific laws of this kind for which it already has general power under the Constitution? [More…]
The Leader of the Australian Country Party (Mr Anthony) spoke about the despicable display by the Government in wanting to go to the people of Australia to seek their opinion on an alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
Several speakers from the Opposition, particularly the Leader of the Country Party, relied heavily on the Constitution and its reference to how the electorate should be determined. [More…]
I submit that there should be no opposition to the proposal to seek the people’s views on altering the Constitution in the manner sought because if the people of Australia are in accord with the views of the Opposition they will reject the proposition that is put before them. [More…]
Liberals therefore seek to include in the constitution of all governments the principle of a continuing independent electoral commission determining boundaries on a basis of community of interest whose numbers of voters are equal subject to an allowable variation of not more than 10 per cent in order that the future development of growth areas would not make the distribution obsolescent within a very short period. [More…]
When we hear the Leader of the Australian Country Party (Mr Anthony) speak about what might occur in the future ‘by way of gerrymandering of electorates if the people of Australia decide that they want the Constitution altered, it makes us realise why the Country Party has no desire to see any change made. [More…]
The simple truth is that the Constitution should not be subjected to having this sort of rubbish put into it. [More…]
The second question I want to put is: Why seek to alter section 51 of the Constitution? [More…]
Section 105a(1) of the Constitution provides: [More…]
Why not seek to alter section 105a of the Constitution? [More…]
The powers conferred by this section shall not be construed as being limited in any way by the provisions of section 105 of this Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974 is the third in the trilogy of Constitution amendment Bills that we have had before the House today and yesterday. [More…]
This Bill has as a long title ‘A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution to enable the Commonwealth to borrow Money for, and to grant Financial Assistance to, Local Government Bodies’. [More…]
be inserted in section 51 of the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 3 of the Bill proposes to insert a new section 96a into the Constitution. [More…]
Section 96, as it is at present, is the section of the Constitution which enables the Commonwealth to make grants to the States. [More…]
It is proposed to insert in the Constitution new section 96a which will read: [More…]
I think the first point that ought to be made is that there is at present a Constitutional Convention being held in Australia. [More…]
There was a week of debate and discussion on constitutional reform. [More…]
As a result of that week’s efforts, it was decided to set up a number of committees to examine particular aspects of the Constitution. [More…]
Those committees are at present examining the Constitution and will shortly bring forward recommendations for another meeting of the convention to consider. [More…]
One of the committees has as its specific task the examination of constitutional relations in respect of local government bodies. [More…]
This Bill proposes to alter the Constitution - so we are led to believe - but we do not know what that body is which is referred to in the Constitution. [More…]
Quite clearly, that is not the basis upon which the Constitution should be altered. [More…]
If this legislation is passed, if the Constitution is altered and then legislation is passed pursuant to that power, it will be to the great disadvantage of the people of Australia who want the services, and it will be to the great disadvantage also of those people of Australia who see our Constitution as a bulwark which is essential for the protection of our standards, our way of life and our democratic centralisation of power in Canberra. [More…]
This very important matter which we are discussing seeks to make an alteration to our existing Constitution so that local government authorities may have direct representation on the Australian Loan Council. [More…]
It is quite obvious that the reason for seeking this amendment to the Constitution is to enable the Australian Labor Party to pursue its policies aimed at centralising all power in Canberra. [More…]
These constitutional proposals do not in themselves represent a solution to the problem. [More…]
The amendments to the Constitution outlined in this Bill presuppose that existing constitutional procedures are incapable of effectively meeting the situation. [More…]
Adequate scope exists for an improved flow of resources to local government through existing constitutional channels. [More…]
Provision exists for this approach in section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The fundamental philosophy of the Australian Country Party is that financial arrangements should be tailored to the Constitution. [More…]
It is only if the constitutional arrangements are unworkable that a basis exists for an alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposal that the Commonwealth grant direct financial assistance to local government by amending section 96 of the Constitution also requires close scrutiny. [More…]
However, let us not destroy the Constitution in the process. [More…]
And, of course, this is just what is proposed in this Bill - to allow the people of Australia to decide whether they believe the Constitution should be amended in such a way as to allow this to happen. [More…]
We believe that the people of Australia should strongly support this alteration of the Constitution, which would allow us to make funds available direct to local government both by way of grants and by way of loans at lower interest rates. [More…]
I am an ordinary citizen with no special knowledge of the Constitution and I am not a lawyer, but I have served for 25 years in local government and I think that should qualify me to know something about it. [More…]
However, an alteration to the Constitution is not needed to give local government more money; the power already exists under section 96 of the Constitution for the Commonwealth to give what it wants to give. [More…]
I do not want to emphasise it, as the Leader of the Country Party mentioned it a moment ago, but it is true that the basis of our Constitution is the delegation by the States of certain powers to create the Commonwealth of Australia as provided for in the Constitution. [More…]
When the Constitution was established, it was a deliberate intention that the States would retain their identity and have the sole right to create and set up their own organisations of a local and domestic character. [More…]
This Bill, as we all know but I think it should be mentioned, provides for 2 additions to the Constitution. [More…]
The second addition - they are only additions to the Constitution - is to section 96, which at present gives power to the Commonwealth to grant finance to any State as this Parliament thinks fit. [More…]
The move to alter the Constitution in relation to the States and local government cannot be dissociated from the idea of establishing regional councils. [More…]
Honourable members should not forget that a State Government can change the composition of local councils, wipe them out, or do whatever it likes in relation to their constitution. [More…]
In my opinion, the price will be the ultimate loss of their freedom, if they pass this kind of legislation and destroy our Constitution. [More…]
I rise to take part in the debate on the Bill to alter the Constitution to enable the Commonwealth to borrow money for and to grant financial assistance to local governing bodies. [More…]
Although under the Australian Constitution the financial responsibility for local govern ment is purely a matter for the States - when federation took place this was one aspect of government which was allocated to the various States - I nevertheless feel that the Federal Government has a financial interest in local government and should make the muscle available for it to carry out the works which I have enumerated. [More…]
Last week in this House there was a debate on some Bills relating to the Constitution. [More…]
That must never be allowed to happen, for if that happens this Parliament will cease to be able to play that pinnacle role in relation to Australia’s Constitution that it now does. [More…]
On the Constitution Alteration Bills - 2 devices were used. [More…]
By those 2 devices it hoped to frustrate the recording of the absolute majority, which the Constitution requires. [More…]
As my colleague the Minister for Services and Property (Mr Daly) pointed out, even when the Parliament was completely unanimous, when nobody said ‘no’, when Opposition tellers could be appointed because there was no Opposition - the Speaker of the day still had the votes recorded to show that there was an absolute majority in favour of the constitution alteration Bill as required by the Constitution. [More…]
Part (IV) of the Bill deals with the constitution and meetings of the Corporation. [More…]
The Australian Labor Government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), has been responsible for a large number of new initiatives of reform such as the very great economic reforms introduced by this Government in the fight against inflation, in the areas of education and health, in the new area of foreign affairs, to the Constitution, and so I could go on. [More…]
Sixthly, despite the opposition from the Liberal and Country Party members, the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill has passed this chamber and has been sent to the Senate for approval. [More…]
If the Senate rejects the Bill it will be passed again in this chamber in the new year and the Australian people will have the opportunity at the referendum to be held in conjunction with the next Senate election to authorise an amendment to the Constitution which will give local government access to the Australian Loan Council for borrowings. [More…]
The answer to his question is on page 3326 of Hansard of 14 November 1973, in the record of the debate on the Constitution alteration legislation. [More…]
It is another Bill in a long and continuing series to alter the Constitution by fraud and by deceit, and to do so without adequate thought and without adequate parliamentary discussion. [More…]
Let us look first of all at clause 2 (c) of the Bill which proposes to alter section 128 of the Constitution to allow qualified electors in the Territories to vote. [More…]
It proposes that the following words in section 128 of the Constitution shall be omitted: [More…]
There can be little doubt that the Australian Constitution has proved difficult to amend. [More…]
It is for them to decide, subject to certain constitutional safeguards, whether they want any change. [More…]
The relevant part of the Constitution to which clause 2 (c) relates provides that: [More…]
The Constitution would then read: [More…]
The requirement that there must be a majority of electors in a majority of the States was inserted in the Constitution to preserve the federal system of government - that is, the system of the Commonwealth and the 6 States - and to ensure maturity of thought in the consideration and settlement of the proposals relating to organic changes of the Constitution. [More…]
These constitutional requirements both safeguard the Constitution itself and were designed to ensure that proper and mature consideration is given to the proposed changes and their effect on the people of this country. [More…]
I am indebted to Quick and Gamut’s learned and elegant ‘Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth’ for most of the ideas relating to amendments to the Constitution by plebiscite or referendum. [More…]
As a preface I want to state the Liberal view relating to written federal constitutions and proposals for their alteration. [More…]
A constitution may be compared to a living organism. [More…]
The constitution of a nation is the outward and visible manifestation of its national life, to the pulsations of which it necessarily responds. [More…]
The safeguards that are contained in our Constitution have been provided not in order to prevent or indefinitely resist change in any direction but in order to prevent change being made in haste or by stealth, to encourage public discussion and to delay change until there is strong evidence that it is desirable, irresistible and inevitable. [More…]
A constitution is, after all, a charter of government. [More…]
At the same time a constitution which did not contain provision for its amendment with the development, growth and expansion of the community which it is intended to govern would be a most inadequate and imperfect deed of partnership. [More…]
The requirement of the approval of a majority of the electors and a majority of the States is the method imposed by the Constitution for ascertaining the will of the people of the Federal Commonwealth. [More…]
The Constitution, as I have said, is a living organism and we in this House must move with the times. [More…]
An amendment of the Constitution may then be projected and carried abolishing the necessity of the second majority. [More…]
The Constitution itself enables such a change to be made if the sovereign qualified voters, in their wisdom, consider that such a change is desirable and that the plebiscite is carried out in accordance with the Constitution and procedures of this Parliament. [More…]
It states that it is a Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow electors in Territories, as well as electors in the States, to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The words ‘to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ are a false description of the relevant part of the Bill and must be considered against the background that the long title will be the actual question submitted to qualified electors at the referendum. [More…]
Over the years, the demands of the Australian people to update their ageing Constitution have been frustrated by the over-rigid requirements which must be met before change can occur. [More…]
This proposed amendment, if approved by the people at the referendum, will mean that future amendments to the Constitution will require the approval of the majority of the voters in only 3 of the 6 States, in addition to the existing requirement of approval by a majority of the voters of Australia as a whole. [More…]
It will not of itself usher in a new era of easy altreation to the Constitution. [More…]
In 1900 the great constitutional authorities of the day Quick and Garran - I hope the honourable member for Moreton (Mr Killen) will see that my legal knowledge is improving - had this to say at page 993 of their book entitled ‘Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth’: [More…]
It will bring the Constitution more into line with the social and political realities of this day and age. [More…]
The second purpose of this Bill is to give electors of the Australian Capital Territory, including Jervis Bay and the Northern Territory, the right to vote at constitution referendums. [More…]
This fundamental growth and change indicates that in the future, unless this change is made, countless thousands of Australians will be denied their right to vote at the ballot box for changes in the Constitution. [More…]
It is incredible that this Labor Government should have to take steps to remove the undemocratic, anomalous and unnecessary provision in the Constitution which denies this fundamental right at this date to 130,700 Australian voters. [More…]
The restriction of the right to vote in constitutional referendums to the citizens of the States is a consequence of the desire of the framers of our Constitution to protect the small States. [More…]
They have the same interests in the working of the Australian Constitution as other Australian citizens. [More…]
It is an absolute delight for me to find that the honourable gentleman, at long last, is observing some measure of discipline with respect to the Constitution, and that he should ever feel disposed to quote Quick and Garran was a contemplation that was never within my mind. [More…]
And here they are discussing the method of altering the Constitution - the Federal element in the structure of the Commonwealth would have been impaired and whittled away. [More…]
In a unified community it would be sufficient if a majority of the people sanctioned a revision of the Constitution. [More…]
I know that the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) has long entertained that there are blemishes as far as the Australian Constitution is concerned. [More…]
I know that he has always held out, in the boldest of frames of mind, that the Constitution should be altered. [More…]
One may indulge in the luxury of seeking to agree with him in some respects, but what puzzles me on this occasion about the Government which the honourable gentleman leads is the impatience, having regard to the fact that a Constitution Convention was held in Sydney a short time ago and that at that Convention, with the agreement of all of the States and with the agreement of the Commonwealth delegation, of which the Prime Minister was the distinguished leader, committees were set up to investigate various areas of constitutional reform. [More…]
It is going to take, I suggest, about another 12 months before that Constitution Convention meets again in plenary session. [More…]
I would suggest that not only would it have been wise in terms of constitutional reform but also wise in terms of political procedure to have awaited the outcome of that committee’s report, and shall tell the House why. [More…]
The States have long considered that the Palladium of their rights and liberties as States is to be found in section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
However, it is the third proposal that concerns me, and I suggest that what the Government has done now is to imperil the prospect of constitutional reform by seeking to thrust this proposal onto the States in particular and the people in general. [More…]
Let me put this proposition to the House: If at the time of Federation in the 1890s the proposal had been that a simple majority of electors voting at a referendum would be adequate means of altering the Constitution, the Federation would never have come into existence. [More…]
No one in his senses will argue that it is fair that the minority of the commonwealth shall be able to make an alteration of the constitution of the commonwealth. [More…]
If that is not fair, the people are quite willing to say, ‘If we cannot carry a majority, first of the people, and secondly of the states, no alteration of the constitution shall be made.’ [More…]
It would then mean that 3 States and the majority of people could alter the Constitution. [More…]
Section 7 of the Constitution which provides, among other things, the number of senators from each State, goes on to observe: [More…]
But if one puts arithmetic to one side and comes back to the Constitution, of course that was the deal. [More…]
Imagine the sense of suspicion that would be generated in State parliaments with respect to section 7 of the Constitution. [More…]
To illustrate the sentiment that is still abroad, at the Sydney convention on the Constitution Sir Charles Court, the Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia, said to me: Killen, you have some views on the Constitution which I do not share’. [More…]
I invite my friends to look at section 24 of the Constitution, which provides: [More…]
It seeks to alter the Constitution with the consent of the majority of the people and merely 3 of the 6 States. [More…]
There is a cultivated resistance in Australia to constitutional reform. [More…]
It is the Government’s object to carry a proposal to alter the Constitution with agreement on a 50-50 basis between the States or three all. [More…]
I imagine that people who at a referendum saw the words ‘Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution)’ would not have the faintest idea that the Labor Party was trying to swing this rather snide deal on them about altering the numbers relevant to a majority at a referendum. [More…]
Amongst the things which were brought out at the Constitutional Convention and referred to the executive and the standing committees to be looked at, there are some things which will be plucked out and dealt with by the Australian Government before the ordinary machinery of the Constitution deals with them. [More…]
I find it somewhat odd, in view of the fact that this provision in the constitution is to come under very careful scrutiny by the standing committee of the Constitutional Convention, that the honourable member proposes that we should ask the Commonwealth Parliament to put before the people a referendum in advance of the decision of the constitutional committee. [More…]
the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Northern Territory, the State Premiers and the Executive Committee of the Australian Constitutional Convention, be informed of the disquietude of Northern Territory citizens at their inability to take part in referenda to change the Australian Constitution; and [More…]
I agree that the Constitution should be amended as proposed in clause 2 (c), but I do not agree that it should be done under the terms of this Bill. [More…]
After listening to honourable members opposite speak to this proposed alteration and to the other proposed alterations to the Constitution one sees that what they have said certainly reflects a completely negative approach. [More…]
When honourable members opposite talk of constitutional reform they obviously mean that they are all for reform providing it changes nothing. [More…]
Maybe we should and maybe we should not, but before we limit the discussion of constitutional reform to what the rights of the States ought to be, surely we should debate whether we want to preserve the federal system at all. [More…]
Using ‘federal’ in its primary sense, the general difference between the federal and national elements of the Constitution of the Commonwealth may be thus defined. [More…]
They said that the Federal Convention was not a body composed of delegates elected by the people of Australia and that in the ratification of the Constitution of the Commonwealth there was an independent referendum in each colony. [More…]
Then they said that the Constitution was, therefore, not adopted by the people of Australia, that was to be voting ‘en masse’ or at large, or in their aggregate capacity, but by the people of the future States voting in each State as inhabitants thereof. [More…]
Then they said that if a general vote had been accepted as a test, the Constitution would have been triumphantly adopted on 3 June 1898. [More…]
The other question that has been raised is the inflexibility of the Constitution particularly section 128. [More…]
I was interested in what was said at the Constitutional Convention and in the reference ‘by the honourable member for Stirling (Mr Viner) to Sir John Cockburn, a famous South Australian. [More…]
In my view, the question of the procedures for constitutional amendment is the most fundamental issue. [More…]
Basically, section 128 of the Constitution provides that an amendment of the Constitution requires the assent of an absolute majority of the members of both Houses of Parliament, of a majority of electors in a majority of the States, and of a majority of electors overall. [More…]
I will not refer again to the 2 alterations sought to section 128 of the Constitution because they were dealt with in the second reading speech and by a majority of the speakers in this debate, but I shall make 2 observations on the proposed alteration. [More…]
The first is that no ordinary, but an absolute majority, of the members of the Houses of Parliament is required to amend the Constitution; secondly, that the people have a voice in altering their fundamental law; and thirdly, some reference is made to the States, although it is submitted that this latter principle should at least partially give way to an approach which primarily considers the electorate as a national entity. [More…]
I have said this previously, and I will repeat it: It is paradoxical to find that Switzerland, the country whose procedures most resemble Australia’s - that is, an amendment passed by Parliament, by a majority of votes, in a majority of cantons and a majority overall - has had, in contrast to Australia, the greatest number of constitutional amendments. [More…]
After all, with a Constitution so manifestly inadequate, popular reticence towards change cannot be merely an expression of satisfaction with the status quo. [More…]
I can only reiterate the argument I advanced at the recent Constitutional Convention. [More…]
It is admitted on all sides that our Constitution needs considerable amendment. [More…]
Unless as a first step we can change the procedure for amending the Constitution, and unless we can make the procedures more flexible and positive, our chances of amending the rest of the Constitution are extremely slight indeed. [More…]
At least we, as a Government, have taken the initiative for the first time in a quarter of a century to have public discussion on the Constitution and to give the people an opportunity to vote upon it. [More…]
This stems undoubtedly from the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review in 1958 and 1959. [More…]
One of the reasons for scepticism stems undoubtedly from the fact that there has been no real preparation on a large-scale to determine public opinion on changes to the Constitution. [More…]
To their credit they came up with a pretty good Constitution for their time, but surely they would have been the last people to argue that the result of their combined labours was to fix a codification of constitutional law which was to remain inflexible, immutable and binding upon all generations for all time. [More…]
Therefore it is imperative that we satisfactorily alter section 128 of the Constitution before we do much. [More…]
It is about time that we acknowledged that our Constitution should no longer be used as an obstructive document which can be quoted by any partisan politician for his own purposes. [More…]
Our Constitution must be clear, dynamic and forward looking. [More…]
If our Constitution cannot serve us in that way, then it ought to be changed. [More…]
I commend the constitution alterations to the House. [More…]
A Bill for an Act To facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow Electors in Territories, as well as Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members on both sides of this House would, I am sure, agree that the Constitution is probably one of the most fundamental documents governing our lives. [More…]
To seek to alter that Constitution in a manner which is not clearcut is, in my view, a clear attempt to deceive the people because when this matter comes before the Australian people for a vote there is nothing in the title of the Bill which refers to the 2 ways in which the Constitution is proposed to be altered. [More…]
But in relation to this very contentious question of changing the Constitution in respect of a majority of the States, clause 2 (c) seeks to omit the words ‘in a majority of the States’ and to substitute the words ‘in not less than one-half of the States’. [More…]
To me this is a retrograde step because I believe, as I have said previously, that proposed alterations to the Constitution should be made very clear so that the people of Australia have clear in their minds the questions which are before them. [More…]
The real difficulty is that the Australian Constitution has proved in practice to be extremely difficult to amend. [More…]
Would anybody seriously suggest that a constitution should be easy to amend? [More…]
I remind honourable members that the purpose of a constitution is defined as: [More…]
Would anybody seriously suggest, if that definition is accepted, teat a constitution should be easy to amend? [More…]
The present Australian Constitution acknowledges this appreciation. [More…]
We have heard a good deal of talk from Government supporters about the fact that the Constitution presently imposes a requirement that two-thirds of the States must pass a referendum before it can become law. [More…]
I agree with the proposition that the framers of the Constitution envisaged more States and therefore they instituted this requirement in relation to a majority of States agreeing at a referendum in the confident expectation that there would be more States created in the future. [More…]
This goes to prove, I believe, that when the Australian people really wish to see an alteration to the Constitution they have no trouble in voting to achieve that end. [More…]
That seems to me to be a very good example of how, if the Government was really sincere in its wish to have these alterations made to the Constitution, it could bring its aim about, that is, by separating the questions contained in this Bill. [More…]
Not only would this in my mind be a more reasonable way, a more honest way, a more direct way and a more clear cut way of presenting the alternative propositions to the Australian people but also it would probably have the very real effect of giving the Australian people the opportunity of voting in favour of the measure proposing a constitutional change to give electors in the Territories the opportunity to vote at a referendum and also to express their opinion on the second proposal contained in this Bill. [More…]
It is slightly dishonest - perhaps it is more than slightly dishonest - and also it runs the very real risk of preventing a wished-for amendment to the Constitution being agreed to. [More…]
It seeks to extend to all electors the right to vote in a referendum and it seeks to reduce the requirement that there should be, in addition to an absolute majority of electors in favour of a proposed amendment to the Constitution, also a majority in a majority of States supporting such a proposal. [More…]
The Bill is entitled as a Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution. [More…]
It could be stated as an alteration of the Constitution to enable a referendum to be passed if there were a majority in three out of the 6 States or something like that. [More…]
It is odd that one part of the proposition is spelt out in detail while the other part warrants no detail whatsoever in the mind of the Government, the other part being, of course, to allow electors in Territories as well as electors in the States to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
Constitutions, by their very nature, should be hard to change, precisely because they are in effect the rules which govern the Government of the country. [More…]
Honourable members opposite might say that in Britain the Constitution can be changed easily by a majority in the Houses of Parliament. [More…]
If they have a mind to say this, I would remind them that in Britain the Constitution, at least in important particulars, is changed only after the most lengthy deliberative proceedings in their Houses of Parliament. [More…]
Britain does not change its Constitution with anything like the reckless abandon with which the Government in this country these days seeks to change the Australian Constitution, and indeed, in some respects, even the Australian way of life. [More…]
The Constitution is always a most serious document, because it governs the Government of the country. [More…]
In a federal system it is even more important that there should be safeguards surrounding the Constitution. [More…]
It is unimaginable that one would have a federal system without building safeguards of that federal system into the Constitution because there has to be some way of reconciling the obvious conflicts which will occur in such a system from time to time between all the parts or the governments of the system. [More…]
That was not a question when the Constitution was drawn up. [More…]
At the time of the Constitution, as a matter of convenience, the founding fathers sought to deal with the troublesome and absurd matters which were summed up as the barbarism of borderism. [More…]
There is indeed much more magic in the proposition that there ought to be a majority of States that would assent to anything that is as basic to a constitution as are the powers between and among the several States of the union. [More…]
It is a very odd thing that in 1973 the constitutional safeguards of the federal system should take on a new significance, but they do. [More…]
Government is no longer a thing that you could do in the afternoon between a good lunch and those other things that gentlemen used to do in .the evenings and sometimes still do, even in this House, in the days when the British Constitution comprised the monarch, the parliament and the foxhounds. [More…]
It was of concern to me that the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) should introduce into this Parliament a number of significant Bills to initiate referendums to change the Constitution at a time when local government authorities, State governments and the Federal Government are meeting together in a constitutional review convention. [More…]
Irrespective of the merits of each one of the Bills that have been submitted to us, it is important that the constitutional review convention be allowed and be seen to perform the charge which has been given to it. [More…]
Whether it be on 8 December when the people of Australia are considering a referendum on another matter or whether it be on another occasion when they consider the referendum which will flow from the Bill that is now before the chamber, the people of Australia must be conscious that each one of these measures is not presented just for the overt change of the Constitution in the way that the Bills suggest but rather in a covert fashion to ensure that additional powers can be exercised in Canberra. [More…]
My third reason for concern with this Bill is the basis on which section 128 of the Constitution is to ki altered. [More…]
I mentioned before my belief that if this Bill were to come forward it would have been better had it emanated or evolved from the discussions at the Australian Constitutional Review Convention. [More…]
There is no justification for us in this Parliament to say arbitrarily to the States: ‘We will no longer give you as States the opportunity through the application of section 128 of the Constitution to have a separate right in determining whether the Constitution should be changed’. [More…]
Let me hasten to say that this Parliament must be - of course, under the Constitution it can be only through this Parliament - the organism through which a referendum can be referred to the people. [More…]
But that does not mean that, when a constitutional review convention is meeting and when the States are the principal participants in that convention, they should not have been given the first opportunity to say whether they really believed that this sort of change was in their interests. [More…]
The character of our Constitution is such that it has stood the test of time. [More…]
For all that there have been minimal changes - the five mentioned by the Prime Minister to which the people have acceded - it is a Constitution which has been changed indirectly as much as directly. [More…]
Those who follow the decisions of the High Court - in particular the recent decision in the concrete pipes case - will know the extent to which the application of the Constitution and the relative powers between Canberra and the several States have changed both as a result of those decisions by the [More…]
As a result the Constitution has changed quite significantly. [More…]
I query the degree to which in this particular area there is a need for us specifically to change the Constitution to make constitutional change easier simply by the removal of the requirement that a majority of States should support the referendum. [More…]
Honourable members opposite ought to be moving to amend the Constitution to provide that it can be changed only by a majority of the States. [More…]
The operation here today is one of the continuous steps we will have to take to bring the Australian Constitution into this century. [More…]
This legislation represents more of the long, hard steps we must take to bring the Constitution up to date. [More…]
So, I hope the House will vote unanimously for these procedures and that honourable members will all get out and start to work among the people of Australia to accept a national attitude towards the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It may seem to be only a drafting amendment but it has a little bit of constitutional force behind it and I think the Government might seriously consider it. [More…]
My amendment seeks to alter section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 128 of the Constitution would then read - [More…]
The Government’s Bill seeks to omit the words, ‘in each State’, in the Constitution. [More…]
If one looks at the foot of section 128 of the Constitution one sees a requirement that an amendment of the Constitution must ‘be approved by the majority of the electors in each State. [More…]
That being so, the Constitution should provide also that a referendum is put to the electors in each State. [More…]
One is always a little worried about omitting from the Constitution words which protect the States. [More…]
I think that when we are drafting an amendment to the Constitution, we should endeavour to preserve the proper functions and rights of the States. [More…]
I agree with the Government that the electors in the Territories should have that right, but I do not think that since the Constitution is a federal compact we should, in any way, impair the rights of the electors in the States. [More…]
Moreover, it would preserve, as it should preserve, the position of the States explicitly in this section of the Commonwealth Constitution which is part of the federal compact and is drafted around the residual rights of the States in that compact. [More…]
It would better preserve the federal nature of the Constitution, and it is one which I hope the Government will be inclined to accept. [More…]
If it were, quite extensive alterations would be necessary to the Constitution. [More…]
If the Australian Capital Territory became a State I suppose it is possible that there would be no Territories but if this were so the Constitution, not only in this respect but in other clauses, would require significant alterations. [More…]
For example, at present the Northern Territory is a Territory but when the Constitution was drafted the Northern Territory was part of the State of South Australia. [More…]
That is written into their platform and constitution. [More…]
That is not only contained in the Party’s constitution; it is shown in practice. [More…]
If that is so it will take the States out of the Constitution everywhere it can. [More…]
It will be remembered by honourable members that on at least 2 occasions in discussions of other Bills relating to referenda we have drawn attention to the fact that there are sentences in various sections of the Australian Constitution which provide that, until the Parliament or some other institution otherwise provides, there is a constitution requirement as to the law that shall prevail. [More…]
I admit that there is little doubt that the Australian Constitution has been found difficult to amend in practice and that since 1901 there have been something of the order of 26 proposals to amend the Constitution but only five of them have been approved by the people of this country. [More…]
I have also pointed out that that is as it should be because the people of this country in whom sovereign power resides - at least the qualified electors of this country in whom sovereignty resides - should be the people who determine what changes should be made to the Australian Constitution, not only as a matter of logic but also to comply with the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
It would mean in effect that there would be an amendment to that section of the Constitution which requires that before a referendum can be successful it must be approved by a majority of all the electors and by a majority of electors in 4 States out of 6 States. [More…]
To put it in inure simple language, there would be a different requirement in place of the provision *b.% presently exists in the Constitution. [More…]
We have pointed out also that the reason this section was initially incorporated in the Constitution was, firstly, to sustain the Federal Constitution, and secondly, to ensure mature consideration of the proposal and settlement relating to organic changes of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, to put it shortly, the section was designed to sustain the Constitution and to give the people adequate time in which their mature consideration could be exercised so that they would be the ones who would have sovereignty and the right to determine the changes that were to be made. [More…]
The Opposition does not object, and would never object, to cases where it is essential or desirable that changes should be made to the Constitution in order to meet changing circumstances and where the people themselves can be convinced or come to the conclusion beyond doubt that change is desirable. [More…]
The Opposition believes also that when there is a compact, such as in the Australian Constitution, between the States, the Commonwealth and the people, the people should be given ample opportunity to make up their minds, and they should be thoroughly briefed not only as to the meaning of the changes, but also as to the consequences that might flow from those changes. [More…]
The greatest students and the most competent people who have thought about the Constitution - and I include both Quick and Garran - have come to exactly the same conclusion as we, in the Opposition, have come to. [More…]
In other words, if honourable members read Quick and Garran and understand the constitutional principles and the realities of a federal and democratic system that guided the fathers of the Constitution, they must come to the conclusion that before a referendum is put to the Australian people they must be informed of exactly what is involved in the proposed change. [More…]
The Prime Minister on at least 2 occasions has stated that amendments to the Constitution are not necessary and that if the Government wants to carry out its objectives it cannot treat the Constitution as an alibi. [More…]
Secondly, as I think my colleague the honourable member for the Northern Territory (Mr Calder) would point out, the representatives of the people in the Northern Territory, and particularly the representatives of the Labor Party in the Northern Territory, believe/ that this matter should be discussed by the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
I believe that this is a matter which could easily be considered by the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The Constitution at the moment states that referendums to amend it must be approved by a majority of all the electors voting, and also by a majority of the electors voting in a majority of the States. [More…]
The Bill proposes to put to the people the proposition that amendments to the Constitution will be carried if they are approved by a majority of all the electors voting, and also by a majority of the electors voting in not less than one-half of the States. [More…]
Let me then quote some eminent associates of the right honourable member for Lowe and, in the constitutional context, I am proud to say, associates of mine. [More…]
In 1958 and 1959 his fellow Ministers and my colleagues on the Constitutional Review Committee recommended this change. [More…]
His associates and my colleagues to whom I refer were the Honourable Sir Neil O’sullivan, once AttorneyGeneral; the Honourable Sir Alexander Downer a former Minister and later Australian High Commissioner in Britain, and the son of one of the founding fathers of the Constitution; and the Honourable Mr Justice Joske. [More…]
Instead of requiring a majority of States, which at present means 4 out of 6 States and thus a two-thirds majority of the States, what the Government is proposing is that a majority of voters in not less than half the States will be necessary for the carriage of an amendment to the Constitution, as well, of course, as an overall majority of voters in the whole of the continent. [More…]
The present provision means - I quote the report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review: for every State in which there is an adverse vote there must be a favourable vote in two States. [More…]
A constitutional change has to be supported not only by a majority of States but by two-thirds of the States. [More…]
Clearly the proposed change will facilitate alterations to the Constitution. [More…]
The 2 referendums which would have been carried if the Constitution had read as this Bill now proposes were the referendums in 1946 on the organised marketing of primary products and on the terms and conditions of industrial employment. [More…]
There is no question that the right honourable member would have found it easier to legislate and to administer for the peace, order and good government of this country if he had the 2 subject matters which a majority of the electors in the States and a majority of the electors in 3 of the States wished to put in the Constitution in 1946. [More…]
Those words did not go into the Constitution, not because there was not a majority of electors in the States in favour of them being inserted in the Constitution but because there was not a majority of electors in a majority of the States. [More…]
I would not believe that the right honourable gentleman would demur to the proposition that he would have been even more successful as Minister for Primary Industry and as Minister for Labour and National Service if the Constitution had been altered as a majority of the electors in the States and a majority of the electors in not less than half of the States voted for in 1946. [More…]
The honourable gentleman expressed the view that it would have been much easier for me to carry out the administration of those 2 departments if constitutional changes had been made. [More…]
I admit immediately that I held the strong view that there should have been at those times 2 amendments to the Constitution - one relating to industrial relations and the other giving to the Commonwealth more complete power relating to interest rates and monetary policy. [More…]
The suggestion has been made - I will deal with this later - that the provisions contained in clause 2 (c) would facilitate changes to the Constitution. [More…]
I do not believe that we should go to any great lengths to facilitate changes unless there is a clear and unmistakable expression of opinion on the part of the Australian people who are themselves qualified to vote - the people of this country in whom the sovereign or quasi-sovereign power resides - that a change is necessary or desirable or unless the Government has clearly and honestly come to the conclusion that these qualified people themselves desire that an amendment to the Constitution be made. [More…]
Shortly before the suspension of the sitting I moved an amendment to clause 2 (c) of the Bill, the effect of which, if it had been agreed to by the Committee, would have been to retain in section 128 of the Constitution the wordsin a majority of the States’ and to prevent the substitution of the words ‘in not less than one-half of the States’. [More…]
I pointed out how the proposed new paragraph (c) would completely change the tenor of section 128 of the Constitution, in the sense that it would be taking away some powers of the States relative to the Commonwealth and that adequate time was not being permitted in this Parliament to debate the measures proposed. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow Electors in Territories, as well as Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow Electors in Territories, as well as Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
Therefore I believe that we must consider the long title and ask ourselves whether the words ‘to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ are a correct or false description of 2 relevant parts of the Bill. [More…]
The Opposition wants to omit the words ‘To facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ and to substitute the words ‘To reduce the number of States required to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution’. [More…]
Omit the words ‘To facilitate alterations to the Constitution’, substitute the following words: [More…]
To reduce the Number of States required to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution.’ [More…]
The title will then go on to say: ‘and to allow Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution’. [More…]
The title of the Bill is ‘A Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ etc. [More…]
The right honourable member for Lowe (Mr McMahon) seeks to alter those words to A Bill for an Act to reduce the number of States required to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution’ etc. [More…]
The long title to a Constitution alteration Bill is significant in that it appears twice on the ballot paper at a referendum. [More…]
Nevertheless I do not think he would really expect many honourable members to be so naive, innocent and guileless as to believe that this third or fourth attempt to alter the long title of the current Constitution alteration Bill would have any significance other than to complicate the ballot paper, and any purpose other than to confuse the electors. [More…]
The words he used were themselves somewhat slanted because they seek ‘to reduce the number of States required to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution’. [More…]
He does not point out that the number of States required to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution at present is four, that is, 4 States out of six - a two-thirds majority - 2 States voting in favour for every one voting against a referendum. [More…]
If the right honourable gentleman wants a truly accurate, factual, dispassionate description why does he not use some words such as ‘a Bill for an Act to require not less than one-half of the States to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution’? [More…]
People who do not realise the present impediment to an alteration of the Constitution might regard it as a very considerable impediment. [More…]
I suppose that one could say ‘to require not less than one-half of the States instead of the present two-thirds of the States to approve proposed laws to alter the Constitution’. [More…]
The term in the Bill is ‘to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’. [More…]
I remind honourable gentlemen that the purpose of the Bill in this respect is to carry out recommendations made 15 years ago by three out of the four Liberal members, both Country Party members and all the Australian Labor Party members of the Constitutional Review [More…]
Frankly, I agree with the view on this matter of Sir Alexander Downer, the son of one of the founding fathers of the Constitution, Mr Justice Joske and the late Sir Neil O’Sullivan, a former Attorney-General of Australia. [More…]
The demand made upon the Board in respect to that matter was quite clearly in conflict with the Wheat Industry Stabilisation Act, and was also in conflict with the principles underlying that last bulwark of freedom, Clause 92 of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Secondly, I doubt whether the acquisition of property on just terms under section 51 (xxxi) of the Australian Constitution permits the compulsory acquisition of the property of the life offices or of individuals held in trust for them by the life offices without just compensation. [More…]
We must put that into focus, because the States for many years have been saying that under the Constitution they have the sole and absolute right to control education. [More…]
A mandatory provision for the Australian Minister to accept a panel of names from the State Ministers of Education is a novel approach to the application of the prerogative of the Australian Parliament to make grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
However, when one looks at it closely one realises that it is a most significant Bill carrying some high constitutional implications. [More…]
Under section 51 (xxxi) of the Constitution the Commonwealth is entrusted with the following power: [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution, if this Parliament wishes to acquire land it is obliged to make compensation available on just terms. [More…]
I hope that the Minister, in laying down conditions, will make it a condition of the grants that acquisition legislation used to acquire land with this money should match the standards set by the Constitution for Commonwealth acquisition of land and that the States be required to acquire on just terms. [More…]
As far as the States as a whole are concerned, the Commonwealth has used section 96 of the Constitution to make grants for many purposes over many years. [More…]
I was referring to other grants that had been made to the various States under section 96 of the Constitution which are separate from those made by the Grants Commission. [More…]
Next Saturday we will be seeking to alter the Australian Constitution - a document not written for the atomic age but for a time more than 70 years ago. [More…]
The Government is seeking an alteration to the Constitution for this Parliament to be given authority over prices and incomes. [More…]
It can acquire land in the States because it needs it for one of the purposes of the Australian Government, one of its departments, or in the exercise of the powers that are conferred upon it under the Constitution. [More…]
So far as the acquisition of land in the States is concerned, the Commonwealth is bound under the Constitution to exercise those powers of acquisition in accordance with section 51 placitum (xxxi) of the Constitution. [More…]
All I ask is that the acquisitions be on the basis of the criteria within the Constitution and that in placing acquisitions upon that criteria account be taken for the time dimension. [More…]
If the people are to be so mistaken in their view as to fall for the emotional argument and grant prices powers, and if those powers are to be used to stabilise land prices, those who own land which is acquired deserve justice under the Australian Constitution. [More…]
For instance, the Commonwealth can acquire land only on just terms, under the Constitution and by virtue of section 31 of the present Act. [More…]
This was the term given by the founding fathers of our Constitution to the unification of the States into an Australian nation. [More…]
Part III of the Bill deals with the constitution and meetings of the Petroleum and Minerals Authority. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill proposes amendments to section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 128 describes the mode of altering the Constitution. [More…]
It describes how the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution must be dealt with in the Parliament. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill would alter that paragraph to read as follows: [More…]
For the reasons which the Committee gave in its reports of 1958 and 1959, the Government persists with the constitutional amendment which the Committee proposed all those years ago and which this chamber carried a fortnight ago. [More…]
I recall again to honourable members that the member of that Committee who supported the amendment to the Constitution which the Senate now wishes the House of Representatives to abandon were the honourable Sir Neil O’Sullivan, a former Attorney-General, the honourable Sir Alexander Downer, son of one of the founding fathers of the Australian Constitution, a former Minister and later Australia’s High Commissioner in Britain and the honourable Mr Justice Joske as he now is, all members of the Liberal Party, the honourable David Drummond, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales and Mr Len Hamilton, both of the Country Party; and Senators McKenna and Kennelly together with Messrs Calwell, Ward and Pollard - whom I am happy to see in the gallery this afternoon - and myself of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
Rightly, the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) has confined his remarks to one clause of the Bill, clause 2 (c), which proposes that section 128 of the Australian Constitution should be altered in order to make it easier for a constitutional change to be brought about in the manner set out in proposed new section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Prime Minister stated that one of the two critical changes that we seek to achieve relates to clause 2 (c) of the Bill which provides for an easier method of altering the Constitution. [More…]
In section 128 of the Constitution, as it now exists, is a requirement that before the appropriate papers can be placed before the Governor-General for his signature assenting to a referendum proposal on behalf of the Queen, there should be a majority of electors in all the States as well as a majority of electors in a majority of the States in support of that referendum proposal. [More…]
The sum total of these proposals is that as the Constitution stands a majority of 4 out of 6 States together with a majority of all the eligible electors will need to vote in favour of any proposed alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
I have no doubt whatsover that if honourable members read the Constitution - particularly if they read the various debates that took place prior to the Constitution being accepted and, much more importantly, if they read Quick and Garran, the recognised authority on constitutional matters - they will find that there are various reasons why we should insist on the principle of a majority of people in a majority of States supporting a referendum. [More…]
We must accept that the Constitution is a deed of trust, or a compact between the States and the Commonwealth and between the people, the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
As it is a compact between the States and the Commonwealth the strongest precautions should be taken to ensure that changes are not made to the Constitution without proper consideration and thought by the people. [More…]
While I believe that a Constitution such as ours must always be regarded as a document that is dynamic, alive and capable of being changed to meet the changing environment, changing economic and social circumstances, a changing culture, changes in our international status and relations and the growth of a greater national spirit, I do not believe that changes should be made to it unless such changes have received mature consideration by the Australian people. [More…]
The long title to the Bill describes this legislation as ‘A Bill for an Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow Electors in Territories, as well as Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution’. [More…]
I do not believe that the words ‘to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ adequately reflect the thrust and the intent of clause 2<c) of the Bill which was previously before us and which has now been brought hack as a result of recommendations made by the Senate. [More…]
1 could understand it if the title was ‘to make it easy’ or even ‘much easier to amend the Constitution’, because that is exactly what is intended. [More…]
As I said, the problem of federalism is involved and we should be ready to protect the Federal Constitution. [More…]
First, relating to the substance of the Bill, we want clause 2 (c) struck out and the words ‘to facilitate alterations to the Constitution’ removed from the title. [More…]
I support the form of the original Bill, particularly clause 2 (a), which would omit the words ‘in each State’ from section 128 of the Constitution, thus allowing Territorians, in both the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, to have their votes counted at a referendum. [More…]
Still, Mr Withnall, a leading lawyer in the Northern Territory, found it somewhat odd, in view of the fact that this provision in the Constitution is to come under very careful scrutiny by the Standing Committee of the Constitutional Convention, that we should be asking the Commonwealth Parliament to put before the people a referendum in advance of the decision of that Convention. [More…]
He said: ‘We certainly could not by-pass in any way the Australian Constitutional Convention’. [More…]
I said then that I believed that, far from facilitating changes in the Constitution, the Bill made changes much easier to make or, if I may put it in different language - language used in the ‘Reasons’ which were prepared by the Prime Minister in the few seconds which were available to him - the Labor Party wants the change because the form in which section 128 of the Constitution is drafted has proved to be a stumbling block. [More…]
In other words, the Government wants to remove any sort of a block to constitutional change. [More…]
In a Federal Constitution we must accept the fact that we are trustees for that Constitution and we should not lightly make changes to section 128 or, for that matter, to any other section of the Constitution, unless we find in that Constitution sections which have to be dealt with satis factorily in order to ensure that the federal system is maintained during the period the people want it maintained and we ensure that the people have the opportunity for consideration in the way I have mentioned. [More…]
The other proposal, which is not objected to, also involves an amendment to section 128 of the Constitution to allow the voters in the Territories to be counted in the national total which must be obtained in favour of any proposed law to alter the Constitution as well as a majority in not less than half of the States. [More…]
This proposal is one which has been made since the Constitutional Review Committee report. [More…]
Perhaps I can conclude with this thought: This is one case where the Senate cannot prevent the people expressing their voice because if, after another 3 months, we put this Bill and the attendant Constitutional Alteration Bills through the House and the Senate again rejects them, shelves them or unacceptably amends them, then without any limitation of time the Bill can be put to the people. [More…]
Under the new constitution the Temporary Assistance Authority, as I understand it is now to be termed, will not be required to produce a report when temporary duties are not recommended although an inquiry has been conducted. [More…]
The Apple and Pear Stabilisation Act and the export powers conferred on the Federal Government by the Constitution already provide completely adequate safeguards in this respect. [More…]
Clearly, this is a case envisaged by section 128 of the Constitution, which deals with the mode of altering the Constitution, whereby this House passes a proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution by an absolute majority and the other House passes it with amendment to which the first-mentioned House will not agree. [More…]
Section 128 of the Constitution makes* it quite plain what the consequences of that conduct are. [More…]
This is one issue on which the Constitution makes it plain that the House of Representatives can ask the people for their opinion, whether or not the Senate wishes the people to express that opinion. [More…]
In conclusion, let me say that reference was made to the ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
If he would like to see me in my office afterwards, I will, with compliments and good will, provide him with the 1973 Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
Nobody would suggest that the 7 Australian governments could ever effectively get together to pass laws on the matters I have just quoted from the Constitution. [More…]
The propositions were to alter the Constitution and those opposing my motion may argue that the choice of a national anthem does not need a constitutional alteration and, therefore, no referendum is required. [More…]
It is quite true that it does not need a constitutional alteration, but matters other than for altering the Constitution can be put to referendum. [More…]
Referendums other than for altering the Constitution have been held. [More…]
It would be intolerable if a Labor Government were to use the alibi of the Constitution to excuse failure to achieve its socialist objectives - doubly intolerable, of course, because it is just not true that it need do so. [More…]
Only recently many Queenslanders were dismayed at the ruthlessness with which the Bjelke-Petersen Government - apparently the honourable member for Darling Downs thinks that great democratic government in Queensland is a wonderful government - bludgeoned through the State Assembly a resolution opposing the conferral of powers sought by this Federal Government under section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
Despite the remarks of the honourable member for Scullin (Dr Jenkins), we must never forget that governmental responsibility for health care is a partnership between the Federal and State governments and that the responsibility of this Parliament under section 51 of the Constitution is limited to the provision of pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits and medical and dental services. [More…]
It is true that the Federal Government can attempt to widen its power by using grants under section 96 of the Constitution but I believe this is an improper use of this power. [More…]
Having regard to section 109 of the Constitution which renders paramount over any State law a law of the Commonwealth, let us assume that a declaration of a petroleum exploration area made under clause 43 of the Bill is a valid exercise of Commonwealth power. [More…]
It has no lawful authority when it stands alongside the exercise of Commonwealth power, assuming, as I say, that the constitutional validity is there. [More…]
It must be understood by the whole of the industry and by the people of Australia that, given the constitutional validity of this Bill, this Authority will be put in a position of paramountcy over all the law that presently operates in Australia. [More…]
Of course, there must be some doubt as to whether the Government possesses the constitutional power to set up an authority to explore for and mine minerals and petroleum. [More…]
I do not see anywhere in the Constitution that a government has such a power. [More…]
A few days ago, they even opposed the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974 which provided for an alteration to the Constitution to allow local government access to the Loan Council. [More…]
The fact is that when the word grant’ is used in this House it is used within the context of section 96 of the Constitution which enables the Australian Government to make funds available to the States for such purposes and on such conditions as it may specify. [More…]
So we have the possibility of making grants which are a donation to a State government under section 96 of the Constitution, carrying no interest rate and requiring no repayment. [More…]
Having said that and having drawn the attention of the House to the quite specific and undeniable usage of the word ‘grant’ as it is understood by all persons concerned with implementing the provisions of the Australian Constitution, I should like to go on and say that this Government, unlike any of its predecessors stretching back as far as Federation, does recognise the very heavy debt burdens of local government and semi-government authorities and the inhibitions which the debt burden imposes on these authorities in providing the services which Australians have come to expect of them. [More…]
At the same time we will be making grants in the other sense of section 96 of the Constitution - that is, grants which neither bear interest nor are repayable - for the purpose of reducing the interest burdens of the authorities concerned. [More…]
In his second reading speech the Minister said that the dichotomy by which the Commission would inquire into and recommend salaries as distinct from fixing them as a matter of determination is for constitutional reasons. [More…]
I am at a loss to know what are those constitutional reasons because as I recall the Constitution it provides for Ministers and members of Parliament in pretty much the same way - that is, that Ministers will be provided with salaries which, until the Parliament otherwise determines, shall be a given amount. [More…]
However I would be interested to know the basis upon which it is said that there is a constitutional difficulty about the Ministers. [More…]
In view of the disruption inflicted on those countries which have used direct controls on prices and incomes we regard Australia as fortunate in having a constitutional limitation on the powers of Federal Government to impose similar controls here. [More…]
We urge your readers to join us in preserving this valuable feature of our Constitution by voting ‘No’ to both questions of the forthcoming referendum. [More…]
One could well expect that this oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Crown, being at the pinnacle of the Constitution, should be sustained. [More…]
I have seen in the year that is behind us many moves which could be interpreted in that way - moves which on the surface seem fair and reasonable and attractive enough but when they are put together into a pattern seem to move towards this funda mental Government objective of destroying the Australian States, destroying every other form of democratic government and centralising everything here in Canberra in one House of Parliament so that the man who obtained the Prime Ministership by some quirk or chance of fate will be able to perpetuate his power, be able to over-ride everything in the Constitution and have complete control of the whole Australian economy, social structure, family life and everything else that one can imagine. [More…]
I, John Citizen, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Queen, and will loyally as in duty bound uphold the Constitution of the Com monwealth of Australia established under the Crown of the United Kingdom. [More…]
Six Constitution Alteration Bills have been presented to the Parliament. [More…]
This is one of the matters which the Australian Government can discuss directly with local government bodies if the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974 is approved by the electors. [More…]
Legislation will be introduced, in accordance with the Constitution and for the first time, to provide for an increase in salary for the Governor-General. [More…]
Bills will be submitted to alter the Constitution to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections; to alter the Constitution to ensure that the members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly and democratically by the people; to alter the Constitution to enable the Commonwealth to borrow money for, and to grant financial assistance to, local government bodies; to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow electors in Territories, as well as electors in the States, to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution; and to alter the Constitution with respect to the interchange of powers between the Commonwealth Parliament and the State Parliaments. [More…]
It is the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill. [More…]
Because the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill is included in the terms of the motion and to obviate the need for an Opposition amendment, I ask the Leader of the House to make it clear that that Bill will not be debated today but will be debated tomorrow at the end of the debate on the first 4 Bills which, as the Leader of the House has foreshadowed to us, will, with the consent of both Opposition parties, be debated cognately. [More…]
However, the Opposition believes strongly that in any matter involving a change to the Australian Constitution there should be no specification which reduces the opportunity for adequate debate of the substance of the matters proposed to be submitted to the Australian electorate. [More…]
But there has been to date no opportunity for any member of this chamber to see the detail of the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill. [More…]
This is the piece of legislation which is subject to active and critical scrutiny by a committee of the Constitutional Review Convention. [More…]
I suppose I am one of the few in this place who has had an opportunity to look at the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill which is the fifth Bill proposed to be introduced by the Prime Minister. [More…]
I saw it at a Constitutional Convention subcommittee meeting. [More…]
My regret is that the Labor Government has set back genuine constitutional reform in this country 25 years by the hamfisted approach that it is adopting to the problem. [More…]
A Constitutional Convention is in progress at this very moment and there are prospects of agreement by every major political party in a number of areas. [More…]
What person with a good conscience could entertain an approach of this character when he sees that 4 Bills to alter the Constitution are to be debated cognately? [More…]
Mr Speaker, in November last the House of Representatives passed, by absolute majorities, the following four Constitution Alteration Bills: Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974, passed on 14 November; [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections). [More…]
Bill 1974, passed on 15 November; Constitutional Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974, passed on 15 November and Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering The Constitution) Bill 1974, passed on 21 November. [More…]
On 4 December 1973 the Senate referred to the Senate Standing Commitee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill, rejected the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill, rejected the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill and amended the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill, amendments which were rejected by this House. [More…]
In accordance with the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution in respect of Constitution Alteration Bills passed in this House by an absolute majority and which are rejected, which fail to pass or which are unacceptably amended in the other, the Government re-introduces these 4 Bills so that it can proceed towards referendums on these matters - referendums that the Government intends be held concurrently with the next Senate elections. [More…]
I commend to the House the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Constitution to enable interchange of powers between the Australian Parliament and the State Parliaments. [More…]
The Government proposes that this Bill, along with several other proposals for constitutional amendments already submitted once to this Parliament, will be put to the people by referendum at the time of the forthcoming Senate elections. [More…]
There already is a provision in the Constitution, in section 51, paragraph (xxxvii), for reference of powers by State Parliaments to the Australian Parliament. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that, during the first meeting of the Constitutional Convention in September last year, heads of delegations agreed in principle that the Constitution should be altered to allow for interchanges of powers and to remove the existing doubts about the operation of the present power. [More…]
But State laws passed in pursuance of a designation by the Australian Parliament will be subject to the general limitations applicable under our Constitution to State laws. [More…]
The proposed alteration to the Constitution contained in this Bill, if approved by the people, will introduce a degree of flexibility in the distribution of powers under our Constitution that has been lacking for far too long. [More…]
The first Bill that he introduces is the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections. [More…]
What is a correct statement is that the Constitution is being altered so as to take away the 6-year term from a senator and give him an unknown term which will be 2 lifetimes of the House of Representatives. [More…]
To alter the Constitution so as to ensure that the members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly and democratically by the people’. [More…]
The Opposition has to oppose the whole proposal because the single question to be put to the people is: to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow Electors in Territories, as well as Electors in the States, to vote at Referendums on Proposed Laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The third Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974 (No. [More…]
The Government’s true purpose is to reduce from 4 to 3 the number of States that must support a referendum proposal for a constitutional alteration to be made. [More…]
He has been negative because he wants no change in the Constitution. [More…]
Everybody in this Parliament knows that the Constitution which was created in 1901 needs alteration. [More…]
Every Government that has governed this country and every parliamentarian that has sat in this place knows that the Constitution as it was drafted in 1901 is not suitable for the needs of government and the people in this country today. [More…]
That is why before the House today there are 5 Bills seeking to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The first of the 4 Bills being debated cognately is the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974 (No. [More…]
Too many elections are held in this country and therefore the Constitution should be altered to enable simultaneous elections to be held for the Senate and the House of Representatives in accordance with that alteration. [More…]
Let us consider next the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill 1974 (No. [More…]
This cognate debate covers the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill and the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill. [More…]
Tonight I want to deal specifically with the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill. [More…]
At last year’s Constitution Convention the national Government proposed to bring local government representatives onto the Loan Council. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) then determined that the national Government would still try to involve local government as an equal partner in the federal system by proposing this alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
Whatever the Liberal and Country Parties may say, I am confident that local government itself supports our proposal to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The amendment that we propose to the Constitution will enable local government to get on with the jobs for which it is best suited. [More…]
This Government is determined to meet the legitimate demands of local government and it will ask the people to give it the support and power under the Constitution to do so. [More…]
I think it is rather a ludicrous situation that we should be asked to debate together 4 Bills which are all very important Bills dealing with the Constitution. [More…]
Firstly I would like to deal with the Bill which has a very curious reference in its title to democratic elections - the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill, while it has a complicated title has a very simple purpose. [More…]
Its purpose is to make it easier to change the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
Its purpose is to make it easier for the Labor Party to do the things it wants to do but which it knows it cannot do unless the method of changing the Constitution is watered down. [More…]
The Labor Party knows that many of the things it wants to put to the Australian people in referendums will be rejected, as they should be, but it hopes that by lowering the threshold, by making it easier to change the Constitution, it might be able to get some of its changes through. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill seeks to take two constitutional proposals to the people for judgment. [More…]
It is not reasonable to propose fundamental constitutional amendments as being a necessary condition to do this. [More…]
If the people are to be asked to exercise a choice it should be clearly established that the proposition before them seeks to alter the Constitution because it is both necessary and desirable to do so. [More…]
It is neither necessary nor desirable to alter the Constitution to assist local government. [More…]
We recognise the compelling nature of the problems of local government, but emphasise that financial arrangements must serve and strengthen the Constitution, not undermine it Given the existence of existing State government machinery and expertise, it is a more rational use of resources to increase the flow of Commonwealth funds through those existing, or enlarged, channels. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill is largely designed to enable the will of the people, when clearly expressed, to be implemented. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to provide for the alteration of the Constitution in such a way that elections for the Senate and for the House of Representatives will be brought into permanent alignment. [More…]
The essential provision in this Bill is to replace section 13 of the Constitution with a new section that defines the terms of senators as follows: the term of service of a Senator expires upon the expiry or dissolution of the second House of Representatives to expire or be dissolved after he was chosen or if there is an earlier dissolution of the Senate, upon that dissolution. [More…]
As honourable members would know, section 13 of the Constitution presently provides that, following a dissolution of the Senate, the Senate shall divide the senators chosen for each State into 2 classes whose terms shall be 3 years and 6 years respectively. [More…]
It is inherent in our democratic process that such an issue, involving an amendment of the Constitution, can be decided only by the people and I express the hope that this House will adopt a responsible attitude in allowing the early passage of the Bill. [More…]
I now turn to the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill 1974. [More…]
The Australian Constitution is our ultimate guarantee of freedom and democracy and this Bill, now before the House for a second time, seeks to strengthen those provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
We will give them the opportunity of writing essential guarantees into our Constitution. [More…]
It is also proposed by this Bill to write into the Constitution a guarantee that each House of the various State Parliaments must be elected directly by the people. [More…]
The Government proposes the permanent protection of these rights by an amendment of the Constitution so that they may never foe taken away by the enemies of democracy. [More…]
It is also proposed to remove from the Constitution explicit provisions for discrimination on the grounds of race. [More…]
It is useless to attempt to do this by altering the Constitution of a particular State, for any such Constitution can be altered at will by the Parliament concerned. [More…]
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia is the only Constitution which cannot be altered without the express permission of the people. [More…]
Finally I turn to the Constitution Alteration! [More…]
(Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill 1974. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that the Bill now before the House proposes two basic changes to the mode of altering our Constitution. [More…]
We propose that a referendum be carried if a majority of voters in not less than one half rather than more than one half of the States vote in favour of a proposed change to the Constitution. [More…]
The second proposal is that electors in the A.C.T., including Jervis Bay, and the Northern Territory be given the right to vote at constitutional referendums. [More…]
Fortunately, Mr Speaker, the Constitution provides for this sort of situation. [More…]
This is particularly so in relation to the Constitution - that document which transcends Party politics or everyday political issues and has as its central purpose the conduct of government, no matter what the political complexion. [More…]
The method by which a Constitution can be changed is, therefore, of great democratic importance. [More…]
All sides of politics agree that our Constitution has proved overly difficult to change. [More…]
That would have represented a substantial advance, but there is nothing in this to suggest that any radical or fundamental alteration of the Constitution would emerge if the people favour our proposal. [More…]
All parties agree that the right to vote at constitutional referendums should be extended to citizens of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. [More…]
In addition to that, we on this side of the Parliament seek by these proposals to let the people decide - to have their vote on whether their Constitution should change. [More…]
Constitution must be a dynamic charter capable of meeting contemporary realities. [More…]
We also accept that the Constitution provides a principal safeguard against the excesses of government, particularly of the Whitlam Administration. [More…]
The Whitlam Government sees the Constitution not as a charter but as a constraint to its political objectives. [More…]
It also explains why the Government, notwithstanding the current deliberations of the Constitution Convention, aims to press its own views on the people without full consideration, parliamentary debate and examination. [More…]
The Constitutional Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill seeks to alter the Constitution to ensure that the Senate elections are held at the same time as the House of Representatives elections. [More…]
There is no constitutional constraint to the holding of simultaneous elections for both Houses of the Australian Parliament. [More…]
A more honest and straightforward approach would have been to seek amendment to section 53 of the Constitution which guarantees the Senate certain defined powers. [More…]
In short, the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill is not simply unnecessary but also is cunningly deceptive in its intent. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill is equally deceptive. [More…]
It purports to guarantee equality of representation under the Constitution. [More…]
The Bill proposes to add to section 29 of the Constitution the following words: [More…]
In addition, under the present constitution of the Loan Council, an aggregate borrowing program for large State, semi-government and local authorities is determined. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill seeks to change the present requirement that, before a referendum can succeed, a majority of the electors in a majority of the States must vote in favour of the proposal; that is, there must be a majority of electors in four of the six States and also a majority of all electors. [More…]
The reason for the proposed change is simply to make constitutional alterations more easily effected. [More…]
The Minister for Services and Property, while speaking on this Bill on 21 November 1973, referred to the Constitution in deprecating terms as a 72-year old document out of line with the social and political realities of this day and age. [More…]
Were it not for the important safeguards of the Constitution circumstances in Australia today, particularly at Federal level, would be far more serious than in fact they are. [More…]
Equally we endorse clause 2 (c) of the Bill which also seeks to amend section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
To a significant degree they attempt to prejudge and pre-empt the work of the Constitution Convention. [More…]
They are directed against the constitutional responsibilities of the State governments and against the concept of federalism embodied within the Australian Constitution. [More…]
In the 19 years in which I have ‘been a member of this Parliament I have always had very considerable sympathy with the concept that there should be alterations to the Australian Constitution. [More…]
But I believe that those alterations should have been proceeded with quietly and reasonably with people seeking to inform their minds by rational argument and to encourage others to realise that there are problems in the Australian Constitution by resorting to the rational argument and nothing else. [More…]
The Constitution is a document which has served governments of all political persuasions over the last 74 years. [More…]
Any proposal to amend the Constitution is momentous. [More…]
In the second reading debate on the first Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Snedden), the honourable member for Moreton, the honourable member for New England (Mr Sinclair), the honourable member for McPherson (Mr Eric Robinson) and the honourable member for Angas (Mr Giles) spoke, and in the Committee stage of the Bill the Leader of the Opposition spoke. [More…]
At the second reading stage of the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill the Leader of the Opposition, the right honourable Leader of the Australian Country Party (Mr Anthony), the right honourable member for Lowe (Mr McMahon) and the honourable member for Moreton spoke, and in the Committee stage of that Bill the Leader of the Opposition spoke. [More…]
At the second reading stage of the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill the Leader of the Opposition, the right honourable Leader of the Australian Country Party, the honourable member for Bennelong (Sir John Cramer) and the honourable member for Paterson (Mr O’Keefe) spoke, and in the Committee stage of that Bill the honourable member for Moreton spoke. [More…]
In the second reading stage of the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill, the right honourable member for Lowe, the honourable member for Moreton, the honourable member for the Northern Territory (Mr Calder), the honourable member for Warringah (Mr MacKellar), the honourable member for Chisholm (Mr Staley) and the honourable member for New England spoke, and in Committee stage of that Bill the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr Wentworth) spoke twice and the right honourable member for Lowe spoke 3 times on separate clauses. [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974- [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill 1974- [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974- <a) For the second reading, until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 March; [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill 1974 - [More…]
Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill 1974- [More…]
The exception is the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill. [More…]
As one who for a long time has advocated rational change in the Constitution, as one who attended and supported the concept of the Australian Constitutional Convention - the first* since Federation - I think that this exercise in futility by the Government needs to be put into perspective. [More…]
It is an exercise which is inclined not towards constitutional change but towards denying the possibility of constitutional change. [More…]
It is an exercise which is designed only to enhance the power of this Government, to entrench it in the electorate of Australia by manipulating the electoral laws through constitutional change rather than through a meaningful examination by the Commonwealth and the States of those areas of the Constitution which might well be adapted to meet the needs of 1974 more fittingly. [More…]
This motion not only covers the 4 Bills which have to some degree, albeit a limited degree, been debated in this chamber but also deplorably covers the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill 1974. [More…]
Already, earlier this day, the honourable member for Moreton (Mr Killen), who is the only member of this House on the sub-committee of the Constitutional Convention examining this particular Bill, raised in this chamber the complexity involved in the original draft Bill. [More…]
So that in regard to the fifth Bill which is dealt with by this motion, the Constitutional Alternation (Inter-change of Powers) Bill 1974, we have a fairly solid body of opinion presented by the members of the Constitutional Convention at the executive level and at the sub-committee level suggesting that they do not agree with the actions of this Government. [More…]
Earlier this afternoon the Prime Minister came into the House and endeavoured to give us the impression - and as he was on the air he was endeavouring to give the country the impression - that this fifth Bill for the alteration of the Constitution that is in front of us had the unanimous support of the States. [More…]
I say that a Prime Minister who comes in with a constitutional Bill and makes a second reading speech such as our Prime Minister made this afternoon is virtually lying to the House and to the country. [More…]
I have no doubt that the Minister reads the Electoral Act with loving care, but I have the gravest doubts as to whether he has read the Constitution. [More…]
The provisions in the Constitution relating to a double dissolution are clear, and those provisions were inserted for the express purpose of avoiding the dilemma into which the present Government is seeking to thrust the entire country. [More…]
I am indebted to the honourable member for Mackellar for reminding me that it is almost as long as section 51 of the Constitution, which is the main fountain-head of power of this Parliament. [More…]
The question which will be put on the ballot paper for every elector will be: Do you approve the proposed law to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections? [More…]
In this cognate debate this afternoon I want to speak in support of the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill. [More…]
This Government secured the representation of local government at the Constitution Convention. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974 is a rather interesting Bill. [More…]
1 hope that honourable members who speak later on these Constitution Alteration Bills will at least have the decency to treat the truth with some care. [More…]
Because it is a Bill to alter the Constitution it can have practically no effect until it is approved at a referendum. [More…]
But when one is talking about altering the Constitution, it is the electors in the last run who make the law. [More…]
The electors must be allowed to know what they are voting on because in this type of case where an amendment to the Constitution is proposed, theirs is the final and important voice. [More…]
I have drawn attention in the past to the fundamental bad faith of the Government in respect of these Bills which purport to amend the Constitution and that fundamental bad faith is evidenced in many ways. [More…]
Most of the electors - probably 99.78 per cent of the electors or something like that - will not have read the substance of the Bill or, at any rate, will not have read it in conjunction with the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 4 of the Bill enshrines in the Australian Constitution the words of the United States Supreme Court in interpreting sections of the United States Constitution which were reproduced in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
We believe - and we have said for the last 10 years, since the United States Supreme Court, the Warren Court, first laid down this interpretation - that it ought to be put in the Constitution so that elected persons can no longer disregard this proper democratic principle. [More…]
The Constitution Review Committee - all members of the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Country Party - unanimously held back in 1958 and 1959 that a one-tenth deviation from the electoral quota was sufficient to bring about a workable, proper distribution of seats in every State in Australia. [More…]
Since it came to amending the Constitution my Government decided that the people should be given the opportunity to say that within each State the same provision should apply as the Constitution already spells out between the States. [More…]
When it comes to determining how many seats in the House of Representatives shall be allotted to each State the Constitution says that one has a number of seats proportionate to the respective populations of the States. [More…]
It purports to insert in section 51 of the Constitution a new paragraph (ivA.). [More…]
Constitution one looks first at the preamble, which says in part: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws …. [More…]
That can only be done subject to the rest of the Constitution. [More…]
of the Australian Constitution, which seems to me to bear very much upon the operation of the clause under discussion, Section 105a. [More…]
of the Constitution is the one that was inserted by the 1929 referendum, which gave the Commonwealth certain powers to make agreements with States in regard to State debts and borrowings. [More…]
Every such agreement and any such variation thereof shall be binding upon the Commonwealth and the States parties thereto notwithstanding anything contained in this Constitution or the Constitution of the several States or in any law of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or of any State. [More…]
These are very firm words and they are in the Constitution. [More…]
This means that in the borrowing of money, whether it be for local government or for the States, the Commonwealth is bound by the Constitution and such agreement cannot be altered except by the unanimous consent of the parties thereto. [More…]
Let me remind the House that under the provisions of section 105a of the Constitution the financial agreement, which is virtually embedded in the Constitution, cannot be altered except by the unanimous consent of the parties thereto. [More…]
Let me remind the House of the rather binding words of section 105a of the Constitution, which reads: (4.) [More…]
Every such agreement and any such variation thereof shall be binding upon the Commonwealth and the States parties thereto notwithstanding anything contained in this Constitution or the Constitution of the several States or in any law of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or of any State. [More…]
Even if the referendum were passed - I do not think it will be - nothing in section 51 of the Constitution would enable the Commonwealth to contract for extra borrowings outside the ambit of the financial agreement. [More…]
Constitution. [More…]
Here the proposal is to put the words ‘the borrowing of money by the Commonwealth for local government bodies’ not in relation to section 105a of the Constitution but rather with respect to section 51 of the Constitution, which is in genera] terms the plenary or the fountainhead of most of the powers of this Parliament. [More…]
Section 51 of the Constitution commences with the words: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution . [More…]
So the effect of that is that every law which is made must observe, for example, section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
This is not to be read subject to the Constitution; this power stands on its own - completely on its own. [More…]
What is to be the effect if, for example, pursuant to this power the Commonwealth borrows money on behalf of a local government and lends it on such terms and conditions as it may think fit, and it does in fact breach, say, section 92 of the Constitution? [More…]
The Government did try to use the provisions of section 105a inserted in the Constitution in 1929 - the marginal note describes it as ‘Agreements with respect to State debts’ - in order to make provision for borrowing on behalf of the local government bodies under the auspices of the Loan Council. [More…]
I put this at the Constitutional Convention in September. [More…]
The Constitution in section 51, listing the legislative powers of the Parliament, gives the Parliament power to make laws with respect to paragraph (iv.) [More…]
Since the referendum was being held to facilitate borrowings on behalf of local government, it was also thought that provision should be made for financial assistance to local government bodies in the same terms as the Constitution provides by section 96 for financial assistance to the States. [More…]
I believe the Government once again this afternoon has made a boo-boo, that it has produced a Bill which, because it has not understood the legal points in the Constitution, is an inoperable Bill. [More…]
I ask him to turn his mind to that, if he would be good enough, and let me know what he thinks about the operations of section 105a of the Constitution and the Financial Agreement which is embedded in the Constitution upon the way in which this proposed new clause (ivA.) [More…]
The honourable member for Mackellar suggests that the Government should have made it possible ‘for the Commonwealth to borrow money on behalf of local government bodies by an amendment of the financial agreement which is ratified, sanctified, by section 105a of the Constitution. [More…]
It was impossible, that is, to apply section 105a which was inserted into the Constitution in 1929. [More…]
This can be done by amending the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution has always had the provisions in section 51 (iv) with respect to giving this Parliament power to make laws with respect to borrowing money on the public credit of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The Government tried to use the provisions of section 105a which enshrined the Financial Agreement, as amended from time to time, in the Constitution. [More…]
Accordingly, the Government is exercising its authority to sponsor an amendment to the Constitution. [More…]
), which has been in the Constitution since 1901 and which reads: [More…]
The honourable member for the Northern Territory (Mr Calder) was one of those - not the only one and not the first one - to suggest that in referendums on matters concerning the alteration of the Constitution electors in the Territories, namely, the Northern Territory and the Capital Territory, should be given a vote. [More…]
As things stand at the moment the Constitution can be altered if 2 things happen: Firstly, if there is a majority of all the electors voting in the States in favour of the alteration; secondly, if there is a majority of the electors voting in a majority of the States. [More…]
It would be possible - not likely, but it would be possible - to have a majority of the electors voting in a majority of States and a majority of the electors voting in all the States in favour of an amendment of the Constitution which, however, the electors in the Territories would not support. [More…]
It is possible that the electors in the Territories could have an amendment of the Constitution foisted on them which would not have been carried by a majority of all the electors in Australia because if the Territory electors had had a vote their votes would have countervailed a majority of the electors in the whole of the States. [More…]
Surely the Constitution should be altered only if a majority of all the electors in Australia are in favour of it. [More…]
It is fair that electors in the Territories should have a vote on questions concerning the alteration of the Constitution since they are bound by the provisions of the Constitution whether they have a vote upon it or not. [More…]
The last time an amendment was produced by a government of another political complexion in 1967 - the Aboriginal referendum - there were suggestions that the Constitution should be altered at the same time to give votes at referendums to electors of the Territories. [More…]
Such a referendum involves an amendment to section 1 28, the concluding section of the Constitution. [More…]
One such alteration was suggested in 1958 by the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review and, with fuller reasons, in 1959. [More…]
The amendment proposed then was that the Constitution could be altered if, firstly, there was a majority of the electors in all the States voting in favour of it but also if there was a majority of the electors voting in half the States in favour of it. [More…]
In 1958 the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review said: [More…]
This Bill dramatically illustrates the principal contention of the Opposition during the course of the debate on all the Constitution Alteration Bills, namely, that insufficient time has been given to the consideration of all the implications of the Bills. [More…]
At the moment an alteration to the Australian Constitution cannot be made unless 2 requirements are met. [More…]
For example, could it reach out to amend the amending section 128 of the Constitution? [More…]
If this Bill were carried section 128 of the Constitution could well be disturbed. [More…]
I say with respect that I do not think this country is using his talents in the field of constitutional law as perhaps it could. [More…]
It will be recalled that he presided over the famous Nicholas Royal Commission into the Constitution. [More…]
The final paragraph I am referring to here now, because of time, is in section 128 - in view of the language of the early part of the section it can hardly be questioned that that paragraph may itself be altered or eliminated so that what would be necessary to deprive a State of the rights there mentioned, would be to hold one referendum in order to alter the paragraph, and after a proper interval, a second referendum in order to alter the relevant section of the Constitution. [More…]
I believe that there is ground for reform of our Constitution, but the manner in which we have gone about it- [More…]
The other proposal that this referendum Bill makes is that people in the Territories - there would be now be about 140,000 electors in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory - should be allowed to vote on amendments to the Constitution. [More…]
After all, they are bound by the Constitution just as are electors in the States. [More…]
However, they have been denied a vote on constitutional amendments. [More…]
With respect, the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) did not quite understand one of the views I offered about amending section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
There has been a great deal of discussion about amendments to section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
This has been my own experience from my own involvement since 1956 when I was appointed as one of the 6 Labor members of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review. [More…]
As I said before, he was the legal adviser to the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review and was the principal author of its report. [More…]
The concluding paragraph of section 128 of the Constitution states: [More…]
No alteration diminishing the proportionate representation of any State in either House of the Parliament, or the minimum number of representatives of a State in the House of Representatives, or increasing, diminishing, or otherwise altering the limits of the State, or in any manner affecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation thereto, shall become law unless the majority of the electors voting in that State approve the proposed law. [More…]
I believe there can be no doubt that a proposal in a referendum to eliminate that paragraph would be an alteration affecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation to those matters of ‘proportionate representation of any State in either House of the Parliament or the minimum number of representatives of a State in the House of Representatives or increasing, diminishing or otherwise altering the limits of the State’. [More…]
Section 128 obviously is not something apart from the Constitution; it is part of the Con stitution. [More…]
If one is to alter section 128 one must follow the provisions of the Constitution in general. [More…]
I agree that the paragraph which I read out could be taken out of the Constitution if a majority of the electors voting in each State approved that excision, but I think the simple meaning of that paragraph is that it could notbe taken out unless a majority of the electors in each State approved of the proposal to take it out. [More…]
It is possible to abolish the Senate if every State votes in favour of doing so, but the Senate cannot be abolished in the usual way that the Constitution can be amended, namely, by just getting a majority of electors overall in Australia plus a majority of electors in a majority of the States. [More…]
I realise that it seems to be obligatory on various people to obscure the issues, but our Constitution is the most inflexible, the most rigid, in the world. [More…]
It is altered very much more rarely or infrequently than other constitutions including, of course, in particular the constitutions of federal systems. [More…]
One is that people in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should also be able to vote on amendments of the Constitution; they should be able to vote in referendums to alter the Constitution. [More…]
They would not require a two-thirds majority of States, as the Constitution has required up to now. [More…]
If there had been in the Constitution the provision which is now sought, then for the last 28 years this Parliament would have been able to make uniform laws in Australia for marketing and for industrial relations. [More…]
A reference to the Constitution indicates that the only matters in relation to which it makes any sense for the Commonwealth to refer power to the States are those matters in relation to which the Commonwealth has been given exclusive power. [More…]
It will be a one way traffic; when one looks at the Constitution it can only be a one way traffic. [More…]
I mention that not by way of dull complaint but merely to put on the record the approach of the Government to constitutional review. [More…]
For the national Parliament to be called upon to consider a Bill for an Act to alter the Australian Constitution within 24 hours of its introduction, I strongly suggest, would have amazed those who drew up the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Here is this Bill to alter the Australian Constitution and we are given 24 hours notice. [More…]
It shows a curious, almost a mischievous, almost a reckless approach to the whole problem of constitutional reform. [More…]
A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution with respect to the Inter-change of Powers between the Commonwealth Parliament and the State Parliaments. [More…]
It may seem a rather schoolmasterly performance - I hope I will be excused for being involved in it - to observe that the powers of this Parliament are to be found principally in one section of the Constitution, that is, in section 51. [More…]
That great enigmatic character of Australian politics and history, the late Dr Evatt, was in charge of a Bill seeking to secure from the 6 State parliaments a reference pursuant to this very sub-section or, if you like, placitum of the Constitution. [More…]
The Bill proposes to put into the Constitution a number of new provisions after section 108. [More…]
Section 108 of the Constitution is a section that I would heartily commend to the reading of many people in Australia. [More…]
Under this proposal 2 new sections are to be introduced into the Constitution. [More…]
The power of the Parliament of the Commonwealth to designate a matter under this section is not limited by the provisions of this Constitution - [More…]
What is meant by this provision which says ‘is not limited by the provisions of this Constitution’? [More…]
With things as they stand today, if this Parliament legislates with respect to any matter it is subject to all of the provisions in the Constitution. [More…]
It cannot ignore section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
It cannot ignore those sections of the Constitution which are barriers or protection against governmental interference. [More…]
The Constitution is the compact and cannot be treated as anything else. [More…]
But in the second proposed new section of the Constitution this is not clear. [More…]
If a State makes a reference to exclude all possible resort to the paramountcy section of the Australian Constitution, I invite the honourable gentleman to agree with me that a great degree of confusion could occur. [More…]
This measure seeks to introduce some flexibility into Australian constitutional reform. [More…]
But some of the futures which the Constitution has and which are accepted by any writer on the subject are rigidity and legalism, and no one familiar with the Australian constitutional system would deny that these are the most outstanding features of our Constitution. [More…]
The underlying point here is this: As 1 said at the outset, we have in Australia an excessively rigid Constitution. [More…]
We have a Constitution that is excessively legalistic. [More…]
The Constitution is bad. [More…]
It is political because, basically, honourable members opposite do not want the Constitution to be changed. [More…]
They know that it is so widely held to be a bad Constitution that they cannot be heard to agree with that view. [More…]
The Minister’s second argument was that the Constitutional Convention supported the presentation of this Bill. [More…]
It is true that the Convention supported the general concept that there should be a reference of powers and a change to this part of section 51 of the Constitution as to the way by which there could be a reference of powers but I would query quite seriously whether the Constitutional Convention, either at its opening session or in any other way, has given support to the measure before this Parliament. [More…]
I believe it has no chance of passage when the Constitutional Convention, either through the committee which was charged with the responsibility of inquiring into its terms or through the executive which was charged with the passage of procedures of the Convention from time to time until the next plenary session, has not given its support to it. [More…]
Indeed, I see co-operative federalism being denied and I see the passage of a Bill which will change the Constitution being im- possible because of the very manner in which this Government has introduced it. [More…]
In pursuance of your letter of 7 December 1973, copies of the revised draft Constitution Alteration were made available by the Australian AttorneyGeneral to the Convention’s Chief Executive Officer, and by him, in turn, to the members of Standing Committee ‘B’. [More…]
The Standing Committee members were unanimous in generally commending the draft, and expressed the view that the proposal, if adopted, would be a highly desirable and important improvement to the Constitution. [More…]
All members of the Executive Committee believe that the proposed Constitution Alteration is of the utmost importance and should be given the full support of all parliaments, governments and political parties. [More…]
They believe that this could best be achieved by having the proposal first considered at a full meeting of the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
I express my profound regret that such a meaningful and purposeful change in the Constitution is unlikely to be effected simply by the desire of the Government to assert its centralist power instead of proceeding in a co-operative way and presenting to this Parliament a measure which could have been universally supported. [More…]
He said that the Standing Committee members were unanimous in generally commending the draft and expressed the view that the proposals, if adopted, would be a highly desirable and important improvement to the Constitution. [More…]
It is most important that the change to the Constitution envisaged in this Bill, which I believe should command widespread support, should be thoroughly examined and that the minor areas of dispute should be removed before it is put to the people. [More…]
Otherwise a very desirable change to the Constitution will be unnecessarily lost. [More…]
I accept that our Constitution, which was framed in the balmy days of Queen Victoria, is in many areas obsolete. [More…]
What this House must do, and I hope what the Constitutional Convention will do, is determine where the political responsibilities should lie and what constitutional powers should be allocated to deal with these responsibilities. [More…]
Section 51 (xxxvii) of the Constitution as it stands at present allows the Commonwealth to make laws on matters which the States have referred. [More…]
Apparently it is proposed that the constitutional alteration proposed in this legislation should be put with 4 other referenda at the Senate election which presumably will be held in May. [More…]
Firstly we have discussed the grossly misnamed Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill is sound in basic concept in that it seeks to provide money to local government. [More…]
I agree with the purpose of the other 2 Bills - the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill and the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill. [More…]
I cannot see any Australian government of any political colour being willing to refer a power to the States if it is going simultaneously to divest itself of the power it has under section 109 of the Constitution which provides that Commonwealth legislation has precedence in cases of inconsistent legislation. [More…]
This matter has been talked about at length in various circles, including the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
That so much of the Standing Orders be suspended as would prevent the vote taken earlier this day on the third reading of the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974 being rescinded and the question for the third reading of the Bill being again put to the House forthwith. [More…]
Mr Speaker, as you would appreciate from the high office you hold in this Parliament, constitutional Bills are important. [More…]
Mr Speaker, if you think of the proceedings to which we have been forced to submit during the past day in relation to the 4 Constitution Alteration Bills you will remember that only 4 honourable members of the Liberal and Country Parties were able to address comments to them. [More…]
Whenever the third reading of a bill by which an alteration of the Constitution is proposed to be made has not been carried by an absolute majority of the House, the bill shall be forthwith laid aside and shall not be revived during the same session. [More…]
The Constitution in section 128 lays down the requirement for the second submission of a referendum Bill to a House in which it has originated 3 months after the other House has rejected it a first time. [More…]
The requirement of the Constitution is that such a referendum Bill be passed by an absolute majority. [More…]
The Constitution takes no notice of first readings, second readings, Committee stages or third readings. [More…]
They are concerned “ only with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitution states that if there is an absolute majority the matter can then be put to the people by the GovernorGeneral. [More…]
That the vote taken earlier this day on the third reading of the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1974 be rescinded and that the question ‘That the Bill be now read a third time’ be again put to the House forthwith. [More…]
Yesterday we had the absolute farce of Parliament voting almost continuously for something like 3 hours due to the Government applying the guillotine to 5 Bills to alter the Constitution. [More…]
Rather I believe that he should interpret and listen to the statistics that my colleague quoted to show the number of occasions, and the frequency of the occasions, on which the Leader of the House has found it necessary to guillotine, gag, suspend or accelerate debate so that the legislation could be thrust over to the other place, as the Constitution Alteration Bills were only yesterday, so that the other House could have an adequate time to analyse the Bills in detail and present a considered judgment on them when it came to a vote. [More…]
However, we are doing what we can within the limits of the Constitution. [More…]
Bills will be submitted to alter the Constitution to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections; to alter the Constitution to ensure that the members of the House of Representatives and of the Parliaments of the States are chosen directly and democratically by the people …. [More…]
There is no need to tamper with the Constitution. [More…]
It does not have a mandate to interfere with this nation’s Constitution. [More…]
That might be an interesting exercise because under the Constitution any moneys spent by a Government have to be spent as a result of a Bill being passed in this House. [More…]
should be very much indebted to the Australian Branch for the initiatives they have taken in respect of the Constitution of the Association. [More…]
I simply say to you, Mr Chairman, and to the Australian Branch, that I hope they continue to keep a watchful eye on the Constitution of the Association.’ [More…]
The Commonwealth has exerted more control, more pressure, more strings and more conditions and has abused section 96 of the Constitution to try to make the States the vassals of the Commonwealth. [More…]
attempted to change the Federal system of the Australian Constitution by diminishing the responsibility of the States; [More…]
The Prime Minister wants to alter the Constitution to do this and he can do it now. [More…]
Leader of the Opposition (Mr Snedden) commented that the Australian Government had attempted to change the Federal system of the Australian Constitution by diminishing the responsibility of the States. [More…]
Of course the Australian Government has set about changing the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It set about changing the Australian Constitution so that local government, the third tier of the Federal system in this country, will be given a proper voice in the affairs of the country for the first time. [More…]
The 5 questions obviously concern constitutional amendments for they deal with a Constitution which is more than 70 years old. [More…]
The Australian Government will ask that this Constitution be reformed. [More…]
It is difficult, as the Constitution stands at the moment, for the Australian Government to play a direct, immediate role in the organisation of natural disaster relief. [More…]
As the Constitution stands, the Australian Government cannot deal directly in financial matters with local government bodies. [More…]
attempted to change the Federal system of the Australian Constitution by diminishing the responsibility of the States; [More…]
I should like to make a few brief references now to constitutional proposals for the future. [More…]
The Government proposes to ask the Australian people to approve of various amendments to the Constitution by way of referendums at the time of the next Senate election. [More…]
The first of these proposals is to allow an amendment to the Constitution to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections - a reform designed to correct the position created by [More…]
Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
Another proposal is to alter the Constitution to enable the Commonwealth to borrow money for and grant financial assistance to local governments. [More…]
Who but the present Opposition would oppose the Bills by which we propose to change the Constitution or attempt to deny to the people of Australia the benefits and democratic rights to which they are entitled. [More…]
We propose the same provision with respect to the population of the several electorates within each State as the Constitution already makes for determining the number of electorates which each State has in the House of Representatives. [More…]
The Constitution has always referred to the respective numbers of the people in the several States and we now propose the same words for the respective numbers of the people in the electorates within each State. [More…]
Accordingly the people will be given the opportunity to see that the Australian Constitution should be as democratic as the Supreme Court of the United States insists that the American Constitution should be. [More…]
If there are any disputes as to the application of this constitutional provision the High Court will be able to determine such disputes because any elector or any person who claims to be an elector will have the right to approach the High Court. [More…]
I turn to another matter, the question of a proposed constitution for Papua New Guinea. [More…]
The Deputy Chairman of the Papua New Guinea Constitutional Planning Committee recently announced in the House of Assembly a revised timetable for the presentation of the Committee’s report. [More…]
Mr Somare in referring to the proposed independence date on 1 December has stated that it will give the House ample time to debate fully and to enact a Papua New Guinea home grown Constitution to guide it after independence. [More…]
It would seem appropriate that a Papua New Guinea home grown Constitution should come into effect at independence. [More…]
If the Government feels that it can act unilaterally and walk through the provisions of the Commonwealth Constitution by using, allegedly, the foreign affairs power, it will be acting against the spirit and the wording of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 123 alone vests the right in State governments to determine the changes in their boundaries and no foreign affairs power can override the express mention of that section in the Constitution. [More…]
This Government has fought to put to the Australian people the proposition that the Constitution, which was formulated 70 years ago, be amended to enable local government bodies to have access to the Australian Loan Council and to much longer loan terms - up to 53 years- and to borrow at the bond rate, a lower rate of interest than they are presently paying, and also to empower the Federal [More…]
attempted to change the Federal system of the Australian Constitution by diminishing the responsibility of the States; [More…]
It has attempted to change the federal system of the Australian Constitution by diminishing the responsibilities of the States. [More…]
The truth is that in the Government’s first year its overriding consideration has been to contain and reduce - as far as the national Government can with its powers under the Constitution and its lack of numbers in the other place - the inflationary pressures in the economy. [More…]
I turn now to the constitution of the Commission as stated in clause 5. [More…]
Its authority to act in these fields is provided by the Constitution itself. [More…]
Taken to extremes, though we are certainly not at that stage yet, it can undermine the whole constitution and the stability of the nation. [More…]
What the forthcoming referendum will do will be to ask the people whether they agree to the Constitution being amended so that local government will have the right of access to the Australian Loan Council and will have the right to receive direct from the Federal Treasury the .grants of assistance that may be determined or may be made available by the Federal Treasury. [More…]
Under section 22 of the Constitution, which can be altered, as I think it has been by Senate Standing Orders, onethird of the. [More…]
When one looks at this Act, and when one puts it in parallel with the Constitution, one can see that this is where those extra senators could come from. [More…]
Sections 7 to 23 of the Constitution deal with the Senate and give that body continuing life and make a Senate of 30 or 40 members an operable house. [More…]
There is another possibility, and on this I have some constitutional doubts. [More…]
Section 9 of the Constitution states: [More…]
Section 12 of the Constitution states: [More…]
There are no complaints from New South Wales in relation to the child care Act because the Liberal Government - I will say this in its favour - had the wisdom to dump section 96 of the Constitution altogether and, under its child care Act, to make grants directly to the organisations without using any State governments as a pipeline for those grants. [More…]
But this pre-school aid is given under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The pre-school grants are made under section 96 of the Constitution, and they go as a grant to the State of New South Wales. [More…]
The relevant Constitution Alteration Bill makes it plain that there will not be an election in the normal course to replace any senators until the election for the House of Representatives after next. [More…]
If the honourable gentleman examined the legislation of his own Government in relation to child care centres he would find that his Government - we have followed suit - established a direct relationship with local governments, churches and any private organisations that set up child care centres, without using the mechanism of section 96 of the Constitution and without using the States as a post box. [More…]
With respect to pre-schools, the mechanism that is being used is that provided by section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
However, we cannot under the Act - the Act could not give us the power, because the Constitution would prevent that - avoid some of the delays that are built into the system by the Constitution. [More…]
So since the High Court of Australia has said that the Commission cannot make an award unless there is first a log of claims served and cannot make an award in respect of a matter of an intra-state character or that contains matters or deals with matters that impinge upon managerial prerogative, then you cannot under the law, under the Constitution itself, under the Act or even under my Bill, certify an agreement that touches upon matters that cannot be dealt with by the Commission. [More…]
Why it is important to make that qualification is to show the House that any alteration that the House approves for the making of an agreement has to be an alteration that is kept within the confines of what the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission itself can do under the Constitution. [More…]
We have already seen the debate dealing with the Constitution alteration legislation being suppressed as we have never seen legislation in this Parliament suppressed. [More…]
For the last hour and a half members of the Liberal Party and the Country Party, whatever their current names are, have been showing their exasperation and frustration at the fact that the people are being given the opportunity to express their views on proposed alterations to the Constitution which the Liberal and Country parties have used the last 6 months in an attempt to prevent. [More…]
Secondly, the words Mode of Altering the Constitution’ - the title of the second Bill - are the very words which appear in the margin of every copy of the Constitution which has been printed since it was adopted in 1900. [More…]
In the marginal note against section 128 - which is getting altered by this proposal - the words used are: ‘Mode of altering the Constitution’. [More…]
If one is proposing alterations to that section of the Constitution one properly uses words which have appeared in the margin against that section for the last 73 years. [More…]
The other problem which I can see emerging from our aid programs and which I would hope that .the Agency might turn to is that over the years, because of the nature of our Commonwealth involvement originally and then because of the constitution of a system which seems to have been successful, we have pursued a very extensive Colombo Plan aid educational program which has brought a great deal of opportunity to people who might otherwise have been denied it. [More…]
It seems to have been forgotten that section 91 of the Constitution has always permitted the States to pay such bounties in certain circumstances. [More…]
I will read the relevant words from section 91 of the Constitution: [More…]
Nothing in this Constitution prohibits a State from granting . [More…]
and (3) As I indicated in an answer on 13 December 1973 (Hansard, page 4815), this is one of the matters which the Australian Government can discuss directly with local government bodies if the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974 is approved by the electors. [More…]
I was under the impression that under the Constitution his seat had been vacated. [More…]
Where the delinquency comes in so far as the Australian Government is concerned is that shortly after it was elected to power the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) indicated that he had power under the Constitution unilaterally to transfer that power. [More…]
Did the Australian people give Labor a mandate to centralise more and more power in Canberra, or to seek to change the Constitution to help Labor even to water down the process of bringing about changes in the Constitution? [More…]
The Government put forward a proposition that would outlaw gerrymanders and enshrine in the Constitution, if the people approved of it, the principle of one man one vote and the principle that electorates should Le as near as practicable equal. [More…]
It is a government which has treated the Australian Constitution and Parliament with authoritarian contempt. [More…]
Similar things happened with the Bills to change the Constitution. [More…]
The validity of the introduction of this Bill under the 1973 title is included under section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
I have given my decision in regard to section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
If the honourable member for Kooyong, or any other person, likes to read section 57 of the Constitution, which is quite succinctly put, I am sure he will fully understand the matter. [More…]
The fact is that the Bill is an identical Bill, and it is still within the confines of section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
Because of section 57 of the Constitution, the Bill is in order as it now stands. [More…]
The point is that I have given my ruling in conformity with section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
The honourable gentleman has taken about 4 points of order on the decision that I have already made in conformity with section 57 of the Constitution and in respect of which I have been given advice by my Clerks. [More…]
I also reiterate, as I said the other day, that under section 91 of the Constitution any State Government can pay a superphosphate bounty if it has the approval of both Houses of the Australian Parliament. [More…]
I would add that I would expect- certainly, hope - that the Senate would pass the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill. [More…]
But more relevantly, on Friday, 22 March I attended a meeting - I chaired a meeting - of Committee A of the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
From all these proceedings - the minutes of these meetings, the agenda and the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention - it was quite clear that all the Premiers wished the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill to be put to the people at the next Federal election. [More…]
The following week, the week before last, I wrote to every Premier in Australia referring to the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill. [More…]
The fact is that every head of government in Australia expected that the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill would be put to the people by the Australian Government at the next Federal election. [More…]
The point of my reference to the Constitutional Convention Committee A on Friday 22 March was that following the rejection by the Senate of the Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill I reported to the other representatives from the State Parliaments that it would not now be possible for the Australian Government to put to the people at the forthcoming Federal election the Bill which last September at the Constitutional Convention and at the various meetings in between of draftsmen and Attorneys-General it had been agreed that the Australian Government should put to the people. [More…]
On that Friday, 22 March I pointed out that we would not now be able to proceed with that particular constitutional reform for which we had all been preparing. [More…]
A quick reading of this Bill has shown that it raises many grave questions in the constitution field, in the area of State rights, and even of its own validity as a viable piece of legislation. [More…]
The measures are to be rammed through this House so that the provision of the Constitution which states that if the Parliament twice refuses a Bill, but not within a period of 3 months, a double dissolution can be requested of the GovernorGeneral. [More…]
The Senate has a role to play under the Constitution. [More…]
That is a phrase which appears in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution states that, if legislation is refused twice by the Parliament outside a 3 month period - that is, it is voted against or fails to pass - there are grounds for a double dissolution. [More…]
extract from the Labor Party’s ‘Platform, Constitution and Rules’ on economic planning . [More…]
In the article Sir Robert Menzies discussed the type of Constitution we have and the necessary implications of it. [More…]
Mr Speaker, section 3 of the Constitution provides that there shall be payable out of Consolidated Revenue for the salary of the Governor-General an annual sum which, until the Parliament otherwise provides, shall be $20,000. [More…]
The Constitution also provides that the salary of a Governor-General shall not be altered during his continuance in office. [More…]
It is proposed now in this Bill that, for the first time since Federation, the Parliament should establish an amount for the salary of the Governor-General other than that provided in the Constitution. [More…]
It is unusual because it means that the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General - both senior legal men and both men who one would hope have some reasonable understanding of the law and constitutional practice - were prepared to condone the continued occupancy in the upper chamber of the Australian Parliament of a seat by a man who they now contend at the time of his occupying that seat was occupying an office of profit under the Crown. [More…]
In other words, they are as culpable as any other in terms of an offence prescribed within the Constitution. [More…]
By their acceptance and recognition of bis continued presence in the upper chamber they are culpable to the extent to which they sought to distort the accepted constitutional practice in order to gain control of the upper House of this Parliament and sought to defeat a constitutionally valid step taken by the Premier of a sovereign State. [More…]
The first was the Prime Minister stating in this chamber that he was not aware that the Attorney-General disagreed with his assertion relative to the timing and the manner by which the constitutional change should take place. [More…]
This was in relation to the interchange of powers and the degree to which each of the States was said by the Prime Minister to be in agreement with the Bill known as the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill. [More…]
The Prime Minister quoted a Constitutional Committee A meeting which he attended. [More…]
This particular constitutional change certainly was discussed at the Constitutional Convention but I, as a member of Constitutional Committee C, attended a meeting in Melbourne on 15 March at which the Victorian Attorney-General, Mr Wilcox, said that he and his Government did not accord with the Prime Minister’s interpretation of their acceptance of the terms of this referendum. [More…]
Section 53 of our Constitution provides - with incipient old age gathering upon me, 1 have to put on my glasses to read it: [More…]
If one is to take section 53 of the Australian Constitution, one is drawn inexorably to one conclusion, namely, that technically speaking the Senate has a right to reject a Supply Bill, but the very moment that it accepts that right it infringes the Constitution because it is no longer exercising a power which is equal to that of this House; it is exercising a power which is superior to that of this House. [More…]
A lot of confusion has intruded into our .present circumstance because double dissolution machinery is already ticking over, as I have described it, and, if the Senate rejects an Appropriation Bill or Supply, it is not that rejection that enables the Prime Minister of the country, whoever he may toe, to go to the GovernorGeneral and say ‘Your Excellency, I request a double dissolution’; it is the fact that the Senate has twice, pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution, rejected a Bill passed by this House. [More…]
I have indicated - I suppose I was wrong to indicate it, but being as I am I have done so - that if the Senate does what is in prospect I will introduce a private member’s Bill which would seek to add to section 57 of the Constitution a provision which would read to this effect: [More…]
I am aware that there is a novelty about the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Why should we give the Prime Minister the right to decide when the people should have a say and not give that right and power to the Parliament when it actually exists in the Constitution? [More…]
As a lecturer in political science and as a student of the Constitution, which he pretends to be, he should know that it is the prerogative of the President of the Senate to advise State governors when extra vacancies occur. [More…]
The referendum proposals of the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), particularly the Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill 1974, may appeal to local government to have the short term advantage of immediate financial assistance. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Local Government Bodies) Bill is a proposal by the Government to by-pass the States and to contribute to the centralism in Australia which it so ardently wants. [More…]
The way in which it will achieve centralism is not by the proper and correct course of conducting a constitutional referendum which would have as its purpose the elimination of the State governments or the sub- stantial diminution of their powers. [More…]
It is not reasonable to propose fundamental constitutional amendments as being a necessary condition to do this. [More…]
If the people are to be asked to exercise a choice it should be clearly established that the proposition be firm and fixed to alter the Constitution before it is necessary and desirable to do so. [More…]
It is neither necessary nor desirable to alter the Constitution to assist local government. [More…]
I recognise the compelling nature of the problems of local government and believe that financial arrangements must serve and strengthen the Constitution and not undermine it. [More…]
The Constitution states (Section 101): There shall be an Inter-State Commission. [More…]
Has the steering committee appointed at that meeting drawn up a draft constitution. [More…]
At the meeting referred to on 23 February 1974, representatives of 27 consumer groups agreed to establish an Australian Federation of Consumer Groups, and elected a steering committee to draft a constitution for further consideration. [More…]
The steering committee is working on a draft constitution but has not yet completed it. [More…]
Is the Attorney-General able to investigate the constitution, membership and operation of the Newsagency Control Board of Western Australia and the agreements that newsagents in Western Australia are required to sign with West Australian Newspapers Ltd. [More…]
Under the Interim Constitution, legislative powers are exercised by the National Assembly comprising a majority of members elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. [More…]
He had, however, a deeper respect for the Constitution which establishes that institution. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: Is he aware of the doubt surrounding the justification for a double dissolution in the Senate’s second failure to pass the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Bill due to the fact that the period of 3 months, as required by section 57 of the Constitution, did not elapse between the Senate’s first rejection of the Bill and the second passing of the Bill by this House? [More…]
The purpose of this Bill - and this is its only purpose - is to provide a measure of representation for the Australian Capital Territory and for the Northern Territory in the Senate and thus give some meaningful expression to section 122 of the Constitution in respect of the Senate as an integral part of this Parliament. [More…]
Section 122 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
The Constitutional position with regard to the power vested in this Parliament to provide representation for the 2 Territories as proposed by this Bill is clear. [More…]
I have already quoted section 122 of the Constitution and I ask: What could be clearer, Mr Speaker? [More…]
The founders of the Constitution obviously recognised the simple justice of the notion that since the Parliament would make laws for the Territories, the citizens of the Territories should have a voice in that Parliament. [More…]
On the basis of advice by the Commonwealth legal advisers, the provision of Territory senators under sec tion 122 of the Constitution, does not cause an alteration in the number of members of the House of Representatives by virtue of section 24. [More…]
It is presented for a third time to meet the constitutional requirements for it to become law following the recent double dissolution of Parliament. [More…]
As honourable members would know, the Constitution provides, in section 24, that the House of Representatives shall be composed of members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth, and the number of members shall be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators. [More…]
The Government’s legal advice is that section 24 of the Constitution does not have application in relation to senators who may be provided for a Territory under the provisions of section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, the requirement contained in section 24 for the number of members of the House of Representatives to be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators does not relate to Territory members or senators provided under section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
Thus, consistently with section 24 of the Constitution, the introduction of Territory senators will not affect the representation of the States in the House of Representatives. [More…]
In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Houses of this Parliament are again being given an opportunity to enact this Bill. [More…]
It seeks to undermine the whole structure of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
When the Constitution was drawn up the option was for 2 Houses of Parliament. [More…]
We are not in a position to rewrite the Australian Constitution but we are under a clear obligation to ensure that the provisions which exist in the Constitution are respected until such time as the people of Australia elect to alter them. [More…]
Until such time as the people of Australia by a clear vote say ‘We wish to alter the Constitution’ we should respect its terms. [More…]
For example, we find that the number of members who sit in this House, according to the terms of the Constitution, shall be as near as practicable twice the number of honourable senators. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution does not speak about categories or classes of senators. [More…]
What the Government is seeking to do is not merely to frustrate the workings of the Australian Constitution but to destroy the whole structure. [More…]
In effect the Government takes hold of section 24 of the Constitution, which places an obligation on this Parliament to have twice the number of people here as in the Senate, and says ‘Well, as far as the Northern Territory is concerned we will have 2 representatives in the Senate for the one representative here’. [More…]
Section 122 of the Australian Constitution, to which the Minister has referred, says: [More…]
He has given us no explanation as to why we should have 2 senators representing the Northern Territory, so reversing the existing provision in section 24 of the Constitution. [More…]
What the Minister is seeking to do is to pervert the whole working of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The knowledge with which he spoke was the legal knowledge of a small debts lawyer, but the Government takes advice from the Commonwealth crown solicitors - eminent men who know and understand the Constitution and all associated with it. [More…]
It is a matter which concerns the Constitution. [More…]
Opposition members stand up in this chamber and say: ‘No, because it is against the Constitution, because it is difficult, because it raises so many complexities we cannot accept it. [More…]
It is undermining the Constitution without the will of the people of Australia being expressed for a change in that Constitution’. [More…]
It does not matter how much it upsets the Constitution. [More…]
Tasmania has particular and specific circumstances which were allowed for in the Constitution. [More…]
I used the word ‘historic’ advisedly because it would appear that an inevitable consequence of these debates will be an event which is provided for in our Constitution - a joint sitting of both Houses of the national Parliament. [More…]
The Opposition believes that if the Government attempts to pass this legislation through Parliament by the joint sitting process it could be acting illegally and contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
One strong view is that under section 57 of the Constitution an interval of 3 months must elapse between the initial rejection by the Senate and resubmittal by the House of Representatives before the Bill is eligible to form the basis for a double dissolution. [More…]
The union is covered by the clause in the Constitution which prevents industrial conscription and the union, if it organises, is of course covered by a clause in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution established the High Court of Australia, and it empowered Parliament both to create other Federal courts and to invest the courts of the States with Federal jurisdiction. [More…]
The High Court would thus concentrate on its task of interpreting the Constitution and acting as the ultimate court of appeal within Australia. [More…]
Nevertheless, the original justification remains valid, notwithstanding that there may now be no particular burden of original jurisdiction, other than in constitutional matters. [More…]
The High Court will be left free to continue its great work as a constitutional and appeals court. [More…]
Broadly speaking, this list corresponds with the list of matters of federal jurisdiction specified in the Constitution itself. [More…]
Under the Constitution, the Parliament is empowered to invest State courts with federal jurisdiction. [More…]
State courts have in fact been invested with jurisdiction in most of the matters coming within federal jurisdiction under the Constitution. [More…]
It is not, of course, constitutionally possible to divest the High Court of the jurisdiction conferred on it directly by the Constitution. [More…]
I will not say anything that reflects upon the Constitution of the United States of America or upon the way in which its parliamentary system has been built up, but I will make the observation that lessons can be learned from any system, whether it is the Westminster system, the American system or any other system. [More…]
In the High Court reference is still made to the Commonwealth of Australia, but that is because the High Court follows the Constitution. [More…]
take cognisance, for example, of the requirements of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act and the general form of the Australian Constitution which allows one to consider the whole embrace of the legislation. [More…]
I point out that within the Australian Constitution the oath about which we are concerned at the moment within the Statute Law Revision Bill is set down in form, be it by way of oath ‘or affirmation and it is important- [More…]
My concern is that the Statute Law Revision Bill is one of those pieces of legislation with which this Parliament deals within the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Within the Constitution is- [More…]
But 1 would agree also that the Currency Act, the Defence (Re-Establishment) Act and the Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act are all pieces of legislation within the Bill and I think there is a necessity for us to see the degree to which these Bills as well as the Statute Law Reform Act fit within the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
In other words, there are amendments within this legislation to specific pieces of legislation under the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution does provide for an oath or affirmation. [More…]
There is no provision in this Bill to amend the Commonwealth Constitution and I would suggest that it is completely out of order to be debating the Commonwealth Constitution in the Committee stage of this Bill. [More…]
Is there any basis for such rumours and is there any reason why any regional council for social development that is working conscientiously on project evaluations and the drawing up of a constitution, such as the Southern Tasmanian Regional Council, should have to slow down its efforts? [More…]
It is as well for this Parliament and for those who read the reports of this Parliament to realise that only a very limited power is given to the Australian Parliament pursuant to the Constitution to legislate in relation to industrial disputes. [More…]
The job of this Parliament, as restricted by the Constitution, is to provide the means for the prevention and settlement of those disputes when they occur. [More…]
I would like the Minister to tell us whether he has sought a constitutional opinion - whether the way in which this land is being appropriated is in fact within the Constitution of the Commonwealth. [More…]
To operate the law in any other way is completely contrary to the Australian Constitution and to the practice of the British common law which we have inherited. [More…]
We believe that the Australian Parliament through the Australian Constitution has that power. [More…]
We know that the Prime Minister does not want the States; he does not want a Senate; he wants to change the whole Constitution and he believes that he has the ability to decide best all the questions facing the country. [More…]
However, if he sues under State law the trader will have a constitutional defence. [More…]
The defence will be that the State law is inconsistent with the Federal law and so the consumer will be plunged into constitutional challenge. [More…]
It is true that in clause 74 of this Bill there is an attempt to save the State laws but that attempt may well be vain because under section 109 of the Constitution, if it operates it operates, and no law of this Parliament can exclude it. [More…]
In other words, we are adding confusion to confusion - not only the confusion of having State laws which operate in this area but also the confusion into which a consumer will be plunged because he will be faced by a multiplicity of cases of constitutional challenge. [More…]
Under the Constitution this is just not possible at the Federal level. [More…]
I understand that the constitution of that body will be available in the near future. [More…]
The Tribunal’s functions are to report on the salaries payable to Ministers, the remuneration payable to judges, and to determine the allowances - including allowances in accordance with section 48 of the Constitution - payable to members of Parliament, the allowance payable to Ministers, and the remuneration payable to officers of the First Division of the Public Service and to holders of statutory offices. [More…]
The Opposition’s rejection of the Bill is based on principle and on its determination to ensure, as far as it can, that Australia has the most effective and efficient judicial system our Constitution will permit. [More…]
Let me remind honourable members that the judges of this court will be appointed for life because it will be a Federal court and under section 72 of the Constitution, as that provision has been interpreted by the High Court of Australia, they must be appointed for life. [More…]
The original jurisdiction will come from sections 75 and 76 of the Constitution. [More…]
Covering clause 5 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act which says that the law of the Commonwealth shall be binding on all State courts, is an expression of the idea that all the law shall be enforceable in the State courts. [More…]
Briefly, there is Federal jurisdiction, which is created under chapter III of our Constitution. [More…]
Territorial jurisdiction is that which flows from section 122 of our Constitution. [More…]
In the Constitution in chapter III there is provision for it to be exercised by 3 distinct bodies - by the High Court itself; by a Federal court created by this Parliament, and that is what the Government is seeking to do under this Bill; and by section 77 (iii) which provides the means to enable rights and duties under Commonwealth law to be enforced in State courts. [More…]
This provision was inserted in the Commonwealth Constitution; it is not found in the American Constitution. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
I have mentioned those matters because they only indicate that there are constitutional problems with this court as well. [More…]
The Courts administering the law should’ all derive an independent existence and authority from the Constitution. [More…]
Mr Taylor, Q.C., in a recent paper which appeared in the ‘University of Queensland Law Journal’ dealing with section SI (xx) of the Constitution and in referring to the powers of the Federal Government in regard to a Federal companies Act had this to say: [More…]
It is the opinion of the writer that section 51 (xx) of the Constitution will provide the requisite constitutional power so to do. [More…]
May I read to the House what His Honour Sir Owen Dixon said many years ago, on 14 March 1935, in a lecture entitled ‘The Law and the Constitution’ delivered in Scots Church Hall, Russell Street, Melbourne. [More…]
Of course one has to go back even further, because the very basis for what the Government seeks to do was laid as long ago as 1900, when the Founding Fathers, of whom so much has been said, wrote it into the Constitution on the assumption that some day a government would do it. [More…]
They are part of the Constitution, and we do our best to work with it. [More…]
He said: When we are dealing with words which are also a constituent act like the Constitution of the United States we must realise that they have called into life a being the development of which could not have been foreseen completely by the most gifted of its begettors. [More…]
I mention too, and I believe this to be a critically important consideration, that at the time we were considering the charter, the Bill relating to the Australian Industry Development Corporation, we were conscious of the fact that there was limited constitutional jurisdiction. [More…]
Having looked at the changes that are now recommended in the Bill now before the House, the 1974 Bill, I believe that the same constitutional question will arise. [More…]
I have my doubts whether all the provisions of the clauses will stand up to a constitutional examination and a test to determine whether they are legitimate or ultra vires the Constitution. [More…]
I repeat what I said about the probable testing of the power in section 51, placitum 31 of the Constitution. [More…]
I am led to believe that what is proposed is that what is called the 30/20 rule is to be amended to provide that there shall be a 40/30/20 rule and that instead of banks - we are coming now to the question of life offices as well - having to contribute 30 per cent of their assets in Government enterprises - not in enterprises that will belong to the people but that kind of enterprise - it can be compulsorily taken from the life offices contrary to the terms of the Constitution itself. [More…]
As powers in respect of adoption and related child welfare matters are retained by the State governments under the Constitution, consultation with State governments is necessary and a national conference has been arranged for 24 and 25 July. [More…]
The Public Works Committee is bipartisan and bicameral in its constitution. [More…]
Chapter VI of the Constitution probably received little detailed attention so far as the status and future of territories of the Commonwealth were concerned. [More…]
Quick and Garran in their work ‘The Annotated Constitution’, assumed ‘as unquestionable that, whilst some of the Territories may permanently remain in a dependent condition subject to the dominion and exclusive jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, others. [More…]
Each of these categories requires different constitutional support. [More…]
The carrying out of a mandate should be guaranteed by the Constitution; thi; development of communities capable of becoming viable political entities should also bc guaranteed; the Constitution should spell out the nature and extent of the protection which a protected territory should be bound to receive and the identity of the national capital as such should be preserved. [More…]
A change of status in the constitution of a territory should be the subject of a referendum within the territory and not, as now, entirely al the whim of the government in power at any given time. [More…]
The holding of such referenda at stated intervals, on request, should be specifically commanded by the Constitution. [More…]
Section 128 needs revision in the light of the fact that residents of territories are entirely excluded from voting on a referendum to change the constitution under which they are governed. [More…]
A change of status in the constitution of a territory should be the subject of a referendum within the territory and not, as now, entirely at the whim of the government in power- [More…]
It must be remembered that under the provisions of the Constitution in this field in general the powers of the Australian Government are limited, whereas in the Northern Territory the Australian Government has exclusive powers. [More…]
A change of status in the constitution of a territory should be the subject of a referendum within the territory. [More…]
It is pertinent that past governments have not endeavoured to try to tie the hands of the States by specifically making grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
We submit that there is adequate provision under section 96 of the Constitution for local government to have access to the Commonwealth tax pool. [More…]
The purpose of this legislation is to amend the Parliamentary Proceedings Broadcasting Act 1946-1973 in several major respects* Firstly, it is intended to extend the provisions of the present Act to open up the possibility that the proceedings of a joint sitting of the Parliament convened in pursuance of section 57 of the Constitution may be broadcast. [More…]
It had been suggested that section 49 of the Constitution might itself give protection in a joint sitting, but if one refers to section 49 of the Constitution one will find that it does not refer to a joint sitting and that it only picks up the powers, privileges and immunities of the House of Commons. [More…]
The motion was really based on section 50 of the Constitution, which provides that each House of Parliament may make rules and orders with respect to the order and conduct of its business and proceedings jointly with the other House. [More…]
He was gaoled, I think under the provisions of section 62 of the Soviet Constitution. [More…]
Mr Speaker, I give notice that at the next sitting I shall present a Bill for an Act to allow electors in certain Territories as well as electors in the States to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
That the House of ‘Representatives affirms the decision taken by resolution of the House on 31 May 1973 that the Australian Parliament join with the Parliaments of the States in the Constitutional Convention to be convened to review the Australian Constitution in September of that year, and at such subsequent times as the Convention from time to time determined, and agrees: [More…]
However, at subsequent meetings of the committees of the Convention the feeling has been expressed by those who are participating that they would like to see the conclusions of the Constitutional Convention presented to the people.They consider that in that way there might be some prospect of their success. [More…]
If the Government persists in intruding individual questions, particularly in view of the results that they have attracted, it is felt that, whatever the merit of the recommended changes to the Australian Constitution, their prospect of success if submitted to the Australian electorate is minimal. [More…]
These matters are already dealt with in the Constitution, and sections 44 and 45 detail a number of circumstances which may disqualify members and senators from seeking or continuing to hold office. [More…]
In any event, 1 should remind the honourable gentleman that the Government itself, as a government, under the Constitution has no power directly to intervene in these industrial disputes. [More…]
That strikes right at the heart of the Constitution. [More…]
The Australian Government is trying to subvert the Constitution and to seek power in another fashion. [More…]
Never before in the history of the Parliament have we seen a piece of legislation that attempts to subvert the Constitution in such a fashion and attempts to give such control to the Australian Government. [More…]
These grants are made under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
This move represents a complete contradiction of the Constitution in which the power lies. [More…]
It is subverting the Constitution and it is quite wrong in principle. [More…]
This is the first Joint Sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives convened by His Excellency the Governor-General pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution for the purpose of resolving disagreements between the 2 Houses. [More…]
It is, accordingly, an occasion of great constitutional significance in the history of this Parliament. [More…]
Let it be understood that this Joint Sitting is a last resort, a means provided by the Constitution to enable the popular will- the democratic process- ultimately to prevail over the tactics of blind obstruction. [More…]
The Constitution provides that if the Senate in certain circumstances twice rejects Bills passed by the House of Representatives, the GovernorGeneral may dissolve the Parliament and new elections may be held. [More…]
The Constitution further provides that if, after a double dissolution and fresh elections, the Senate still obstructs such a Bill a joint sitting of both Houses may be held to consider it. [More…]
Even the Sitting itself, an event clearly envisaged and provided for by the Constitution, has been subject of a desperate last minute, last ditch legal challenge by our opponents. [More…]
What we are now proposing- this reduction in the permissible variation between electorateswas first proposed 15 years ago by the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review established by Sir Robert Menzies in 1956. [More…]
The Liberal Party members were Sir Neil O ‘Sullivan; Sir Alexander Downer, son of one of the founding fathers of Australia’s Constitution, a Minister, later High Commissioner to Britain; Mr Justice Joske; and Senator Wright- now one of the opponents of this legislation. [More…]
That Committee- that all party Committee on Constitutional Reviewunanimously recommended exactly the measure that we are now putting forward, briefly at the end of 1958, and with full reasons at the end of 1 959. [More…]
The Committee recommended that the Constitution be amended to provide that: . [More…]
On repeated occasions since 1959 the Labor Party, now twice confirmed as the Government, has sought to amend the Electoral Act to establish in legislation the principle which the Committee believed should be enshrined in the Constitution itself. [More…]
This is the objective of the legislation now before this Parliament- to implement by law a proposal endorsed by the distinguished Committee of both Houses and all parties as a constitutional amendment 15 years ago. [More…]
Finally, in May this year, the Government submitted a referendum to the Australian people seeking to have the principle of electoral equality entrenched in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution always has provided that the number of electorates in the several States shall be in proportion to their populations. [More…]
The Labor Party put forward a constitutional proposal which would have torpedoed any consideration of the principle of one vote one value. [More…]
Fortunately the people of Australia were not hoodwinked, even by the name of the referendum proposal which described it as a democratic amendment to the Constitution. [More…]
Unless members of the Opposition understand the consequences of the Constitution and the view that the Australian public will have of its consequences, they will certainly be condemned to that side of the House. [More…]
He says democracy is frail in Australia because one chamber of this Parliament is prepared to exercise its rights which it was guaranteed under the Constitution. [More…]
Australian Federal governments have never tried to subvert the Constitution by, for example, extending the life of a Parliament. [More…]
The Government, both in its attempts to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act and in its unsuccessful proposals to amend the Commonwealth Constitution, has exhibited a total disregard for the principles of the democratic process. [More…]
Benjamin Franklin once said that the right to fair and equal elections is at the very heart and core of any free constitution. [More…]
That statement was made by a man who played a very important part in framing the Constitution of the United States of Amenca. [More…]
So it was assumed that, consistent with the constitutional requirement, there would be equality of value of votes cast in elections for this Parliament. [More…]
That is what the Australian Constitution requires. [More…]
It is assumed in the Australian Constitution that politiciansmembers of this Parliament- will act as honourable men, will ensure that their electorates are so framed as to allow the people to give expression to their view. [More…]
In the United States Constitution Convention debate of 1 778 James Madison said: [More…]
Back in the 1890s when the Constitution was drawn up the size of electorates was based on population. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution says so. [More…]
Is this not the issue that was fought out in the Constitution Convention? [More…]
Unless we return to the principles of the Constitution in which the quotas for electorates are fixed on a population basis and make the sizes of electorates more related to that factor, there will be injustice in this country. [More…]
We should come back to the principle on which the Constitution was founded and pass this legislation in order to make sure that when the people vote for candidates there is an equal opportunity for each political party to form a government. [More…]
This is a Government which in a short period of time between the 2 elections, has put through the largest number of Bills introduced in any one year; the largest number of Bills declared urgent in any one year; the largest number of Bills passed into law in any one year; the largest number of Constitution alteration Bills in any one year; the largest number of sitting hours in the last 60 years; the largest number of debates on the adjournment in any one year in the House of Representatives; the largest number of general business matters voted on in any one year; the largest number of petitions presented in any one year; the largest number of grievance day debates in any one year; and the list goes on and on. [More…]
The principle was recognised by those who framed the Australian Constitution. [More…]
For example, in section 24 the Constitution provides that the House of Representatives should be comprised of members directly chosen by the people. [More…]
Those who drew up our Constitution felt so keenly about the representation of the people that they expressly did not follow the example of the United States Constitution. [More…]
The American Constitution did not allow the Territories to send members to Congress but simply permitted the Territories to send delegates to Congress who could speak but not vote. [More…]
When the Australian Constitution was adopted there were no Territories but it is quite clear that the establishment of Territories was in the minds of the framers of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 122 of the Constitution provides that Parliament may allow the representation of Territories in either House of the Parliament to the extent and on the terms which the Parliament thinks fit. [More…]
In the most recent debate on this matter in the Senate the Opposition Parties sought to argue that the Bill was unconstitutional. [More…]
This committee was to inquire into whether the provisions of the Bill were consistent with the Constitution. [More…]
In the Government’s view the Bill is entirely consistent with the Constitution. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth and the number of members shall be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution does not, in our view, apply to senators for a Territory; that is, in meeting the requirement in section 24 for the number of members of the House of Representatives to be as nearly as practicable twice the number of senators, Territory senators are not to be counted. [More…]
Thus, consistent with section 24 of the Constitution’, the introduction of Territory senators will not affect the representation of the States in the House of Representatives. [More…]
By that means the Association avoided the provision of its constitution that it should not be partisan in political matters. [More…]
What more absurd system can we have as a system of structural government written into our Constitution than one in which measures originate in the House of Representatives; having been considered in the House of Representatives go across to the Senate where they are considered again and are rejected or amended in ways in which the House of Representatives, ot the people’s house as it is called, does not accept; after the necessary time lag come back to the House of Representatives where they are again debated; and are then sent across to the Senate where they are again rejected; this action leading to a double dissolution? [More…]
It is our basic law- the Constitution- which insists that people go through this enormous time scale of effort and frustration and which provides the opportunity for people who have lost the election, who have put their points of view to the people and who have had them rejected, as a government in exile, so to speak, in the Senate to say: ‘We will not accept the will of the people. [More…]
The Constitution speaks of the people of the States. [More…]
He seems, of course, to have forgotten that we are talking about the Constitution and within the Constitution, a Bill that can be passed to change the character of one of those Houses. [More…]
Indeed, section 7 of the Constitution states: [More…]
He is now turning to a device which will increase the number of honourable senators so that he will not have to rely on the normal constitutional process which has been with us since 1901, and although the number of honourable senators has been increased relying on section 7 of the Constitution and on the concept of the Senate as a States House, the Government has seen fit to enlarge the Senate not for the purpose of giving greater voice to the Territories of the Commonwealth but rather to give itself perpetual control of that place. [More…]
If one cares to look at section 122 of the Constitution one sees therein power for this Parliament to provide for Territory representation in the Parliament; so it is nonsense to say: ‘For the time being we are giving a voice to 2 Territories alone- the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory’. [More…]
In fact, this Government, by legislation within the terms of section 122 of the Australian Constitution, can give exactly the same Senate representation, or indeed more Senate representation, to each one of the Australian Territories. [More…]
They had no right even to vote in referenda which proposed changes to the Constitution. [More…]
Under section 122 of the Constitution machinery is laid down for giving all electors of the Commonwealth a vote in choosing a representative for both Houses of the Parliament. [More…]
What do people from overseas think when they go to the Alice Springs district and they are told that the people who live in this international tourist resort do not have a representative voice in the Senate and that they cannot even vote in referenda which propose changes in the Constitution. [More…]
He bitterly opposed the people of the Northern Territory being allowed to vote on proposals to alter the Constitution. [More…]
We on this side of the Parliament look with great pride to when this vote will be taken, because when the vote is taken we will see a majority of votes- as is needed under the Constitution- in this Joint Sittingto give the people of the Northern Territory the just rights for which they have been fighting since 1911. [More…]
The real purpose of this measure is to dilute the Senate, to change the Constitution and to oppose the expressed will of the people. [More…]
I say that it is unconstitutional. [More…]
The Government puts forward the proposition that its legal validity arises from section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
Unless one reads section 7 with section 122, this measure is unconstitutional. [More…]
These Bills therefore not only are called into question on constitutional grounds but also are substantially against the will of the people as expressed at 2 referenda. [More…]
Furthermore, on constitutional grounds the Senate was created on the basis of equality, originally with 6 senators for each of the States and then the number was lifted to ten. [More…]
So many members opposite are seeking to change the Constitution but not by the methods proposed by the Constitution. [More…]
Unfortunately we are stuck with a Constitution which those wise founding fathers made it almost impossible to alter. [More…]
You are not merely the borers in the framework of the Constitution. [More…]
Do not strike down the fundamental tenets of this Constitution. [More…]
We believe that the consistency of our record is well before the people and that when the Government lays before the High Court the arguments on constitutionality the High Court will be interested in reading the document as a whole. [More…]
It has not even chosen to utilise any other aspect of the Constitution in its argument except section 122. [More…]
But we also believe it ought to fall to the ground because it contrasts so much with the undying principles of the Australian Labor Party’s platform to abolish the Senate and reduce this bicameral system, which is provided for specifically by the Constitution, to simply a unicameral system. [More…]
As the honourable member well knows- he quoted Senator James McClelland on this subject- the situation is such that a straight out abolition of the Senate is almost impossible, because there is a heavy body of legal opinion which says that a Constitution alteration referendum proposing such a question would have to be carried not only by the majority of people in the majority of States but that it would have to be carried in every State. [More…]
With the great outlook of the Opposition today, these great progressives that we have heard so much about and who have all these grand ideas for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, one can just imagine them supporting something designed to alter even the crossing of a ‘t’ or the taking away of the dot from an T in the Constitution. [More…]
Because it has been made up of State senators, it is argued that people who live in the territories should not be allowed representation in the Senate, although this has been clearly envisaged in the Constitution. [More…]
But even though there were no territories at that stage, there was acknowledged in the Constitution the possibility that one day this Parliament would have to legislate for exactly that situation. [More…]
As I say, even in those days section 122 was written into the Constitution. [More…]
I state for the benefit of those people who like to quote the Convention of 1897 and the Australian Constitution which was drawn up at the turn of the century that that is not the situation today. [More…]
The Opposition says that the Government is thwarting the Constitution. [More…]
I repeat that we are putting the electoral situation back to where it was when the Constitution was first written. [More…]
Having said that by way of weary introduction, I remind the Parliament that to read the debates of 1 897 dealing particularly with section 57 of the Constitution, which enables both Houses to meet here now to consider this Bill, is to run through the roll of the greats of early Australian history- Deakin, Barton, Trenwith, Glynn, Isaacs, Symon and Forrest. [More…]
The Bill represents the most significant assault ever on the Australian Constitution. [More…]
If this Bill is carried, becomes an Act and remains a valid Act of Parliament, it will be the most significant de facto alteration ever made to the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I want to take the assumption- a rather extravagant one albeit- that this Bill, as an Act, is found to be a valid exercise of power, and I want to show to the Parliament the effect of it upon the Constitution. [More…]
When the Constitution was drawn up, when it was agreed to by the Australian people, it was agreed to only after very sustained argument and discussion, and it was no lightly arrived at decision. [More…]
There are 2 sections of the Constitution which are being manifestly disturbed by the introduction of this legislation. [More…]
The second section of the Constitution which is being disturbed is section 24. [More…]
The men who wrote the Constitution were men of reason, men of justice. [More…]
Does it not come down to this: Because the Australian Capital Territory did not exist and in fact was not even in contemplation, and because the Northern Territory had only a handful of inhabitants at the time that the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, the citizens of these 2 areas of Australia are forever to be denied equality of representation in the national Parliament. [More…]
I do not know whether members opposite have bothered to read section 122 of the Constitution, but it states: [More…]
The second significant matter is contained in the Australian Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules’. [More…]
We have heard the relevant section of the Constitution read many times, but we just do not seem to be able to get through to the Opposition so I will read it again. [More…]
There, in plain language, is the constitutional legitimacy for this measure. [More…]
Alfred Deakin, one of the greatest of the founding fathers and the one who showed a great deal of insight into the way the Constitution would work, said: [More…]
I am sure that any student of the Constitution would agree that the Constitution is not just a rigid set of words; it is a living document. [More…]
I do not care in what way you frame the Constitution. [More…]
I refer to the late Sir Robert Garran, who assured Prime Minister Curtin that not only did the Constitution allow for territorial representation in both Houses but also that the majority of the founding fathers definitely understood that this would take place as soon as there were Federal territories with appropriate population numbers. [More…]
Here again, the Constitution clearly states otherwise. [More…]
There is clearly no such obligation whatever in the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
I suggest that it is precisely the kind of development which the founders of the Constitution foresaw. [More…]
People like Deakin, Piddington and Garran, men of great vision and men with a sense of history, foresaw the need to make provision in the Constitution for this historic Joint Sitting this evening. [More…]
This is the threshold behind which we consider the strength of our Constitution. [More…]
We do not guarantee a system of law and order unless we properly understand and implement the Constitution. [More…]
But that all forgets a just interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
Defence demanded that we federate, and the prudence of the day compelled an agreement between the 6 States to federate on the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
The recital is that the people of the States agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Constitution hereby established. [More…]
The 6 original States are guaranteed equal voting power in this Senate, and no one can detract from that except by persuading the people to allow an amendment to be made to the Constitution. [More…]
It is on the State Constitution that the Senate is founded. [More…]
It is written into the Constitution that the Senate is part of the Australian Parliament, and this produces the protective system. [More…]
I disagree completely with the honourable member for Moreton that this is the most historic alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
Probably the most historic change in the Constitution was that which occurred when the High Court ruled that there could be uniform taxation. [More…]
It does not change the Constitution. [More…]
What sort of arguments have we heard today from some of the constitutional sages from the other side of the Parliament? [More…]
Senator Greenwood told us with great indignation how shocking it is that the House of Representatives should have made decisions about the constitution of the Senate when the Senate did not want to have its membership changed in this way. [More…]
The Piltdown men opposite would tell us that, because a group of politicians amongst whom the Labor Movement was almost totally unrepresented, if not totally unrepresented, almost 80 years ago decided to devise a Constitution whose purpose would be to preserve the property rights of the wealthy citizens of that day, to withstand the scourge of the Peasants’ [More…]
Revolt of which they had recently read and to allay the fear that the events of the last 500 years might catch up with them, a Constitution of that type is with us forevermore and is never to be departed from, like the Three Estates of King Louis XVI. [More…]
We believe that the Constitution of Australia has to be changed in order to move with the changes in the circumstances of our country. [More…]
Since the foundation of this Commonwealth the political Labor movement has developed, giving representation to people who were not represented when the Constitution which we now have inflicted upon us was first presented to an unsuspecting group of colonials. [More…]
There are to be senators whose casual vacancies are replaced by a formula set out in the Constitution. [More…]
It must know that there are grave doubts as to the constitutionality of these Territorial representatives. [More…]
It must know that the earlier sections of the Constitution appear to be in conflict with section 122. [More…]
On the contrary I believe that the right course for this Government and this Parliament to follow is to take this matter to the Constitutional Conventions between the Commonwealth, the States and local government, to invite Territorial representatives to those conventions, and to have protracted discussion on the future nature and structure of the Territories, their movement into full statehood and their representation in this Parliament. [More…]
The Senate itself is performing its constitutional function. [More…]
Whether the members of the Labor Party like it or not, the Senate itself is inherently inside the Commonwealth Constitution a States House. [More…]
I urge that these measures be put aside, that they be taken to the Constitutional Convention, that second thoughts be given to them so that we can move these Territories into full Statehood and real and proper recognition. [More…]
But I am afraid that I can never quite get over the worship that the honourable member and so many others opposite have for the Constitution. [More…]
There is a very great danger in this Parliament and in this country in our becoming worshippers of the Constitution. [More…]
If one reads of Jefferson, Franklin or any of the other great founding fathers, one sees that they warned against the very thing that we in this country are doing today, namely, believing that at the time the Constitution was framed some great wisdom was handed down from the mount to those who framed it. [More…]
I believe that if we had to draw up a constitution tomorrow there would be the wit, the wisdom and the intelligence in politicians on both sides of the parliament to draw up a better constitution than those people did 80 years ago. [More…]
I ridicule the attitude that the Constitution is sacrosanct and must not be touched for all time. [More…]
I could be marginally out in these figures, but I believe that at the 2 Constitutional Conventions the Labor movement had one representative out of 135. [More…]
Those people who drew up the Constitution were, primarily, men of property, merchants, farmers and men of influence in our community. [More…]
The result is a constitution which is ultra-conservative and ultra-cautious. [More…]
One of the great shames of our history is that at the time of the drawing up of the Constitution the Labor movement was not fully represented, as it should have been. [More…]
No less an authority than my friend and colleague, the honourable member for Moreton, with his usual felicitous turn of phrase, in most moderate and temperate terms described this legislation as an assault on the Australian Constitution and our federal system. [More…]
It would not just provide territorial representation in the Senate, as envisaged by section 122 of the Constitution; it would also provide territorial senators who would have full voting powers in the Senate. [More…]
It would substantially affect that part of the Constitution referring to the establishment and working of the Senate. [More…]
Therefore this legislation is nothing short of an attempt to subvert the Constitution. [More…]
I am not one of those who says that the Constitution should never be changed. [More…]
The Constitution stands quite apart from any other law or Act of Parliament, being a compact, as has been said in this debate before, between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
This would be a complete negation of our Constitution because we must not forget that if Territorial Senate representatives can be created by this legislation there will be nothing to stop the Government increasing the number in either the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory, or the number of Senate representatives from other Territories as well if the Government believes that by so doing it could gain control of the Senate. [More…]
We are told that section 24 of the Constitution is not to apply to them yet they are to attract to themselves power equal to those of the true Senate representatives of the States. [More…]
It seems strange, putting it in the lowest possible key, to claim that these people would be full senators for the purposes of some sections of the Constitution- for example, section 22 and 23 relating to votes and quorums in the Senate- but not in others, for example, section 24 relating to the nexus between the number of senators and the number of members in the House of Representatives. [More…]
But we state very firmly that this Parliament has a wider responsibility- to uphold the Australian Constitution and to preserve the checks and balances of our Federal system and our bi-cameral form of government. [More…]
As I have described, it contravenes in important respects the basic principles embodied in the Constitution and the form and working of the Parliament. [More…]
-Mr Chairman, section 57 of the Constitution provides that where the requirements for a joint sitting have been satisfied the sitting shall vote but may deliberate; that is, it need not necessarily deliberate on the proposed laws put before it. [More…]
Both sides of the Parliament had to put forward to the Australian people the sort of amendment to our Constitution which enabled the provision of maternity allowances, widows’ pensions, child endowment, unemployment benefits and pharmaceutical, sickness and medical benefits. [More…]
He had that clause inserted in a proposed amendment to the Constitution and enabled the Australian people to accept it. [More…]
So Mr Menzies introduced into an amendment to the Constitution the words: ‘But so as not to introduce any form of civil conscription’. [More…]
That amendment to the Constitution was passed and on that basis we constructed the present medical scheme assisted by government with a voluntary use of medical funds by the Australian people. [More…]
When the amendment to the Constitution was passed, the High Court of Australia held that the requirement by the then Labor Government with regard to pharmaceutical benefits was an infringement of the provision of the Constitution relating to civil conscription. [More…]
If that were upheld by the High Court as an infringement of the Constitution with regard to civil conscription, can members imagine what the High Court of Australia may say not so long ahead with regard to sessional doctors who, under the Hayden health scheme, will be required to deal with government in the way in which this form-filling-in government always requires? [More…]
We in this Government realise that the Constitution prevents civil conscription, and we agree with that. [More…]
It is because we believe that an affluent society like ours can afford to provide adequate medical care for its citizensthe Constitution confirms our right to do so- that we believe it is our duty to provide this care. [More…]
Nothing that this Government does can be considered other than in a context of power and its propensity to stretch the Constitution to its very limit. [More…]
When one remembers what was attempted last December, what was attempted in May and what was carried out yesterday, one can see that the Prime Minister and the honourable member for Oxley intend to make themselves the gravediggers of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The commonsense of the Australian people was manifest when the Constitution was first -adopted, because in the matter of health only one power was conferred on the Commonwealth Government- the power of quarantine. [More…]
When, after the Second World War, the social service amendments were made to the Constitution, further powers in respect of health, hospitals, medical benefits, etc., were conferred upon the Commonwealth Government, but not so as to authorise any form of civil conscription. [More…]
In my opinion neither section 57 of the Constitution nor the Proclamation authorises the consideration of any other matters by the Joint Sitting. [More…]
It has been suggested that property can be seized without compensation, that the interests of the States of Australia have been completely ignored, and that genuine assistance is not available to the smaller companies, despite the specific provisions of the Bill supplemented by the Lands Acquisition Act and the Australian Constitution. [More…]
But before going into the substance of the legislation I say that when this Bill last came before the House of Representatives I said that there were grounds for grave doubt as to whether the passage of the Bill through the 2 Houses of Parliament conformed to section 57 of the Constitution to enable it to be a double dissolution issue. [More…]
Under the export power of the Constitution, the Commonwealth already has complete and absolute power to control and regulate policy. [More…]
As we all know by now, under section 57 of the Constitution 3 months must elapse after the Senate’s first rejection or failure to pass a Bill before it can be commenced again in the House of Representatives. [More…]
If 3 days can be 3 months, then under this Government the Constitution under which we operate is really in jeopardy. [More…]
The Authority is not subject to State law because its powers flow from the Constitution and it would be a denial of the Constitution to make the exercise of its powers subject to a State. [More…]
But I suggest that in order to have this proper measure of control there is ample legislative power within the present construction of our Constitution, and through taxation and other means. [More…]
The Queensland Government must be involved constitutionally in any change to that border. [More…]
The Constitution states that if borders of States are to be changed the governments of those States or the people of those States have to give agreement. [More…]
If the border is to be changed they must be involved therefore under the Constitution. [More…]
Let me refer to section 44 of the Constitution, which is what should be looked at. [More…]
That is laid down in the Constitution brought down by our forefathers. [More…]
I would venture to say that today’s protest outside Parliament House in Western Australia would be impossible under the terms of the Bill which suspends our proud West Australian heritage, our democratic constitution in that State. [More…]
The Australian Constitution would not allow funds to be provided for such repression. [More…]
All this money is being made available by way of grant under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
2) 1973 and twice in the House and twice in the Senate in debates on the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) Bill1974. [More…]
The honourable member can ascertain my views from my speeches on 8 November 1973,5 March 1974 and 6 August 1974 (Hansard, pp3055-3056, pp44-45 and pp4-6 respectively) and from the many speeches I have made over the years in an effort to have the Menzies, Holt, Gorton and McMahon governments carry out the unanimous recommendation of the all party Joint Committee on Constitutional Review (1956-59), of which I was a member. [More…]
I am confident that, with this sort of joint approach, we can create an outstanding building which truly reflects the aspirations of our people, our parliament and our Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members need no reminder that under section 44 of the Constitution any person who holds any office of profit under the Crown is incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a member of the House of Representatives or of the Senate. [More…]
It was fitting that when the constitution of the Legislative Council was provided for in the Northern Territory (Administration) Act a similar principle should be adopted. [More…]
The Bill is a clear illustration of the use of probably the most emancipated power in the Australian Constitution, and that is the grants power under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
It may not be precisely what we would devise if we were writing the Constitution today, but it will not disappear no matter how hard the current government tries to make it disappear. [More…]
This is not to say that all aspects of the Constitution written in the 1890s are to be revered and regarded as immutable in the 1970s, but it is to say that changes must be wrought by consensus. [More…]
To the extent that the decisions of the Australian Industrial Court conflict with the decisions of the State industrial tribunals or to the extent that they conflict with, for example, decisions of the Supreme Court of Queensland, which takes a different view, the view of the Australian Industrial Court would by virtue of the Constitution of the Commonwealth always prevail. [More…]
Despite differences in the constitution rule of the Federal and the corresponding State body, members of one who are not eligible to be members of the other are often treated as members of both and often vote in elections of the body to which they are not entitled to belong. [More…]
The grants are, of course, made under the provisions of section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Prior to the establishment of the Grants Commission in 1933- in fact, since 1912- Tasmania received special grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Members of the Opposition have totally failed to understand what was happening in the business world and the necessity for the Government to take the steps it took when one takes into account the lack of powers that the Government has available to it through the obstruction of the Senate and the restrictions placed on it by the Constitution. [More…]
It is pointed out for the information of the right honourable member that under Section 1 14 of the Australian Constitution the Australian Government is exempt from any form of municipal rating charges. [More…]
From the opinions that have been given I should think that there will be very great doubts about whether that provision is constitutional. [More…]
The Chief Justice is on record as having said that it may be granted that a dispute solely between 2 registered organisations of employees, each of which is able by its own constitution to have members who follow the same trade or calling, as to which of them should be entitled to represent and protect the industrial interests of persons following that trade or calling, would not be an industrial dispute within the statutory definition. [More…]
That probably indicates only that there are going to be almost certainly constitutional challenges to this provision if it becomes law, which is all the more reason perhaps for having some agreement between the parties that the proposed law is in the best interests of all the parties concerned. [More…]
Here we come to section 142 A, which I mentioned was also likely to be outside the Constitution, giving the Commission power to demark. [More…]
There is some doubt about the constitutional validity of the Bill. [More…]
Although Mr Justice Sweeney is satisfied that his recommendations do not offend the Constitution, we would all feel on safer ground if the 4 States agreed that this was so. [More…]
I believe that if the Queensland State AWU is in fact a living State organisation now with its properly elected officers and with its membership in accordance with its registered constitution and eligibility rule, then it follows that Bowman Building and Dunstan House and all of the property in Queensland held in the name of the AWU in that State is the property of the State union, not the property of the federal union. [More…]
Despite differences in the constitution rule of the federal and the corresponding State body, members of one who are not eligible to be members of the other are often treated as members of both and often vote in elections of the body to which they are not entitled to belong. [More…]
There was no longer an employer-employee relationship which the Australian Constitution apparently holds sacrosanct. [More…]
The demarcation function is a device or a mechanism designed to allow a Federal union with a wider constitution or conditions of eligibility in particular States, to continue to incorporate those members within that State or States for State purposes and yet allow another organisation or an employer or the Minister to apply to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to restrict the right in the Federal sphere. [More…]
Of course the honourable member for Wannon raised the old question about the constitutional power. [More…]
The honourable member is relying on some very old cases to say that a dispute between 2 organisations cannot be an industrial dispute within the meaning of the Constitution. [More…]
I fail to see that it could be held by the High Court that it is not an industrial dispute within the meaning of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and the Australian Constitution when 2 unions are seeking to represent the interests of employees and bargain with an employer and there is a stoppage of work and there are counter-demands as between 2 organisations and an employer. [More…]
It is because under the federal system the Constitution recognises that there ought to be 2 systems of industrial law in Australia that we can have at the one time a Federal legal entity and a State legal entity. [More…]
It would be a weakness, no doubt, to those who are persuaded to the view that industrial regulation in Australia should be solely the province of the Commonwealth and without any restrictions of interstate disputes such as are inbuilt into the Constitution at present. [More…]
That, very broadly, was the attitude of the founding fathers under the Constitution. [More…]
So the authority for such a system was included in the Constitution. [More…]
It is often forgotten that the Constitution could have simply given to the Commonwealth the power to make laws to deal with industrial disputes when they were national in character, leaving it to the Parliament of the day, as time moved on, to decide whether a system of compulsory arbitration was the best method of settling industrial disputes, whether a system of collective bargaining was the best method, or whether some other system of industrial regulation would bring the required measure of industrial peace. [More…]
But the writers of the Constitution thought that in a system of compulsory arbitration they had the answer. [More…]
So we have this strange provision of the Constitutionthat is, strange by contrast with the other provisions of the Constitution which grant a general power to the Commonwealth- which actually limits the way in which the Parliament of the Commonwealth can legislate to make laws for a system of preventing and settling industrial disputes. [More…]
If it is not settled that union will be fragmented and nothing that its Federal council or convention can do will ever stick; nothing that it can decide by way of Federal convention or executive council will have any validity because those bodies are improperly constituted and will remain improperly constituted until their present constitution and rules are validated by this legislation. [More…]
Before his appointment to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1958 he had had an extensive appellate practice before the High Court of Australia and the Privy Council, representing the Australian Government and various State governments in many important constitutional cases, including the uniform tax case in 1957. [More…]
He was formerly a lecturer in Australian constitutional law at the University of Sydney. [More…]
Mr Justice Else-Mitchell is the author and editor of many legal works, including a volume of essays on the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Constitution I could not move such an amendment to the Bill. [More…]
I cannot move an amendment to that Bill, because of the provisions of the Constitution, but you can. [More…]
But it would seem there is also a possible constitutional barrier in the way of introducing negative income tax. [More…]
There are limits as to which categories of people in need we can provide benefits for under the Constitution. [More…]
Accordingly, the advice I have is that there may be a very big and a very real barrier: There may be a constitutional barrier. [More…]
For example, we recognise, as I think many honourable members opposite recognise, that the Constitution needed to be changed. [More…]
But it is very difficult to reform the Constitution. [More…]
It confused the people and put fear into them even though basically it believes, as we all know it believes, that the Constitution is greatly in need of reform. [More…]
It would, of course, have to be paid to the States pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution for payment out to the nominated local governing bodies. [More…]
It sought through a special Premier’s Conference a voice and a vote for local government on the Australian Loan Council and it proceeded with a referendum to enable the Constitution to be amended to empower the national Parliament to borrow on behalf of local government and grant financial assistance to local government directly. [More…]
Having said that by way of preliminary comment, the next observation I would like to make is this: If this Bill is within power, that is to say, if it is within the power of the Australian Constitution, we may as well tear up the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It is perfectly true that a government is entitled to go right to the perimeter of constitutional power with respect to its legislation, and I do not quarrel with that. [More…]
I merely sound the warning that if this Bill is within power then the Australian Constitution has taken on a form which I venture to say was never intended by the founders of the Constitution or by those who have directed their minds to a consideration of it over the years. [More…]
Section 44 of the Constitution states, among other things: [More…]
That meeting elected 24 members of a general committee and formally adopted a constitution. [More…]
The constitution of the Southern Tasmanian Interim Regional Council for Social Development does not allow for specific representation from organisations. [More…]
-Has the attention of the Minister representing the Attorney-General been drawn to a statement in the Victorian Parliament by the Victorian Attorney-General that the Australian Government had refused even to recognise the relevance of the Constitution where it conflicted with its own policies? [More…]
Because the Victorian Attorney-General has claimed that the activities of the Australian Government contravened the law, will the Minister tell this House in what areas the Australian Government’s initiatives are contrary to the Constitution and whether he expects a High Court challenge by the Victorian Government to Australian Government policies relating to education, health, welfare, legal aid and/or financial assistance for municipalities? [More…]
The remarks, as I understand, were to the effect of seeking to have the Constitution interpreted as if it was a social compact between people, now dead, who lived in the nineteenth century. [More…]
The simple and short answer to the honourable member’s question is that there have been no breaches of the Constitution as the Victorian Attorney-General alleges. [More…]
What should be appreciated by all honourable members, and will be appreciated by lawyers on the opposite side as well as on the Government side, is that the Constitution is a living thing. [More…]
We should never forget also, I would suggest, that behind the written form of the Constitution lies a kind of power relationship that existed in the nineteenth century but which changes. [More…]
To a certain extent it has always given specific grants to local government under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
1 ) Chapter 2 1 of the Australian Labor Party Platform Constitution and Rules as approved by the 29th Conference at Launceston 1971 stated: ‘Labor will establish a Pacific Islands Division within the Department of Foreign Affairs to second and support skilled personnel requested by Papua New Guinea and other Islands of the Pacific for their civil and armed forces. ‘ [More…]
The Government is looking at whether this scheme is capable, within the Constitution, of extension to the States. [More…]
The honourable member for Moreton and I have served together on a committee of the Constitution Convention. [More…]
He may recall that a very long debate took place in that committee in relation to the final paragraph of section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
It then goes on to say: ‘or in any manner affecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation thereto’. [More…]
In regard to health care aspects, the honourable member will be well aware that the Australian Government has powers under Section 5 1 of the Constitution to make laws for the provision of certain benefits, allowances and services, including sickness benefits, hospital benefits and medical services. [More…]
The attention of all Ministers has been drawn to the requirements and conventions operating in this area and, in particular, section 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
Of all the members of the House and of all the members of the Senate not in government the honourable gentleman is one who would be only too well aware that in the course of this year the Papua New Guinea House of Assembly has been occupied- some may say preoccupied- with the report of the Constitutional Planning Committee which was set up by the honourable member. [More…]
That Committee is now reporting on a home grown constitution. [More…]
My action- I am sure that outside this debate the honourable member for Kooyong would agree with it- has been to resist making any statement that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as intervention of interference in the very proper role of the House of Assembly in establishing, developing and enacting its own constitution. [More…]
One of the worst features of this Government’s behaviour- and to this extent I say that the Minister is also slightly guilty- has been its treatment of the States and the way in which it has managed to circumvent the Australian Constitution and thereby impose its socialist and centralist ideology upon the Australian people. [More…]
The Government has made no statement about its constitutional authority to purchase the land at Glebe. [More…]
Nor has there been an official pronouncement about the proposed acquisition of the Leyland land for the simple reason, I suspect, that the Commonwealth Government has no constitutional power to purchase either of those pieces of land. [More…]
We believe that the Australian Government is taking these actions without the constitutional authority to do so. [More…]
We believe that the Government has no mandate to circumvent the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The failure of recent referenda makes the Australian people’s view quite clear in relation to attempts to upset the Constitution. [More…]
The Federal Constitution laid down the framework for a division of responsibilities and financial resources between the Federal and State governments. [More…]
The Constitution laid down quite definitely and without equivocation the Commonwealth responsibilities such as defence, foreign affairs, trade, customs and excise, etc, and State responsibilities which are those not specifically given to the Federal Government in 1901. [More…]
It is wrong for a Minister, sworn to serve the Crown in accordance with the Constitution, to have such a motion hanging over his head. [More…]
Municipalities are by their constitution and role, parochial in their outlook. [More…]
Returning to the matter which is allegedly under discussion, under section 51(xxxi) of the Constitution the Commonwealth has the power to acquire property on just terms for any Commonwealth purpose. [More…]
It is contrary to the intention of the Constitution to legislate to deprive people of those just terms which are mentioned in the Constitution and to which I have referred. [More…]
The point I want to make to the honourable member for the Northern Territory (Mr Calder), the honourable member for Boothby (Mr McLeay) and the honourable member for Gwydir (Mr Hunt) is that under section 5 1 of the Constitution this clause relating to ‘just terms’ was inserted specifically to protect the rights of the States in relation to land acquired. [More…]
The meaning of the words ‘just terms’ as they apply under the Constitution is quite different from the way in which they apply under the relevant Act to land acquired within the States. [More…]
I was under the impression that under the Constitution his seat had been vacated. [More…]
In a few words the proposed new section 39 makes it perfectly clear that there is immense power which the Commonwealth has under the Constitution, which is granted and delineated clearly in terms of the Banking Act and able to be administered by the Reserve Bank in relation to overseas countries, foreign investment, the purposes to which investment may be directed and the circumstances in which it would be allowed. [More…]
If I understood him correctly he pointed out that although these were powers which were held under the Constitution since the Constitution was formulated, in articulating them in this way in these Bills we were drawing attention not only to the powers but also, if I interpreted him correctly, to the great dangers in these powers. [More…]
The interim committee met and adopted a constitution in accord with the regulations of the Hospitals and Charities Commission. [More…]
If the honourable member wants to know what is needed to make it possible, let me say that we will need to alter the Constitution in such a way as to give the people the right by plebiscite to decide which industries are to be brought under public control or ownership. [More…]
If the people were prepared to alter the Constitution in that way so that as each industry became a burden upon society at large we could then submit the proposition to the people by way of a referendum, I believe that would be the ideal situation. [More…]
Constitution to ascertain whether there is any bar to any State government passing legislation to perpetuate itself in office without any form of election taking place? [More…]
I believe there is no limitation in any of the State constitutions concerning the principles upon which electorates in their parliaments are to be distributed. [More…]
What is being done now by the Liberal Government in Victoria may be unconscionable or even monstrous, but it is perfectly constitutional. [More…]
Nor in fact is there any limitation in the Federal Constitution on methods of distributing the electorates in the House of Representatives. [More…]
The referendum would have written into the Australian Constitution in respect of the Federal Parliament and the State parliaments the provisions which the United States Supreme Court, in interpretating the United States Constitution, has applied to the Federal Congress and all the State Legislatures. [More…]
I regret to inform the honourable gentlemen that the State parliaments, except that of New South Wales, can extend their lives for as long as they like and that there is no constitutional limitation on their capacity to malapportion or gerrymander the electorates constituting each State Parliament. [More…]
I should like to quote to the House- especially as the great man is herefrom a book written by the Prime Minister called ‘Labor and the Constitution’, in which he referred to the Constitution and the role of State members. [More…]
Under our constitution, local government is a creature of the States; rather, it is a captive of the States. [More…]
This policy has been published in the Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules which I commend to the honourable member’s attention. [More…]
It is time we nailed the vicious untruths the Prime Minister has been uttering about Queensland’s non-co-operation and allowed the Prime Minister to be exposed for what he is- a wrecker of the States; a destroyer of the Constitution; and an aspirer to the status of president of a republic which he is endeavouring to fashion and mould by the harnessing of public opinion and dictation to Cabinet and Caucus. [More…]
Now that it is being taken out any small factory operators who can see the advantage of exploiting section 92 of the Constitution by selling across State borders where there can be no control will do so. [More…]
It is of further interest to recall that when the Australian Constitution was passing through the British Parliament and the external affairs power was under discussion in the House of Lords, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl of Selborne, said: ‘I want to assure my noble lords that the existence of this provision’- that is the external affairs provision- ‘does not indicate that Australia will ever have a paraphernalia of ambassadors and consuls separate from the British Empire.’ [More…]
He could have fooled me- that could be interpreted or misinterpreted or as intervention or interference in the very proper role of the House of Assembly in establishing, developing and enacting its own constitution. [More…]
In that period of time we have not had a move on the Papua-Queensland border because the Prime Minister spoke without knowledge or, if he spoke with knowledge deliberately warping it and ignoring the provisions of the Constitution which did not permit him to act unilaterallyeither he or his Government- to move the border between Papua and Queensland. [More…]
But nothing has been done because the Prime Minister ignored the constitutional fact and the legal aspect that the Government of Queensland must be consulted as any State must be consulted if its border is to be changed. [More…]
A provision in the Constitution provides that the surplus revenues of the Commonwealth must be distributed among the States and it has been the practice of successive governments to make sure that there is no surplus in the Consolidated Revenue Fund. [More…]
I would have imagined that that is the democratic process in line with the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I would like to refer to something that Senator Steele Hall said at the Joint Sitting, when this program was again endorsed in line with the provisions of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The fifth area of concern is clause 19, where it is clear that the Minister believes that his head of power under the external affairs provisions of the Constitution, as a result of having signed international agreements, is such that he has the power over all wildlife in Australia. [More…]
I, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Queen of Australia her heirs and successors according to law and that I will loyally as in duty bound uphold the Constitution and the laws of Australia. [More…]
I, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Queen of Australia her heirs and successors according to law and that I will loyally as in duty bound uphold the Constitution and laws of Australia. [More…]
The actual conclusion of such an agreement with an independent Papua New Guinea is, of course, under the Constitution, a matter for the Australian Government and the independent Government of Papua New Guinea. [More…]
In particular, the deliberate use of the threat of refusing supply to a political party which, having gained a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives in a general election, has the right to form a Government under the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Furthermore, such a party has the right under the Constitution to govern for 3 years. [More…]
The people elect a government for a specified period of years and that government is entitled to plan according to the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Under the Constitution the terms of service of present senators are taken to begin on 1 July preceding the day of their election, the places of half of them will become vacant at the expiration of 3 years from the beginning of their term and the election to fill their places shall be made within one year before the places are to become vacant. [More…]
Under the Constitution, however, the House of Representatives shall continue for 3 years from the first meeting of the House, that is, the next election for this House need not take place until July 1977. [More…]
This Bill proposes to alter the Constitution to ensure that Senate elections are always held at the same time as elections for the House of Representatives. [More…]
A similar Bill was introduced by the Government in November 1973 and, after it had twice failed to pass in the Senate, was submitted to referendum on 18 May 1974 in accordance with the second paragraph of section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
The constitutional amendment now proposed will give senators a term of service equal to 2 terms of the House of Representatives. [More…]
This transitional provision would thus give the senators concerned terms of service that are generally in line with those envisaged by the Constitution in section 13. [More…]
The intention of the men who drafted our Constitution and the expectation of those who voted for it was that every 3 years there should be an election for the House of Representatives and half the Senate. [More…]
There is only one way in which simultaneous elections of the Senate and the House of Representatives can be assured at all times and that is by the constitutional amendment that is proposed in this Bill. [More…]
-Mr Deputy Speaker, in 1900 John Quick and Robert Garran- later Sir John Quick and Sir Robert Garran- who were the first, and who are among the most distinguished, commentators on the Constitution, described the High Court of Australia as ‘The crown and apex, not only of the judicial system of the Commonwealth, but of the judicial systems of the States as well. ‘ [More…]
It is true that, for reasons peculiar to the circumstances of the time, the Constitution did not initially and automatically close off the avenue of appeals from Australian Courts, including the High Court, to Her Majesty in Council. [More…]
But the Constitution gave the plainest of indications that the High Court was expected to become the final court of appeal from all Australian courts in all Australian matters. [More…]
The Constitution itself began the process. [More…]
Now, almost 75 years from the enactment of the Constitution, Parliament is being asked to take the 2 remaining steps needed to make the High Court of Australia the final court of appeal for Australia in Australian matters. [More…]
From the beginning- that is to say, by force of the Constitution itself- the High Court was given jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from the Supreme Courts of the States. [More…]
The High Court was not confined, as is the Supreme Court of the United States of America, to federal or constitutional cases. [More…]
Nine Bills are necessary because the sales tax is imposed by nine separate Acts to meet the requirement of section 55 of the Constitution that laws imposing taxation shall deal with one subject of taxation only. [More…]
I turn to Part III of the Bill, which deals with the constitution and meetings of the Commission. [More…]
Before discussing the constitution of the Commission, I would like to draw the attention of honourable members to the fact that throughout Australia in the past week, there have been meetings of Darwin citizens, where the following resolution has been carried: [More…]
We are not happy with the constitution of the Commission. [More…]
Part IV of the Bill deals with the formation and constitution of a Federal court to be known as the Family Court of Australia. [More…]
Whilst it is realised that this is Federal jurisdiction under the Constitution, there are some areas that have to be safeguarded. [More…]
Successive non-Labor Prime Ministers have loaded the court with jurists who, they knew, would interpret the Constitution in a manner favourable to the propertied and privileged classes of Australia. [More…]
Senator Gair was appointed to his position in accordance with the custom that had grown up and also in accordance with the Constitution. [More…]
It depends upon their conviction, in 2-Party democracies such as our own, that when a Party wins an election and comes to office it will be allowed to put its policies into effect and that it will enjoy the protection not only of the letter of the Constitution but also of the great body of convention and tradition which has been accumulated in the parliaments of the English speaking world. [More…]
In addition, so far as it can within its resources, the Corporation will make housing loans available to families, using the family allowance provisions in the Austraiian Constitution, and it will also make loans to those other specific categories of home-seekers for whom the Australian Government has a constitutional responsibility. [More…]
The Australian Constitution expressly and specifically prohibits the acceptance of fees and honoraria by members of this House or senators for actions on behalf of constituents, persons or estates. [More…]
Yet, under the electoral law, in spite of that provision, we find it is possible for such persons to make a contribution to party funds or campaign funds and thereby frustrate the clear wish of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It defies credibility that such a prohibition in the Constitution could have envisaged a system where socalled campaign donations could be used to reward members for services rendered, and reward them in secrecy and stealth. [More…]
In the United States of America, whose Constitution enshrines the domocratic rights of the individual to an extent which is almost beyond belief in a modern society and which is the cause of some problems in that country, the rights of the individual are totally protected and there is no question that the Supreme Court of the United States would upset any attempt to take away from any individual his rights of secret ballot and his rights to participate properly in an election. [More…]
But apparently this provision is upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States and does not contravene the Bill of Rights section of that country’s Constitution. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) during the course of his prime ministership has sought to establish a reputation in the country as a constitutional reformer. [More…]
I do not seek to adjudicate on whether or not that record has been well founded but I would say that I do share with him an anxiety to see proper constitutional reform. [More…]
Indeed, some 18 months ago there were gathered in the city of Sydney representatives from every Parliament in Australia at a Constitutional Convention, when people sought to consider what were the deficiencies within the Australian Constitution having regard to the times in which we live. [More…]
To my astonishment the Prime Minister persisted and put to the Australian people 4 referendums in areas into which the various constitutional subcommittees were already locking. [More…]
Of the 4 referendums put to the people contemparaneous with the general election was one referendum described as one to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections. [More…]
Having said that, let me say that I would express the view that the Prime Minister’s anxiety to go about constitutional reform and the manner in which he has sought to prosecute what I regard as being strongly held convictions have been in the ultimate resulted in setting back genuine constitutional reform in this country by 20 to 25 years. [More…]
There is a very real measure of concern in Australia today- not always articulatedregarding what is the future of the Com.momwealth Constitution. [More…]
May I invite my friend the Attorney-General (Mr Enderby) to agree with me that we have our priorities with respect to constitutional reform dead wrong? [More…]
At the same time we have in our Constitution a complete gap relating, for example, to the control of nuclear power in Australia. [More…]
The proposal was one described by the authors of the Bill as Constitutional Alteration (Simultaneous Elections). [More…]
The majority of people reading the proposal upon which they were asked to vote would look at it and say: ‘ Well, there is very considerable merit in this, having both of the Houses of Parliament elected at the same time’, little realising, of course, that the proposal to be put into the Constitution related to almost a hideously confused set of provisions. [More…]
I have no doubt that many of the provisions, if enacted into law- law in the sense that they became part of the Australian Constitution- would lead to very, very considerable litigation and confusion. [More…]
But to fail to acknowledge that the Senate has a character quite different from this is to ignore one of the facts of constitutional life. [More…]
The Senate is not controlled by this House, and this House should not be controlled by the Senate, save for and except in accordance with section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
No other section of the Constitution attracted as much attention during the convention debates of the 1890s as did section 57. [More…]
-This is a minor proposal to amend the Constitution. [More…]
There are far more substantial propositions which could be put with some validity to amend the Constitution. [More…]
The only alteration proposed to be made by this Bill as regards casual vacancies is to bring the terms of the section of the Constitution relating to persons appointed to fill casual vacancies into line with the terms of office of senators who would be elected under the other provisions of the Constitution proposed to be altered by this Bill. [More…]
It is difficult to understand why the Opposition feels that it has some political benefit to gain by the maintenance of a situation not envisaged by the Constitution but which occurs periodically because of electoral accidents in which elections for each House take place at different times, as has been the case since 1963 with the exception of a double dissolution which did not bring the Houses back into line. [More…]
We are talking about an amendment to the Constitution which will ensure that each time there is an election for the House of Representatives half the members of the Senate will retire. [More…]
The original drafting of the Constitution envisages that the terms of senators will be twice that of a member of the House of Representatives. [More…]
The Victorian Parliament, controlled by members of the Liberal Party, has since 196 1 consistently passed special legislation in order to circumvent the Constitution of that State, which requires that the Upper House should be elected at a different time to the lower House, in order that conjoint elections can take place. [More…]
The Bill proposes a simple alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
I do not believe that the power, the effectiveness or the activities of the Senate will be in any way altered by the proposed amendment to the Constitution. [More…]
The independence of the Senate is guaranteed by the Constitution. [More…]
The Prime Minister stands condemned as a destroyer of the Constitution and as a person who wants to shelter under its umbrella when it suits him. [More…]
Never before have we seen so many attempts to rewrite the Constitution. [More…]
The intention of the men who drafted our Constitution and the expectation of those who voted for it was that every 3 years there should be an election of the House of Representatives and half the Senate. [More…]
On one occasion he is running around condemning the Constitution and on the next occasion, to support his rather spurious argument, he is quoting what the framers of the Constitution said way back in the 1890s and early 1900s. [More…]
The Constitution to him is a matter of convenience to be used or not to be used as he sees fit. [More…]
We had the formation of the Australian nation with the implementation of a Constitution in the early years of this century. [More…]
In fact, it could be said, and I think quite rightly, that their rights are strengthened because on the one day the people of this country will come out and do what the Constitution envisages they will do. [More…]
They will elect a parliament, and our Constitution states that Australia shall have a Parliament which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. [More…]
I do not think that those people who drafted our Constitution, those people who debated it in the various State Parliaments, those people who eventually voted on it, ever envisaged that there would be an election to elect half the parliament. [More…]
The words ‘three years’ and ‘six years’ are certainly used in the Constitution to describe the Senate. [More…]
-Because it was envisaged, and this is stated in another part of the Constitution, that the House of Representatives should stand for 3 years. [More…]
All that is being proposed by the Bill is that the Constitution should be altered and instead of stating that a senator should enjoy 3 years or 6 years in this Parliament it should provide that he should enjoy as long in this Parliament in time as 2 terms of the House of Representatives. [More…]
Even my eloquent and learned friend, the honourable member for Moreton (Mr Killen), whom I usually listen to with great interest when he speaks on matters of law, and I hope I learn something from him, on this occasion disillusioned me, because even he, with his eloquence and with his knowledge of the Constitution and of constitutional law, could not show me a good reason why elections ought to be held on separate days, why one half of the Parliament ought to be treated differently from the other half. [More…]
I do not think that the Constitution gives the Senate the right to govern the country; yet that is what is being done at the moment by the obstructionists who sit there. [More…]
-At first blush the proposition contained in this Bill to amend the Constitution by way of a referendum is a thoroughly acceptable one. [More…]
He failed to say in his second reading speech that the proposal failed dismally to obtain the majority of votes in the States as required by the Constitution. [More…]
What it proposes to do is to destroy the fixed term of tenure of membership of the Senate now given by the Constitution and to put in its place a variable term that is dependent upon the whim of the Government of the day as to when the House of Representatives will be dissolved, because by this Bill the term of a senator shall be equal to 2 terms of the House of Representatives and by the Constitution, which will not be altered in this respect by this Bill, the House of Representatives may be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General within 3 years of the election most recently past. [More…]
If the Government were to put forward a proposal by which it would give to members of the House of Representatives a fixed term of office and then double that period so as to render the term of office of senators also fixed there might be some merit in that proposition because that is the situation arising under the United States Constitution whereby members of the House of Representatives have a fixed term of office of 2 years and members of the Senate have a term of office of 4 years. [More…]
That renders a fundamental alteration in constitutional terms of the system of government upon which our Constitution is based because our Constitution is based on the convention of the Westminster system whereby the House of Representatives may be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General, as the delegate of the Queen, upon the advice of the government of the day. [More…]
That constitutional convention is written into our Constitution by the operation of sections 5 and 28 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 28 of the Constitution states: [More…]
The honourable gentleman, with the greatest respect to him, simply has not read the Constitution because as section 28, which I have just read to the House, points out the House may be dissolved within 3 years. [More…]
So the effect of acceptance of the proposal to amend the Constitution to bring about simultaneous elections will be to maintain the provision that the House of Representatives can be dissolved at any time by the Governor-General and, when that dissolution occurs, automatically the Senate shall be dissolved. [More…]
That would bring about a fundamental change in the constitutional framework of this country. [More…]
If that be so, why does the Government- the Prime Minister in particular because he is the one who seems to be so anxious to bring forward these matters of constitutional reform- not at the same time seek to amend section 57 of the Constitution, which contains the double dissolution provisions? [More…]
Those provisions relating to a double dissolution have been included in the Constitution to break a deadlock, to resolve a disagreement between the 2 Houses. [More…]
Under the present Constitution, that is the only way in which the Govern.mernt can compel an election or, more particularly, a dissolution of both the Senate and the House of Representatives at the same time. [More…]
If this proposal to amend the Constitution is passed, there would never be a need for the double dissolution provisions to operate, because if the Government had one of its pieces of legislation, upon which it regarded its authority as a Government depended, rejected by the Senate, it could immediately go to the Governor-General and advise him to dissolve the House of Representatives. [More…]
I would not have thought that any parliament would want a Constitution which becomes something of a patchwork quilt of constitutional provisions, and this is what would happen if a proposal such as this altering just one part of the Constitution was not followed by complementary and necessary alterations to other parts of the Constitution. [More…]
I think it can be fairly said- this has been recognised by constitutional lawyers, politicians, and commentators on government- that the Australian Constitution is an extremely well written document. [More…]
There is expressed explicitly in the Constitution a balance of power between each institution of government- the Parliament, with its 2 parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives; the executive government drawn, in the Westminister tradition, from that parliament; and the judicature, separate from parliament and the executive. [More…]
Looking at the matter in practical terms, as has already been pointed out in this debate, there is a ready means by which this Government can bring about simultaneous elections by calling a House of Representatives election- that is, by calling that election, pursuant to the authority of section 28 of the Constitution, at the same time as the next Senate election which must be held before 30 June 1 976. [More…]
He took advantage of section 28 of the Constitution and advised the Governor-General to dissolve the House of Representatives. [More…]
If the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) is so fond of relying on the statements and actions of Sir Robert Menzies in justifying his own constitutional statements and the constitutional position that he so frequently adopts these days, let him do what Sir Robert Menzies did in 1955. [More…]
He could, in that very practical way, thereby maintain the stability of our present Constitution. [More…]
He would not distort the framework of government, which is so wonderfully written into the present Constitution, and he would maintain the excellence of it as a balanced framework of government where each institution has its place clearly expressed by the present Constitution of Australia. [More…]
I think on balance that it does considerable violence to the role of the Australian Senate, as it has now evolved, to remove from the Constitution the built in proviso that except in the case of a double dissolution, a person elected to the Senate shall serve a period of not less than 6 years. [More…]
I think that of the many issues that have characterised the Whitlam Government in its slightly more than 2 years of office, one that has really categorised it is its mania for seeking to alter the Constitution, its mania for trying to alter the ground rules under which elections in this country are conducted. [More…]
I am not one of those persons who regard the Constitution of this country as being a static document, a document written for all time in 1901 and a document that should never be altered. [More…]
I have always believed that the Constitution of Australia must be reviewed constantly and, where necessary, altered. [More…]
I am just extremely disappointed that a Prime Minister who professes such a commitment to responsible and reasonable constitutional change and reform should have concentrated his energies on the sorts of provisos for constitutional and electoral reform that his Government has sought over the past 2 years. [More…]
On the one hand we have spokesmen for the Labor Party; on the other hand we have spokesmen for the Liberal and the Country Party who always oppose measures of this sort which seek to improve the Constitution. [More…]
The Government tries to do something about the Constitution. [More…]
change in the Constitution but have never ever done anything to achieve this end. [More…]
We say that this matter is most important because every criticism that is levelled at our Australian Constitution turns on the claim that it does not work today as well as it should. [More…]
Either the honourable member for Bennelong or the honourable member for Stirling- and I return to this point- seemed to be saying that our Constitution was wonderful and perfect. [More…]
Professor Sawyer of the Australian National University has said that, in constitutional terms, Australia is the frozen continent. [More…]
It seems almost that the 19th century views embodied in our Constitution cannot be changed. [More…]
The Constitution gives paramountcy of power to the House of Representatives. [More…]
The honourable member for Stirling spoke about section 28 of the Constitution and said that it does not give a term of 3 years to this Parliament. [More…]
Power to limit the matters in which special leave may be granted by the Privy Council is conferred on the Commonwealth Parliament by section 74 of the Constitution. [More…]
Government is of the opinion that this power should be exercised so as to make the High Court the final arbiter in all matters of Federal jurisdiction, that is to say, constitutional questions, matters arising under Commonwealth laws and the various other matters which the Constitution has, in sections 75 and 76, specifically recognised as being appropriate matters to be brought in the High Court. [More…]
It is interesting to reflect upon the fact that when the Australian delegation went to the United Kingdom 75 years ago to present to the members of the Imperial Parliament the draft of our Constitution the central point of contention between the Australian delegation and the British authorities surrounded the question of the Privy Council. [More…]
I have adverted to the fact that when our Constitution was presented 75 years ago this was the point of contention, not by our forebears in this country alone but, indeed, principally by those in the United Kingdom. [More…]
But it was one of the principal arguments put by the delegation to which I have just referred that section 74, which is the present section in our Constitution, should be accepted by the British Parliament as it was presented in draft form. [More…]
Its persistence was led notably by Deakin, a most remarkable spirit with not just a sense of history but with a perception regarding the working of the Australian Constitution that I fear that not even the present generations quite understand. [More…]
The story is attributed to one of the founders of the Australian Constitution, Sir Josiah Symon, that Lord Westbury one day encountered Sir William Earl, the Chief Justice of Common Pleas in London. [More…]
In his ‘Federal Story’ he recounted the events in London in 1900 when efforts were made to have the Commonwealth Constitution forward appeals to the Privy Council in constitutional cases. [More…]
It may be influenced by the federal or unitary nature of the constitution and whether it is written or unwritten, by the legislative procedure in Parliament, by the ease with which parliamentary time can be found to effect amendments in the law which concern only a small minority of citizens, by the extent to which Parliament has been in the habit of intervening to reverse judicial decisions by legislation; but most of all by the underlying political philosophy of the particular nation as to the appropriate limits of the lawmaking function of a non-elected judiciary. [More…]
The Privy Council itself, when considering Canadian legislation abolishing appeals to the Privy Council, described the regulation of such appeals as a prime aspect of sovereignty which would be impaired if, at the will of the Canadian citizens, recourse could be had to a tribunal in the constitution of which it had no voice. [More…]
The utter confusion apparent in the minds of Privy Councillors in the early section 92 cases led, in the estimation of many lawyers, to the appalling difficulties we now have with this unhappy section of the Constitution. [More…]
Why do they not do that and thereby remove the anxiety and the sense of apprehension that some people have that this may open yet a new way of changing the Constitution of this country. [More…]
There is the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act which still appiles to all the States, the Merchant Shipping Act, the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, the Admiralty Offences Act and the Australian States Constitution Act. [More…]
The Constitutions of the States cannot be altered without the relevant Bill being reserved for Her Majesty’s pleasure. [More…]
The States still have their various links with the United Kingdom, notably the Colonial Laws Validity Act and the Australian States Constitution Act. [More…]
For that reason I think it is important that we recognise that when there was a conference convened to review the Australian Constitution it was on the initiation of the States. [More…]
The States felt very strongly that they were inhibited under the present financial constraints exercised by the Commonwealth and suggested that it would be desirable for a convention to be held to look at the provisions of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Both sides of this House accepted the concept of a constitutional convention. [More…]
We were then in government, but it was under this Labor Government that the Constitutional Convention was initiated. [More…]
The Convention provided an opportunity to ensure that the Constitution itself might be changed. [More…]
The degree to which there was co-operation between the Commonwealth and the States in determining changes within the Constitution was dependent very considerably upon the success of that Convention It is now history that the Government has successively initiated a number of referenda which have been defeated by the Australian electorate and which sought, without the consent of the States, to change the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The result was that the States, not unnaturally, felt that this Government was not the slightest bit interested in changing the Constitution other than in those areas which suited it and particularly in those areas which restricted the degree of sovereignty of the States. [More…]
For that reason we strongly supported and still support the concept of constitutional change by a constitutional convention. [More…]
The prediction by the then Governor-General, Sir Paul Hasluck, that the Constitutional Convention might result in a monumental flop regrettably and tragically has come to pass as the product of this Labor Government being prepared to assert its interpretation of what should be the changes in the Constitution without reference to the Australian people and without their consent. [More…]
This can be determined through the exercise of the ultimate interpretation of the law which for the time being is protected under the Constitution but which, as a result of this legislation, would henceforth be denied the States. [More…]
I draw the attention of honourable members to the fact that section 73 of our Constitution provides: no exception or regulation prescribed by the Parliament shall prevent the High Court from hearing and determining any appeal from the Supreme Court of a State in any matter in which at the establishment of the Commonwealth an appeal lies from such Supreme Court to the Queen in Council. [More…]
But there was also a specific retention of the opportunity for the Privy Council, being the ultimate court of appeal from the supreme courts of the States prior to the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, to be retained as an ultimate court of appeal from those State courts. [More…]
But with regard to the second point, it is certainly true that it is necessary at a time when there is a suspicion by the States as to the intentions of this Government in the application and creation of laws as well as in the constitution of the High Court, that they should not be prepared to accept that the High Court should be the ultimate determinant of any of the laws that they might pass and that they should forgo the right of ultimate appeal to the Privy Council. [More…]
The second point which makes me concerned about this Bill- this is the reason why I support my honourable and learned friend, the honourable member for Moreton (Mr Killen), in his opposition to this Bill- is my worry about the degree to which I see this Bill as a device to change the Australian Constitution, not by recognised procedures that are set down within the Constitution but by a procedure on which there has been comment and which has been, at least to date, not regarded as being an acceptable procedure by an Australian government. [More…]
Having said that, I am asserting my own point of view, which is that I believe it necessary that we progressively accept that there has been a change since this Constitution was adopted and that, today, there is justification in the High Court being the ultimate body to determine all matters pertaining to the legal system within this country and the interpretation of laws which might be passed by any government within Australia. [More…]
For that reason, I am concerned at the degree to which the Constitution itself is being avoided and the Statute of Westminister pursued in order to seek that constitutional change. [More…]
I believe that it is true that, within the Constitution, we should take cognisance of placitum (xxxvii) of section 51, being the reference of powers placitum, and section 128, that being the other manner within which there can be constitutional change within the Constitution, and determine the degree to which we see that as the fundamental basis by which the Constitution should be changed. [More…]
Section 128 contains provisions for altering the Constitution by referendum. [More…]
So section 128 and section 51 (xxxvii) provide the basic forms for alteration of the Constitution laid down by our forebears- those who agreed to this Federal Constitution. [More…]
The Constitutional Convention did not suggest that those forms were unexceptional even to the present Government. [More…]
Yet we find tonight that through this piece of legislation the Government seeks to avoid those 2 prescribed and acceptable forms for changing the Constitution by reference back to section 4 of the Statute of Westminster of 1931. [More…]
That section is the form by which there can be an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, designed with the request and consent of the Australian Parliament to enact legislation, which can specifically change the provisions which are now the ultimate sanctuary of the rights of the individual in this country- the sanctuary provided by the Australian Constitution. [More…]
If this Government wished to introduce the High Court as being the ultimate court of appeal it was open for it to achieve that end through consultation and co-operation within that Constitutional Convention. [More…]
It is not open to it to pursue the exceptions to changing the Constitution which the Statute of Westminster provides. [More…]
It seems to me quite strange that in such an anomalous fashion we should tonight be considering such an anachronistic form for changing the Constitution. [More…]
The opposition believes that if there is to be any change it should be within the terms provided in the Constitution itself. [More…]
I would like to add my support to the request made of the Attorney-General (Mr Enderby) by the honourable member for Moreton that, if he is genuine in his belief that the Constitution should be the ultimate sanctuary for laws within this Parliament, perhaps it is the time, if there is to be any request of the Parliament of Westminster, to ask for the repeal of that section to which I have just referred. [More…]
Indeed what he is doing in this legislation- by a subterfuge which avoids the Constitution- is severing the tie which the States preserve in order that they may retain some residual “sovereignty. [More…]
For those 3 reasons- the fact that the States have a right and responsibility to maintain their independence to the maximum; the degree to which this Bill seeks through reference to the Statute of Westminster and not by the forms provided in the Constitution to change the Constitution itself; and the fact that the Prime Minister only the other day stated that Australia accepts without reservation the judgments of the International Court- this Bill should be totally rejected. [More…]
The Whitlam Labor Government tries as hard as it knows how to bring the Constitution into line with modern conditions. [More…]
Here in confidence some leaders and some spokesmen from the Liberal and Country Parties on the Opposition benches will say: ‘Of course, the Constitution needs to be changed by referendum’. [More…]
Oh no, that might mean changing the Constitution in some way. [More…]
As distinct from the steps which have been employed to bring about- so that the Government hopes- the abolition of appeals from State courts to the Privy Council, the process which the Government has employed on this occasion is correct and constitutional. [More…]
In return there was an implicit understanding, written as far as possible into the Constitution of Australia, that in no circumstances would that delicate balance of power between the Federal government and the State governments be disturbed except by the consent not only of the majority of the Australian people but also by the consent of the majority of the States which formed that Federation and entered into that compact. [More…]
Included in the constitutional history of Australia is not only the Act of the Imperial Parliament which became our Constitution but also the document known as the Statute of Westminster. [More…]
I do not accept the proposition advanced by the Attorney-General in the earlier debate, that the Statute of Westminsterhis speech implied it- conferred some new method of altering the Australian Constitution on the Imperial Parliament. [More…]
At no stage during the Federation debates was it ever intended that the Constitution of Australia should be altered in any way other than by the referendum procedure laid down in the Constitution and which we all understand so very wen. [More…]
So far from section 4 of the Statute of Westminster delineating a new method of altering the Constitution of Australia the purpose of that section was to put to rest the fears that the then dominion governments had that the British Parliament might not have surrendered for aU time the right it had hitherto asserted to pass laws which had application to Australia and the other constituent parts of the then British Commonwealth. [More…]
It has been argued in aid of the Government’s moves in respect of abolition of appeals from State courts that this section historically was put in to provide another device for altering the Constitution. [More…]
I suggest that it does violence to our constitutional history and to our understanding of the circumstances which produced the Statute of Westminster and, most importantly of aU, it does violence to the very thing that the Government has so often tried to assert since it came to government- to try to alter the Australian Constitution by any method other than that described in that document. [More…]
However, the Bm that we are now debating is of a different kind, because in respect of this Bill the Parliament is seeking to exercise the power that it has under section 74 of the Constitution to make laws limiting the matters in which leave to appeal to the Privy Council may be sought. [More…]
The important thing to which I would draw attention m this debate is the fact that the legal authority which this Government seeks to rely on in the present Bill, namely, section 74 of the Constitution, is not available to it in respect of the Bill to abolish appeals to the Privy Council from the State Supreme Courts. [More…]
Yet we have the Constitution of Australia, which again he is so fond of using as authority for his stand on the constitutional proposition that he so often propounds before this Parliament, giving to this Parliament supremacy in respect of appeals to the Privy Council from the High Court; but it deliberately does not give that same supremacy in respect of appeals to the Privy Council from the State Supreme Courts. [More…]
The importance of the distinction is this: Whilst the Government can simply and quickly turn to the authority of section 74 of the Constitution and the supremacy of Parliament in respect of appeals from the High Court to the Privy Council, it must seek some other legal authority in order to give effect to its view that there should not be such a thing as an appeal from a State Supreme Court directly to the Privy Council. [More…]
The Prime Munster cannot bring himself to recognise the subtlety of the Australian Constitution in this field. [More…]
Particularly he cannot bring himself to recognise that, at the same time as all States are bound by the Constitution into one indissoluble union, that is, into the Australian nation, they also draw legal authority in significant ways directly from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. [More…]
It derives its legal authority from section 74 of the Constitution, but we see a distortion brought upon the Constitution, a violence upon the Constitution if you like, by the methods that the Prime Minister has sought to use in respect of his proposal to abolish appeals from the State courts to the Privy Council. [More…]
Privy Council, acting in accordance with the authority of section 74 of the Constitution. [More…]
So it is a pity in a matter of this kind, which is important because of the impact that the proposals will have upon the Constitution of Australia, that the Government should gag the debate on the first Bill and no doubt, after I have spoken, gag the debate on this Bill. [More…]
I do that in this House because I consider that matters of the Constitution should not be abdicated by this House. [More…]
Too often this House leaves constitutional matters to be debated by the other House of this Parliament and in other places outside this Parliament. [More…]
I also enter this debate because I feel that, having regard to what has been written in the Press, what has been said privately and what has been said in another place, much has been left to be desired with regard to the constitutional perspective with which this whole question must be approached. [More…]
I refer to that ‘Address to the Nation’ particularly because the Prime Minister called in aid his concept of democracy and his concept of what the Constitution of Australia required in the filling of this casual vacancy created by the elevation of Mr Justice Murphy. [More…]
Executive Council of Australia constituted under and by virtue of the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
It is not simply the constitutional practice, because that does not pay due regard to the principle; but the constitutional requirement is that the GovernorGeneral, being the delegate of the Queen, Will act on the advice of the executive government of the country. [More…]
In respect of the filling of the casual vacancy, again I do not express any personal opinion, because I do not think that is relevant to the constitutional propriety of what the Government of New South Wales proposes to do. [More…]
Section 15 of the Constitution provides that where there is a casual vacancy, when the Houses of the Parliament of the State for which the senator was chosen are sitting those Houses of Parliament shall sitting and voting together, choose a person to fill that vacancy. [More…]
The important aspect about this provision is that, by the Constitution of Australia, the will of the people, if we wish to put it in those terms, is expressed in this vacuum of a casual vacancy by the Houses of the Parliament of the State constituted by the individuals elected to those Houses by the constitutional processes of that State, and those Houses of the Parliament then have entrusted to them in aU the acts that they perform the expression of the Will of the people. [More…]
The Constitutional assumption is that in the decision of those Houses the will of the people is expressed and thereby the trust of the people is put into effect. [More…]
The next constitutional process is that that decision imposed upon the Houses of the Parliament in trust for the people of the State must be put before a general election of members of the House of Representatives or at the next election of senators for the State. [More…]
In that way democracy is at work as fully and amply as one could expect under the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
So democracy, by virtue of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia works in 2 ways in this process. [More…]
Firstly, the people at the next election at which that person must be put forward can accept or reject the person chosen by the Houses of the Parliament of the State and, further than that, the people may, at the next election of the members of Parliament of that State, cast their opinion as to the constitutional propriety or, if we Uke to put it in rather baser terms the political propriety of what the Houses of the Parliament of that State did. [More…]
I cannot think of any better way in which democracy in this country can work than by processes which are written expressly into the Constitution of this country. [More…]
So, whatever the private or political opinions of members of the Opposition or the people of Australia as to the elevation of His Honour Mr Justice Murphy to the High Court, whatever might be the private or political opinions as to what the Government of New South Wales proposes to do, no criticism can be made of either of those acts in terms of the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
We are constrained by our present Federal Constitution to leave the final disposition of many matters in the hands of lawyers. [More…]
We are forbidden to do not so much what the Constitution forbids us to do but what the judges forbid us to do. [More…]
If Counsel has to advise if a certain action is constitutional he is less concerned with the Constitution than with the composition of the Court. [More…]
I have no power under the Liberal Party constitution. [More…]
I have no power under the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I was giving an instance where constitutional conventions are concerned. [More…]
But the present Liberal Leader says that there is nothing in the Liberal Party constitution which permits him to influence State Liberal leaders; there is nothing in the Australian Constitution which permits him to influence State Liberal leaders; and of course there is nothing in the Liberal Party constitution which permits him to influence Country Party leaders, whether they are in a State parliament or in this Parliament. [More…]
Again, there is nothing in the Australian Constitution which permits that. [More…]
-Last night during debate on the motion that the House adjourn I spoke of the constitutional propriety of the appointment by the Governor-General of Australia on the advice of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia of His Honour Mr Justice Murphy to the High Court. [More…]
I also spoke of the constitutional propriety of the proposal of the Government of New South Wales to act in accordance with the requirements of section 15 of the Constitution in having a joint sitting of the 2 Houses of the New South Wales Parliament to select a person to fill the casual vacancy created by the elevation of His Honour Mr Justice Murphy. [More…]
The difference is that the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution and therefore no piece of legislation may be declared by the judiciary in the United Kingdom to be constitutionally invalid. [More…]
That is an important distinction because the Constitution of Australia gives to the High Court the authority to declare legislation constitutionally invalid by reason of the fact that the legislation does not fall within any of the expressed powers given by. [More…]
the Constitution to the Australian Parliament. [More…]
So there is no opportunity in the United Kingdom for law to be declared constitutionally invalid. [More…]
There can be no doubt that the Prime Minister in advising the Governor-General pursuant to the Constitution to appoint the then Senator Murphy to the High Court took every political advantage at his command and given to him by the Constitution of Australia to appoint his own AttorneyGeneral to the High Court at a time when the Prime Minister knew that a number of pieces of legislation introduced by his Government and passed by this Parliament, either in the ordinary way of passing legislation or after a joint sitting of the 2 Houses, are subject to litigation in the High Court on the grounds that they are constitutionally invalid as not falling within the powers of the Commonwealth under the Constitution. [More…]
I should say that there is prima facie evidence of this and it occurs in the constitution of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
I want honourable members to realise what this constitution is. [More…]
That Federal Executive makes a claim to be under its constitution, and I refer to clause 7 (c) (i): [More…]
The administrative authority carrying out the decisions of Federal Conference and in the interpretation of Conference decisions, the Federal platform and the constitution and the rules of the Party and the direction of Federal members. [More…]
The honourable member for Corio was quite right when he said that this is the kind of thing that the Privileges Committee should investigate, because if the claims of the Federal Executive as set out in the printed constitution of the Party are correct, then every member of the Labor Party who adheres to it and is under discipline is doing an infamous thing. [More…]
There is therefore substantial evidence that members of this House attending that conference under that constitution agree to that constitution and agree that they are under the direction of that conference, and I have heard the Prime Minister admit in this House that he was under the direction of that conference. [More…]
Here we have a body which in its constitution claims the direction of Federal members. [More…]
One cannot say that they are members of that body but did not know what the constitution was. [More…]
Next, members of this House, including the Prime Minister, attended the Terrigal Conference and therefore showed themselves to be under the standing orders and rules of its constitution. [More…]
If that could be proved such people would be removed from the Parliament pursuant to section 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, there is a rule of law in the Constitution in relation to whether a member can forfeit his position. [More…]
Our constitution is there for all to see. [More…]
Those things are contained in our constitution. [More…]
If it can be established that in the past some of them voted improperly in this House for subsidies for rural properties, acquisition of properties and on the question of giving assistance to industry in which they had shareholdings, every one of them would forfeit his seat under section 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
I, … do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Queen of Australia her heirs and successors according to law and that I will loyally as in duty bound uphold the Constitution and the laws of Australia. [More…]
He went on to say: ‘I have no power under the ALP Constitution, I have no power under the Australian Constitution, I have stated my views clearly, frankly, without fear and without seeking power. [More…]
The Australian Parliament is vested by the Constitution with the power over trade and commerce with other countries. [More…]
Regulations may be made in relation to any matter relating to the constitution of a registered stock exchange or of its members or of other persons who are permitted to trade in securities or the stock market. [More…]
Clause 59 (3) states that the Commission may make rules: in relation to any matter relating to the constitution of the stock exchange or the activities or conduct of the stock exchange or of its members or of other persons who are permitted to trade in securities on the stock market. [More…]
This Clause would make decisions of the Commission closed to judicial appeal except according to the original jurisdiction of the High Court which is inviolate, in the absence of a referendum, because of section 75 of the Constitution. [More…]
Except as provided by this Act and subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court under paragraph 75 ( v) of the Constitution, a decision of the Commission shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, or called in question, or be subject to prohibition, mandamus, certiorari or injunction, in any court on any account whatever. [More…]
Rightly the judicial power of the Commonwealth must be exercised under section 7 1 of the Commonwealth Constitution by the High Court of Australia and not by an administrative tribunal. [More…]
In my opinion a new Bill should be drafted to fit in with the constitutional trichotomy. [More…]
I do not think that any convention can override section 1 5 of the Constitution, which gives the States the right to determine who the replacement should be when a casual vacancy occurs. [More…]
Why is it necessary to declare in any provision of this Parliament that it is the intention of any Act of this Parliament to exclude the provisions of any other State enactment when, if they are in conflict, the paramountcy section of the Constitution operates? [More…]
I take it that under the existing provisions of the Commonwealth Constitution this means that the Commission will have power over existing State corporate affairs commissions and so forth which are already doing precisely this sort of thing. [More…]
The writs of prohibition, certiorari and mandamus will now be part of it, apart from and in addition to where they are enshrined in the Constitution. [More…]
may make provision for and in relation to any matter relating to the constitution of the stock exchange or the activities or conduct of the stock exchange or of its members or of other persons who are permitted to trade in securities on the stock market maintained or provided by the stock exchange. [More…]
Except as provided by this Act and subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court under paragraph 75 (v) of the Constitution, a decision of the Commission shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, or called in quesuon, or be subject to prohibition, mandamus, ceniorari or injunction, in any court on any account whatever. [More…]
Except as provided by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1 975 and subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court under paragraph 75 (v) of the Constitution, a decision of the Commission in respect of which an application may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, or called in question, or be subject to prohibition, mandamus, certiorari or injunction, in any court on any account whatever. [More…]
The argument that the whole proposal is unconstitutional can be advanced. [More…]
of the Constitution could shatter the very base of the States’ rights. [More…]
It is accepted that the Commonwealth has power to provide finance pursuant to or incidental to any matter which has been bestowed upon it by the Constitution. [More…]
It has no power under the Constitution to make specific laws dealing with housing. [More…]
The only way finance can be made available is under section 96 of the Constitution, which allows money to be made available to the States to be applied on such conditions as the Commonwealth attaches to the grant. [More…]
I submit that exactly the same objective could be achieved by making grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution, as is the practice now in relation to the provision of housing generally. [More…]
Similarly, by the use of the family allowance provisions in the Australian Constitution, the Australian Government can provide financial assistance to families. [More…]
I am attracted to the proposition that the family allowances power in the constitution will be utilised in order to help certain families and certain classes of families who presently are not eligilbe to obtain the finance that is available. [More…]
I point out to the House that the money can be provided for under the powers contained in section 51 (XXIIIA) of the Constitution which was the amendment to the Social Services Act of 1946. [More…]
It is under this family allowance part of section 5 1 of the Constitution that it is proposed to provide assistance to the people about whom I have been talking. [More…]
My concern about this particular provision is that by the very matter of the Commonwealth’s taking unto itself the greatest possible power it can assume under the Constitution- and that is what the Minister is seeking by this powerful new vehicle- it is assuming responsibility for only some people within the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
Those in the Australian Labor Party who would pursue those policies know that outright nationalisation is impossible to achieve within the terms of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I dare say that we will, or we would if this Government was allowed to continue, see a repetition on a grand scale of the formation of Crown corporations in all those fields of activity which are encompassed in the powers given to the Commonwealth by the Constitution. [More…]
One would have thought that tacking had long gone from parliamentary practice in this country and indeed that its worst excesses would have vanished with the operation of section 55 of our Constitution. [More…]
Our Constitution provides for peace, order and good government. [More…]
This is a problem which may not be within the power of the Constitution to overcome, unless at the same time arrangements are made with the States to achieve a more flexible arrangement. [More…]
In our system, throughout the entire period of our constitution, the Speaker has been supported without doubt, without hesitation and unqualifiedly by the Government majority. [More…]
What I instanced was the fact that under section 51 ofthe Constitution, placitum (XXIIIa) there is a power to make allowances for families. [More…]
The Minister has tried to imply that by the .use of this rather nebulous placitum of section 5 1 of the Constitution which deals with family allowances a remarkable extension of power is going to be achieved. [More…]
I am not a constitutional expert, but I do not believe that a clause that is meant to provide a form of social service can be extended in this way, and I think that it wil cause grave doubts as to the operation of this particular clause. [More…]
Commonwealth to enter into appropriate agreements with those States that have the powers and the constitutional competence to legislate in these areas and to develop programs which can give effect to them. [More…]
It invokes a procedure under section 58 of the Constitution that has been used only on rare occasions. [More…]
In spite of the minor nature of the error the Government considers that, in view of the constitutional significance of the Bill, it would be better if it were to express the intention exactly. [More…]
Under section 122 of the Constitution, the Parliament is given legislative power in relation to Territories. [More…]
The Government put it through the Joint Sitting under the Constitution of this Parliament. [More…]
Under the provisions of the Constitution there was held in this chamber a Joint Sitting of both Houses of the Parliament which passed our proposal into law. [More…]
The honourable member for Hotham, that mouthpiece of the medical profession and the doctors, had to come in here again this afternoon and suggest that $ 1.85m ought to be given to the Liberal Party to promote its scheme, completely disregarding the fact that the Constitution provided and allowed a Joint Sitting of both Houses of this Parliament to pass the scheme into law. [More…]
As for talking about observing the law and the Constitution, the States have constitutionally and traditionally had a role in the delivery of health care in Australia. [More…]
So let us not hear any more synthetic talk about sticking to the law and the Constitution. [More…]
Under the Constitution the salaries of judges have to be fixed by this Parliament. [More…]
It is to be hoped that in the future when a report comes in immediate action will be taken by the Government of the day, whichever that governmernt might be, to fix the salaries by law as is required by the Constitution and in accordance with the recommenation made by the Tribunal. [More…]
Furthermore, if we are to take at face value the proposition made by the Attorney-General (Mr Enderby) that this legislation will update the legal machine in accordance with prevailing social attitudes, I question whether the appointment of Federal judges who, under the Constitution, are appointed for life would adequately meet this important requirement. [More…]
Additionally, the amendments seek to ensure certain compliance with section 5 1 placitum (hi) of the Constitution. [More…]
The drastic and fundamental changes to the spirit of our Constitution, the heavy foot pushed on the inflation accelerator, the creation of record unemployment, the implementation of stop-go financial policies, astronomical interest rates, government by the kitchen Cabinet, RED ministers or regulation, the sacking of Ministers from their portfolios and the political assasination of the Speaker are all unprecedented in the political life of the country and all began on that fateful day in December 1972. [More…]
The Commonwealth Constitution provides for the Commonwealth to acquire, with the consent of the States, any railways of the States on terms arranged between the Commonwealth and the States and for railway construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State. [More…]
The States, of course, have the protection of section 5 1 of the Constitution in this matter. [More…]
It is important that this Parliament devote itself to the matters for which it has prime constitutional responsibility and to responsibilities which no State government or local government authority has. [More…]
We have abdicated responsibility for dealing with the matters with which the Constitution charges us to deal. [More…]
It depends, and must depend, upon that placitum in the Constitution which deals with external affairs. [More…]
There are 2 views on it- the view expressed in the 1930s by His Honour Mr Justice Evatt and His Honour Mr Justice McTeirnan in the celebrated case of Burgess in which they expressed the view that if government enters into an international agreement or signs a convention and it is a proper matter for signature and for government ratification, then it can be received into municipal law even though there is not a clear head of power and beyond that and more importantly, even though it finds itself in conflict with other aspects or provisions in the Constitution. [More…]
-It will be remembered that about 9 or 10 months ago this House reiterated its view that there should be a delegation from this Parliament to the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The Government takes the attitude that there would now be no good purpose in having a meeting of the Constitutional Convention until the High Court hands down its judgments in State challenges to legislation passed by this Parliament. [More…]
The Convention would obviously be debating a Constitution whose interpretation is under wide-ranging review. [More…]
I might add that the Government has been discouraged by the inaction of or resistance by most of State governments towards the Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) Bill which the parliamentary draftsmen of all seven parliaments drafted well over a year ago. [More…]
Secondly, the Government believes that there would be little point in coming to understandings or devising constitutional conventions in any meeting of the Constitutional Convention in the light of the disrespect shown for the only significant constitutional convention in recent times. [More…]
We would then get a national assembly which, on behalf of the South Vietnamese people, could establish their constitution. [More…]
Here was a chance for the people at least to vote on their own behalf in their provinces for a national parliament, to set up a constitution. [More…]
Well, I think there is evidence to show that, if anything, legislation that outlaws racial discrimination has had some effect in countries where it exists, such as in Canada and in the United States of America where the Constitution is being used to outlaw it. [More…]
But it does appear that originally it was the view of the fathers of the Australian Federation, the people who set up the Constitution of Australia, that this type of law ought to be the responsibility of the States. [More…]
Legislation was introduced which was to be effective in all States and territories of the Commonwealth of Australia and which therefore, within the terms of the Constitution, took precedence over State legislation. [More…]
Those days are gone and negroes now stand in large measure with a certain dignity largely because of the Warren court and the way in which it was able to interpret the United States Constitution and apply that interpretation to legislation. [More…]
The object of the Bill is to re-establish the InterState Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 101 of the Constitution, which states: [More…]
There shall be an Inter-State Commission, with such powers of adjudication and administration as the Parliament deems necessary for the execution and maintenance, within the Commonwealth, of the provisions of this Constitution relating to trade and commerce, and of all laws made thereunder. [More…]
Honourable members will note that the Constitution refers to the trade and commerce provisions and laws made thereunder. [More…]
The deliberations which led to the drafting of the Constitution envisaged the role of the Commission as being complementary to Parliament, the Executive and the judiciary, and the existence of a body of such stature, with wide powers to deal with the interests of all parties involved in or affected by, transport has been a persuasive argument in leading the Government to this decision. [More…]
The powers given to the Inter-State Commission included powers of investigation over a very wide range of matters going well beyond matters relating to interstate trade or commerce and power to determine a great variety of disputes, including disputes as to preferences or disadvantages given or made by any State or by any common carrier in contravention of the Act or the provisions of the Constitution relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
Section 73 of the Constitution provides for appeals from decisions of the Inter-State Commission on questions of law. [More…]
The Commission held that the Wheat Acquisition Act 1914 of New South Wales was invalid as contravening section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
The High Court, by a majority, held that section 101. of the Constitution did not authorise the establishment of the Inter-State Commission as a court and therefore the provisions of Part V conferring judicial powers upon the Inter-State Commission were invalid. [More…]
1 seek leave to incorporate in Hansard a paper containing the relevant extracts from the Constitution which relate to the InterState Commission. [More…]
The Inter-State Commission is referred to in the following sections of the Constitution: [More…]
There shall be an Inter-State Commission, with such powers of adjudication and administration as the Parliament deems necessary for the execution and maintenance, within the Commonwealth, of the provisions of this Constitution relating to trade and commerce, and of all laws made thereunder. [More…]
Nothing in this Constitution shall render unlawful any rate for the carriage of goods upon a railway, the property of a State, if the rate is deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be necessary for the development of any territory of the State, and if the rate applies equally to goods within the State and to goods passing into the State from other States. [More…]
Honourable members will see that this Bill ensures that after a lapse of 50 years the InterState Commission will play the key role which is identified for it in the Constitution. [More…]
It is the Government’s view that the Inter-State Commission, because of its unique stature arising from the Constitution must be supreme. [More…]
In fact, this constitutional power was availed of by our predecessors in a couple of instances, the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1971 and the Companies (Foreign Take-Overs) Act 1972. [More…]
It clearly rests upon this Parliament to do something which the Constitution stated it could do. [More…]
They are not set out in the Constitution with any clarity and what we have is a determination of those qualifications by a Commonwealth official. [More…]
This is typical and representative of the attitude that this Government takes towards regimenting and registering just about everything which could come vaguely within its ambit under the Constitution. [More…]
Under the Constitution, the votes being equal, the Bill was rejected. [More…]
The Constitution gives this Parliament authority with respect to navigation between the States. [More…]
Constitutionally the Australian Government has very little authority over the waters of the Murray, but because it is a party to the agreement it does have some options in asking the heads of the 3 State governments concerned to confer from time to time. [More…]
The Constitution says: ‘There shall be an Inter-State Commission . [More…]
It is one of the 4 basic instruments ordained by the Constitution. [More…]
I have heard suggestions from time to time that those members- I have been among themwho have occupied government flats in Canberra might be disqualified under the Constitution from holding their seats or being elected. [More…]
I do not think it is very seemly or effective for members of either House to determine whether they have broken the law, whether they have transgressed the Constitution. [More…]
If we find that many of us have transgressed the Constitution and have placed our seats in jeopardy, then the cure is not to ignore the Constitution but to ask the people to amend the Constitution. [More…]
If the case I mentioned, that of renting a government property in Canberra while we are engaged on our parliamentary duties, puts us in breach of the Constitution that would seem to be an instance in which we ought to ask the people to correct a farcical situation. [More…]
If the Constitution precludes it, then the Constitution ought to be amended. [More…]
Nevertheless, nobody hitherto I believe has cavilled at the provision of the Constitution which makes a member incapable of being chosen or of sitting if he has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company consisting of more than 25 persons. [More…]
I would have thought that most of us would have thought that was an eminently reasonable, just and prudent provision to have in our Constitution. [More…]
Bearing in mind the obligations of section 45 (iii) of the Constitution, when does he expect to be able to provide to my colleague in the other place- who has 3 times requested the information from him- the details of those members of the legal profession who either personally or through their partnership have received fees paid by the Australian Legal Aid Offices? [More…]
-As the Prime Minister is aware, section 45 (iii) of the Constitution states that anybody who directly or indirectly takes or agrees to take any fee or honorarium for services rendered to the Commonwealth is in breach of the Constitution. [More…]
That would require people in the Public Service to say that they will swear allegiance and will be bound to uphold the Constitution and the laws of Australia. [More…]
The constitution of that Council does concern me a little. [More…]
Incredibly, local government was forgotten by our forefathers who framed the Constitution. [More…]
Assistance thus recommended by the Commission and approved by the Australian Government is paid to the States under section 96 of the Constitution, and passed on by them to the organisations concerned. [More…]
-The question of the interpretation of the Constitution relative to actions of members of Parliament which may put them in breach of the Constitution has recently received a considerable amount of publicity. [More…]
I do not know of any way in which I have breached the Constitution, but I am very concerned about the situation in which many honourable members may find themselves. [More…]
There may be many of us who are in breach of the Constitution without being aware of it. [More…]
In any case it would be appropriate for any honourable member to look for a fair and just solution to a problem which has arisen in regard to possible breaches of the Constitution, and I look for the support of honourable members on both sides of the House in an endeavour satisfactorily to resolve this disturbing situation. [More…]
Now if we find that many of us have transgressed the Constitution and placed our seats in jeopardy, then the cure is not to ignore the Constitution but to ask the people to amend it. [More…]
The weakness of this approach is that there is no guarantee that the people would be prepared to amend the Constitution. [More…]
The whole history of referenda in relation to amending the Constitution is that the Australian people are very reluctant to make any change. [More…]
Quite a few honourable members might be in technical breach of the Constitution. [More…]
I want to emphasise that I am referring only totechnical breaches of the Constitution or breaches that have occurred without honourable members being aware that their actions could be in breach of the Constitution and where no impropriety is associated with the action. [More…]
I should like to suggest that the Parliament ought to work out some guidelines to help members and senators decide just where they stand in relation to the Constitution. [More…]
Clearly, the provision in relation to this matter in the Constitution is wide and hard to interpret and we ought to have guidelines laid down. [More…]
But what is in question is the express provision of the Constitution concerning members of Parliament who are shareholders in companies which have dealings with the Federal Government. [More…]
I do not believe that the public would hesitate to amend the Constitution if it precluded professional or business people carrying on their professions or skills while remaining members of the Parliament. [More…]
I do not believe that the public would amend the Constitution to permit shareholders in small companies- that is, companies where there is a limited number of shareholders; the Constitution specifies 25 shareholders- having dealings with the Government. [More…]
I do not believe that any proposal to alter the Constitution to remove it or to relax it would have any hope of success. [More…]
Education, in the main, is the responsibility of the Australian States under the Constitution. [More…]
The power of the Commonwealth to make specific purpose grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution and the States’ unbridled power to make specific grants to shires has resulted in a steady flow of power to the centre. [More…]
Any choice for unitary government should be a conscious choice and the Constitution amended accordingly. [More…]
If the Labor Party believes that that is what Australians really want, it should then draft amendments to the Constitution and put them to the people. [More…]
The object of the Bill is to re-establish the Inter-State Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 10 1 of the Constitution, which states: [More…]
Honourable members will note that the Constitution refers to the trade and commerce provisions and laws made thereunder. [More…]
I have always believed, and I still believe, that this grant of power to the Inter-State Commission is a very important grant of power, and that there is in these apparently simple words relating to trade and commerce an enormous grant of power, a reserve force of power, the magnitude and importance of which probably even the framers of the Constitution in launching it hardly realised. [More…]
I am one of those people who believes that, as we have, under section 10 1 of the Australian Constitution, an actual responsibility to establish an InterState Commission with some or all of the powers that are mentioned in sections 101 and 51 (i) of the Constitution. [More…]
There we have the constitutional provisions. [More…]
I believe that initially when the Constitution was agreed to it was thought that when such powers of adjudication and administration were given they were judicial powers. [More…]
Constitution, which states that the Commonwealth shall have power with regard to trade and commerce with other countries and among the States, I see the overall perspective in which we have to look at this legislation. [More…]
If one looks at Quick and Garran and reads that part of the ‘Law of the Constitution’ which relates to this clause, one sees that every State wanted an interstate commission. [More…]
But the reason why I come to a different conclusion than the Constitution justifies as to the passage of this Government’s Bill is that I do not believe enough thought has been given to clauses 3 and 1 3 and the definition of the word ‘goods ‘. [More…]
In the case like this, where a word like ‘goods’ is being defined- and for a long time it is difficult to find out in the Bill itself just where the word ‘goods’ in fact is used other than in the definition clause of interstate transport and clause 12- one knows it has been trumped up in order to divert power surreptitiously from the States to the Commonwealth Government if it can be done within the terms of sections 101 and 51 (i) of the Constitution. [More…]
The draftsman’s skill has been taxed to its limit and the provisions of the Constitution have been stretched beyond their proper meaning in order to bring forth a piece of legislation which is horrendous in its scope and potentially ruinous in its effect on all trade and commerce in Australia. [More…]
Section 101 of the Constitution states: [More…]
There shall be an Inter-State Commission, with such powers as the Parliament deems necessary for the execution and maintenance, within the Commonwealth, of the provisions of this Constitution relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
Although under the Constitution the Commonwealth has been granted power over trade and commerce between the States, and with overseas countries, section 92 of the Constitution states that trade, commerce and intercourse among the States shall be absolutely free. [More…]
It is the one section of the Constitution upon which private enterprise in Australia has been able to rely in order to resist the encroachments of governments, both State and Commonwealth. [More…]
However it should be remembered that the United States Constitution contains no provision equivalent to our section 92. [More…]
The Opposition is confident that the High Court of Australia will uphold the provisions of the Constitution relating to trade and commerce, especially the freedom of trade guaranteed by section 92. [More…]
Supreme Courts of the States with Federal jurisdiction it rejects the Government’s policy of pursuing legislation of questionable constitutional validity and leaving it to be challenged before the courts. [More…]
That imposes an intolerable strain on the Constitution. [More…]
It is part of the policy of the Government to undermine the whole constitutional framework of government as it exists in Australia. [More…]
It is true that the Constitution provides for the existence of an interstate commission, but the Commission which this Bill proposes to establish is far beyond the spirit and intention of the Constitution. [More…]
The Government is attempting to establish by indirect means a body which the Constitution never contemplated. [More…]
The Opposition believes that the need exists for a body which will have power to regulate transport in Australia within the limitations provided for in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution gives the Commonwealth power over interstate and overseas transport, but the Commonwealth must not exercise its power over interstate trade in such a manner as would restrict, curtail or control interstate trade. [More…]
It must be remembered that the Constitution contemplates as the functions of such a commission the execution and maintenance of the provisions relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
Since the States have been left with control over intrastate trade and transport, a commission exercising power of regulation and advice would be a purely federal body in the sense that its functions would be to uphold the Constitutional provisions as they relate both to State and Commonwealth powers over transport. [More…]
Such a commission would be in line with the spirit and intention of the Constitution. [More…]
Rather, it is an attempt to use the Constitutional provisions to create a commission which will be an arm of the central Government in its conquest not only of the States but also of all transport and trading activity in Australia. [More…]
If the Government wants to show its bona fides in its wish to create an interstate commission for which the Constitution provides and which will exercise regulatory power over transport in a manner which is truly in keeping with the federal nature of the Constitution, the Opposition will support such legislation. [More…]
Since the era of coaches, river boats, bullock drays and the fledgling railway systems, when our Constitution was drafted and adopted by the 6 colonial States, we have seen the proliferation of differing means of transport, in many respects unco-ordinated, with discriminatory pricing and access in terms of trade, that have resulted in many unnecessary costs being built into our transport arrangements. [More…]
The Founding Fathers foresaw the need when they drew up the Constitution and they provided for it by means of sections 102, 103 and 104 of the Constitution, in addition to section 101. [More…]
The Bill before the House, the Inter-state Commission Bill 1975, seeks to re-establish the Inter-state Commission in accordance with the provision of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 10 1 of the Constitution states: [More…]
There shall be an Inter-State Commission, with such powers of adjudication and administration as the Parliament deems necessary for the execution and maintenance, within the Commonwealth, of the provisions of this Constitution relating to trade and commerce, and of all laws made thereunder. [More…]
Section 103 of the Constitution prescribes the method of appointment and tenure of office of the Commissioners. [More…]
Nothing in this Constitution shall render unlawful any rate for the carriage of goods upon a railway, the property of a State, if the rate is deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be necessary for the development of the territory of the State, and if the rate applies equally to goods within the State and to goods passing into the State from other States. [More…]
A Federal Labor Government will promptly restore the machinery the Constitution intended and vest it with the Commonwealth’s full constitutional powers to plan and provide modern means of communication between the States. [More…]
Those men of the State governments at the end of last century hoped that by enshrining sections 101 to 104 of the Federal Constitution they would ensure the creation of a continuing Inter-State Commission. [More…]
However, in 1959-only 9 years after the abolition of the 1912 Act and during the administration of a later Menzies Government- the Constitutional Review Committee recommended the reestablishment of the Commission. [More…]
Conference asks council of management to consider the desirability of setting up an Inter-State Commission, as provided for under section 101 of the Australian Constitution but only for the purpose of properly co-ordinating and regulating with the maximum economic efficiency the distributive service industries so far as they relate to land, sea and air transport. [More…]
It has been in the Constitution since 1 90 1 . [More…]
Honourable members will note that the Constitution refers to the trade and commerce provisions and laws made thereunder. [More…]
Every member of this House knows that many of the original concepts which led to the insertion of particular clauses into the Constitution have been altered by the passage of time. [More…]
This legislation is set up under the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
It was envisaged quite clearly by the founding fathers in their deliberations and was made clear in the drafting of the Constitution that an InterState Commission would be established and that the role of the Commission would be complementary to that of the Parliament, the Executive and the judiciary. [More…]
It is well known that it was because of those powers and the challenge that subsequently was made to those powers as being in conflict with the Constitution, the Commission did not get very far in the 7 years in which it was in office and eventually lapsed. [More…]
The challenge, of course, was that the Constitution provided that any appointment of a judicial nature should not be limited by years in office but should be for life. [More…]
The royal commission made recommendations on the Constitution after hearing evidence and considering the revival of the Commission. [More…]
Sir Robert Garran pointed out that the absence of the Commission prevented the Commonwealth from exercising its powers to regulate railway charges which section 102 of the Constitution made an exclusive prerogative of the Inter-State Commission. [More…]
The royal commission in 1927 recommended the reinstatement of the Inter-State Commission with judicial powers provided by constitutional alteration, but it pointed out that even without those judicial powers the Commission would provide a valuable service. [More…]
It is quite apparent and obvious, of course- even, I am sure, to the Oppositionthat such an alteration to the Constitution would be most unlikely. [More…]
Finally, I remind honourable members opposite that if some of the men who represented the States in the preparation of the Constitution had the type of thinking that they are exhibiting Australia would still be made up of 6 separate States instead of being one nation. [More…]
We are discussing legislation which relates to the fourth body which was appointed by the Constitution in imperative terms. [More…]
If one goes back to the debates and to the evidence that was given before the Royal Commission on the Constitution in 1927 one will find that the emphasis there was on the investigatory nature of the Inter-state Commission. [More…]
Clauses 9 and 10 of the Bill simply repeat in substance the provisions of section 102 of the Constitution but, of course, they emphasise what appears to have been the purpose of the InterState Commission when it was contemplated in the Constitution- basically, to deal with interstate transport in relation to railways. [More…]
The regulations may authorise the Commission, either generally or otherwise as provided by the regulations, to exercise all or any of the powers … of any authority or tribunal under any law of Australia made under the provisions of the Constitution relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
The bodies referred to in this clause would include not only those which exercise power in relation to interstate trade and commerce but also those with power in relation to corporations because, so far as a law under the corporations power extends into trade and commerce, it is a law of the Constitution relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
Over the years the meaning of the phrase ‘laws relating to trade and commerce’ under the Constitution has been extended by the High Court. [More…]
As I have already indicated, laws under section 5 1 (xx) of the Constitution, relating to corporations, have been treated as provisions relating to trade and commerce. [More…]
However, it was never the intention of the founding fathers that a commission of this description should be set up under the Constitution. [More…]
If its activities were restricted to interstate trade and commerce then, of course, it might be able to stand consistent with constitutional history. [More…]
The other matter is that this Bill seems to be erected upon the hope that its linchpin provisions will avoid section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
I say to the Minister that it is extremely doubtful whether such a provision will survive the gamut of section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is not a question of whether it is good or bad to have such a provision: The question is whether such a provision is constitutional. [More…]
A commission which has wide investigatory powers to look into questions of malpractice and at ways of making interstate trade more efficient was the original and real intention of the Constitution. [More…]
I therefore suggest at this stage that the Government should think again about this measure with a view to cutting it down, to making it consistent with the Constitution and also making it consistent with the economic stringencies of this day. [More…]
-As previous speakers have said, the object of the Interstate Commission Bill is to etablish an interstate commission as provided for and expected under section 101 of the Constitution. [More…]
one of the great anomalies of Australia’s post-federation history that the concept of the interstate Commission, for which the founders of our Constitution obviously envisaged a major role in Federal relationships, as, except for a brief period 6 decades ago, been ignored by Australian Governments. [More…]
The powers of the Commission are set out in the Constitution, a section of which states: . [More…]
The Constitution gives flexibility for the legislation to be changed as demands change which, in turn, create further changes. [More…]
But even the greatest opponents of socialism today could not have erected as great a barrier to the development of socialism suitable for Australia than did the fathers of our Constitution. [More…]
In fact, the greatest barriers to the implementation of socialist platforms or policies in Australia can be directly tied to the Constitution. [More…]
I am sure these fathers would be disappointed to know that the legislation, expected to provide for carrying out a clause in the Constitution, has been decried as socialist and centralist by the Australian Country Party. [More…]
A federal Labor Government will promptly restore the machinery the Constitution intended and vest it with the Commonwealth’s full constitutional powers to plan and provide modern means of communication between the States. [More…]
As the honourable member for Shortland (Mr Morris) said, section 101 of the Constitution must be read in conjunction with sections 92 and 104 of the Constitution. [More…]
Nothing in this Constitution shall render unlawful any rate for the carriage of goods upon a railway, the property of a State, if the rate is deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be necessary for the development of the territory of the State, and if the rate applies equally to goods within the State and to goods passing into the State from other States. [More…]
I am sure that the honourable member for Wentworth overlooked section 104 of the Constitution when he objected to clause 1 1 of this Bill and argued that what appeared to be reasonable and just may not be so. [More…]
Further, if the Corporation’s power is wide enough to enable the Commonwealth to make price-fixing laws applicable to the prices of goods and services sold or supplied by foreign companies and Australian trading and financial companies, as it may be, the Commission could also act as a price-fixing authority, again, of courseand I stress this- in connection with the sale of goods or the supply of services interstate, subject to section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
I underline the relationship between the rest of the Constitution and the other bodies which have been set up by the Australian Government because it is on these considerations that part III of the Bill operates. [More…]
Seventy-five years after our forefathers wrote the Constitution we have emerged from the horse and buggy days into a modern era. [More…]
This Bill will enable the Constitution to have some flexibility in its interstate operations and relationships, to transform an outdated federalism into a working, modern, uptodate nation- a working federalism. [More…]
But what the Opposition is doing is asking this Parliament to ignore the Constitution. [More…]
It is rather ironic that Opposition members who have been defenders and upholders of the Constitution as it was formulated in 1901, for some reason or other want to ignore section 101 of it which states that there shall be an Inter-State Commission. [More…]
Does it also say that the framers of the Constitution were preparing a socialist plot? [More…]
That is what the High Court is there for- to interpret the Constitution. [More…]
It has to look at legislation and deem whether it is in accordance with the Constitution and whether any judgments are in accordance with the Constitution. [More…]
It is a straightforward Bill; it repeats sections of the Constitution and merely gives expression to what the Constitution requires. [More…]
Under clause 15 the Commission can, with the consent of the people involved, arbitrate on any matter relevant to or affected by the provisions of the Constitution relating to trade and commerce or of laws made thereunder. [More…]
In clause 14, paragraph (1) (a), omit all words after ‘Constitution’ (first occurring), substitute ‘with respect to inter-State transport’. [More…]
The Constitution requires uniform freight charges throughout the nation. [More…]
A situation exists in Australia today where $56m has been allocated in the current financial year by the Federal Government for distribution to local government organisations under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Under section 96 of the Constitution, the Federal Government is using local government as an agent in the implementation of certain Federal programs. [More…]
If such a direct share of tax revenue were provided I think that it would also remove local government from the area of budgetary strictures because if there is pressure upon a government to maintain its expenditure in other areas it could well be that the grants to local government under the Grants Commission Act and under section 96 of the Constitution would be the ones to suffer. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to modify the provision at present made by section 46 of the Constitution in relation to disqualifications of members and senators by virtue of sections 43, 44 and 45 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 46 provides- I am sure honourable members would be familiar with itthat, until the Parliament otherwise provides, any person declared by the Constitution to be incapable of sitting as a senator or as a member of the House of Representatives shall, for every day on which he so sits, be liable to pay the sum of 100 to any person who sues for it in any court of competent jurisdiction. [More…]
The Government does not believe that a breach of the Constitution should be condoned, no matter how the breach occurred. [More…]
The power to make provision repealing or modifying the common informer provision in section 46 of the Constitution is provided by section 5 1 (xxxvi) of the Constitution in conjunction with the words ‘Until the Parliament otherwise provides’ in section 46 itself. [More…]
But it feels that this procedure should be kept open notwithstanding its disuse during the twentieth century in relation to the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It will be seen that the Bill will thus preserve the common informer procedure provided for by the Constitution, while modifying its application in a way that will be more in keeping with modern times and justice. [More…]
It is the wish of the Opposition that this Bill should have a speedy passage through the Parliament to protect the interests of members of Parliament who may be accused of technical breaches of the Constitution and therefore leave themselves liable to action by a common informer. [More…]
In fact, most legislation has now excluded the common informer procedure, but our Constitution still provides in section 46 that a person can make a charge against a member of Parliament if he believes the member of Parliament is in breach of the Constitution. [More…]
Should that member be found to be violating the Constitution then he is liable to pay 100 or, in today’s language, $200 per day for each day that he sits in Parliament. [More…]
There is a motion before the Senate to have this matter referred to the High Court and coupled with that motion is the possibility of a judicial inquiry into possible technical breaches or unwitting breaches of the Constitution by members of Parliament. [More…]
Section 46 of the Constitution provides that until Parliament otherwise decides it shall remain. [More…]
I want to make it quite clear that neither I nor my Party wants to stand in the way of having these technical matters or possible breaches of the Constitution go to the court. [More…]
At the same time we made it quite clear that we were also concerned about the technical position of other members of Parliament who could be in breach of the Constitution and that we thought this matter ought to be cleared up as soon as possible. [More…]
I venture to say that if the letter of the law as it is written in sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution were to be followed we would possible have a very thin Parliament. [More…]
I suggest that the purpose of sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution is to guard against impropriety and against conflict of interest between a member’s private interest and his public duties as a member of Parliament. [More…]
Since no one has suggested that these have occurred, I submit that it would be grossly unfair if Senator Webster were to be the only person to carry the burden of the processes of resolving this matter when it appears that other people could also be in technical breach of the constitution. [More…]
I say also that there has been no suggestion of impropriety in any of the other apparent technical breaches of sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution by other members of this Parliament. [More…]
We need to know what kind of actions could represent breaches of the Constitution. [More…]
We need to ascertain whether people other than Senator Webster have in fact breached or appear to have breached the Constitution. [More…]
That examination can now be undertaken without fear and trepidation by members of Parliament who, because of circumstances of which they are not even aware, could be found to be in breach of the Constitution. [More…]
Indeed, with the common informer provisions of section 46 of the Constitution it could be completely ruinous for a member of Parliament should he be charged and found to be in breach of the Constitution, even unwittingly so. [More…]
However, the law as it now stands under sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution is far too wide. [More…]
The Constitution of Australia still contains that provision but the mother of Parliaments- the source of English law which we follow- has now completely abolished the provisions whereby a member who enters into contracts or agreements with the Public Service is disqualified. [More…]
I commend the Government for its immediate action in bringing forward this legislation to give reasonable and decent protection to members of Parliament who, without any impropriety, may find themselves in breach of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not regard a citizen who comes forward to uphold the Constitution and to require members of this Parliament to abide by the Constitution as being a smart alec or a pimp. [More…]
While it is true that it will protect members of Parliament against technical breaches or unwitting breaches of the Constitution, it also should be clear that it may well protect people who are guilty of quite deliberate braches of the Constitu te. [More…]
They could not disclose impropriety or breaches of the Constitution by members of the Parliament, for fear of losing their reputations. [More…]
One would think that the honourable member for Phillip had not read the opening words of section 46 of the Constitution which state: [More…]
The language of section 46 of the Constitution invites the introduction of the Bill that the Government had introduced tonight. [More…]
It was never intended that section 46 should be a permanent feature of the Constitution. [More…]
I think the legislation follows the clear language of section 46 of the Constitution which invited some kind of amendment. [More…]
-Naturally enough, with some legal qualifications, but with not a great deal of qualification in the law, I have long been interested in the Constitution and, amongst other things, in section 44. [More…]
1 believe that when every person enters the Parliament he should be advised of that section and should be clearly informed of the disqualifications on his membership should he unfortunately, without knowledge or without real intent, commit a breach of the Constitution. [More…]
I then turn to section 46 of the Constitution which states that until the Parliament otherwise provides, any person declared by the Constitution to be incapable of sitting as a senator or as a member of the House of Representatives shall, for every day on which he so sits, be liable to a certain penalty. [More…]
If there is any evidence at all of a breach of the Constitution or of something that the Constitution forbids then, by all means, I believe it can be referred to the Senate or to the House of Representatives. [More…]
The question was raised in this House whether 2 members of this House who were given an opportunity to sign cheques for subsidies given under that meat Act had committed a breach of section 44 (v.) of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
Every member of Parliament should have some guidance as to what he can or cannot do in order to prevent an infringement of section 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
-I ask the Prime Minister: As the names of other members of Parliament, including the President of the Senate, have been mentioned in regard to possible breaches of the Constitution, will the Government assure me that the same prompt action will be taken in these cases as was demonstrated in the case of Senator Webster? [More…]
It would have been farcical and unjust if through the inattention of members of Parliament themselves a member sat for hundreds of day and became liable to a constitutional fine. [More…]
So if any specific case arose which seemed to be covered by the terms of the Constitution the Government would act, where it fell to the Government to do so, in the way that it has acted in the last couple of weeks, and I trust that the Opposition would act as the Government did in this case in regard to pairs. [More…]
I will have more to say about the actual constitution of those councils later. [More…]
In Australia we have built up this mystique about arbitration, many times forgetting that conciliation precedes arbitration, both in the Constitution and in the statute. [More…]
The Constitution contemplates that there will be such government instrumentalities in the banking and the insurance fields. [More…]
Anybody looking at the provisions of section 5 1 of the Constitution will see that it is contemplated that the Australian Government will establish an Australian Government bank and an Australian Government insurance office, because the Constitution safeguards the rights of State government banks and State government insurance offices. [More…]
The purpose of this amendment is to enable the schemes recommended by the Children’s Commission to be funded through that section of the Constitution which enables State programs to be funded. [More…]
At the present time, the Committee would be aware that in respect of other legislation there is a challenge before the High Court of Australia as to the circumstances in which grants out of Consolidated Revenue pursuant to section 81 of the Constitution can be made direct to bodies within States and to State bodies. [More…]
The relevant section of the Constitution deals with those revenues and moneys raised by the Commonwealth and requires that they may be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth in the manner and subject to the charges and liabilities imposed by the Constitution. [More…]
If the legislation is to finance State programs, why is section 96 of the Constitution not being used? [More…]
The Opposition is of the view that because so many of the programs that will be funded under this legislation are State programs they should more properly be funded pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
This is the reason why the Opposition seeks to urge upon the Government its proposal that this provision of the Bill be deleted so that the financing can be done pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
We feel that, under the Constitution, we have the right to make provision for welfare programs. [More…]
Constitution will ensure proper consultation. [More…]
The provisions of the principal Act relating to the constitution of the managing Board are repealed and the Australian Government Insurance Corporation Board will be charged with the management of the business of the Corporation. [More…]
Firstly, it can do so by legislative act subject to section 5 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution gives this Parliament a wide power over all aspects of insurance except for State insurance not extending beyond the limits of the State concerned. [More…]
There is, then, clear constitutional authority for this Bill and there are precedents already for the creation of a national insurance corporation by this Parliament, [More…]
The arguments that were advanced on these occasions were advanced again this evening in this House now that it is mooted by the Australian Government that it will enter into the field of insurance, an area that is not denied to the Federal Government by the Constitution. [More…]
In fact, the Constitution almost invites the Australian Government to enter the field of insurance. [More…]
I simply make the point that there can be no retiring age for judges unless we are prepared to take steps to amend the Constitution. [More…]
Unless we are prepared to take steps to do something like that we have to accept what is in the Constitution and all its implications. [More…]
I cannot recall the honourable member in this Parliament having advocated a change in our Constitution to remove the problem which exists in the High Court of Australia whereby judges, according to our Constitution, do not have to retire because of age. [More…]
Yet there are few people in this Parliament who advocate a change in our Constitution by way of referendum to overcome this problem. [More…]
In the past I have constantly advocated an age barrier in our Constitution to force High Court judges to retire at 70. [More…]
I can comment on this a little because I was a member of the South Australian State Parliament at the time it conducted negotiations with certain judges, who then agreed to take their superannuation at a certain age, contrary to the Constitution and contrary to the High Court concept in this nation. [More…]
The Opposition solidly opposes the redistribution as a whole because it is unnecessary in terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Then, of course, there will be a need- according to the Constitutionfor a redistribution. [More…]
We all know the constitutional limitations of Tasmania. [More…]
But it so happens that at this time, the Constitution notwithstanding, all the seats in Tasmania are held by the Government. [More…]
The Australian constitutional fathers were very kind to Tasmania. [More…]
In section 26 of the Constitution dated 1901 we read: [More…]
That is not even a fair comparison because, as the honourable member for Wilmot (Mr Duthie) has said, the Constitution lays down that Tasmania must have at least 5 seats. [More…]
I take the minds of honourable members back to our Australian Constitution, the bible by which we as a Government and a Parliament live. [More…]
Without quoting the Constitution verbatim, it states that the Senate shall be constituted of an equal number of representatives from each of the States and that twice that number shall be divided into the population of Australia and the figure arrived at shall become the quota. [More…]
That is how the Constitution tells us a redistribution will be conducted. [More…]
The Constitution tells us how to do it. [More…]
If we are to be equitable, as the Constitution has been until now, as I have quoted it to honourable members, then surely there must be equity in the next step. [More…]
The honourable member for Gippsland is as aware as we are that that is a constitutional requirement. [More…]
This Party is not opposed to the Constitution. [More…]
I suggest that the Constitutional Committee which the Prime Minister - then Mr Menzies- has promised for several years to appoint and the appointment of which he has consistently postponed, be appointed and that it consider means of ensuring that the Australian Constitution is altered in order that no gerrymandering shall be possible and that the principles enunciated in our electoral act shall be preserved and enshrined in the Constitution. [More…]
That is, that the 20 per cent tolerance should be written into the Constitution. [More…]
Except as provided by this Act and subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court under paragraph 75 (v) of the Constitution, a decision of the Tribunal shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question, or be subject to prohibition, mandamus, certiorari or injunction, in any court on any account whatever. [More…]
the constitution of tribunals engaged in the administrative review of such decisions; [More…]
Quite clearly, the need for a unified railway was in the minds of Australia’s founding fathers in 1897 when they incorporated into the Australian Constitution Section 51 (xxxiii), which gave to the Australian Parliament power with respect to: [More…]
I doubt if men of the political character of Barton, Griffith, Kingston and Deakin could be described as socialist or centralist as they gave to Australia a federal Constitution. [More…]
Yet they were practical men who saw the need for the coordinated development of Australia’s transport system and incorporated in the Constitution, provisions which would enable the establishment of the Interstate Commission and a national railway system. [More…]
Regrettably Australia has had to wait for a Government with a truly national approach to transport problems before the vision of the framers of the Constitution could commence to be realised. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to seek the approval of the Parliament to pay to Tasmania, in accordance with the provisions of section 96 of the Australian Constitution, a sum not exceeding $650,000. [More…]
It is clear that the framers of our Constitution did not regard separate elections in this sense as basic to the Senate’s role as an independent House. [More…]
Indeed, before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Review recommended this particular reform in 1958, and again in 1959, with only one member dissenting, there had been only 3 occasions on which an election had been held to elect members of one House only- those for the House of Representatives in 1929 and 1954 and that for the Senate in 1953. [More…]
The present Bill is reintroduced in accordance with section 57 of the Constitution, the Senate having refused it a second reading on 25 February 1 975. [More…]
In accordance with the Constitution the Queen has assented to it. [More…]
The Constitution itself provides by section 74 that no appeal shall be permitted to the Privy Council from a decision of the High Court upon any question, howsoever arising, as to the limits inter se of the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth and those of any State or States or as to the limits inter se of the constitutional powers of any two or more States, unless the High Court shall certify that the question is one which ought to be determined by the Privy Council. [More…]
Nothing could provide a more sincere recognition of the role that the Constitution always intended that the High Court should have. [More…]
These relate to the constitution and meetings of the Commissions, the staff of the Commissions and the basic aspects of Commission finances. [More…]
The constitution and charter of each Council will be developed in consultation with the unions and expressed in the by-laws of each Commission. [More…]
Accordingly, the Government has no hesitation, within the terms of the Constitution, in taking whatever action is needed to ensure that the proposals of the Distribution Commissioners, for each of the 5 States concerned, are given legislative effect at the earliest possible date. [More…]
To meet the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution, the Bill is presented in the form in which it was previously passed by the House. [More…]
The Parliament has no constitutional responsibility for State courts and cannot, under the Constitution, intervene in the organisation of these courts. [More…]
I am sure that between the time this Bill is passed through this House and the time when it comes to the Senate the Government will be able to give that matter further consideration because it does go to a basic tenet of our constitution; that is to say, when property is acquired it can be acquired only on just terms. [More…]
It was proved that section 92 of the Constitution prevents it when attempts were made by Chifley to nationalise the banks. [More…]
He knows that the Australian Government cannot nationalise anything unless a change is made to the Constitution. [More…]
Unless there was a change in the Constitution by way of a referendum we could not nationalise a lolly shop. [More…]
When the new Constitution for New South Wales, which incidentally is the present one, was being discussed and drafted in the early 1850s the matter was revived. [More…]
I should also mention that the Chief of Defence Force Staff will have the command of the Defence Force subject to the command in chief vested in the Governor-General by section 68 of the Constitution. [More…]
In Victoria, as in the rest of the Commonwealth, a redistribution is not necessary according to the Constitution. [More…]
From a constitutional aspect, a redistribution is unnecessary. [More…]
A few years ago he was saying that a 20 per cent tolerance enrolment was perfectly reasonable and that this provision should be enshrined in the Constitution so that no one could tamper with it. [More…]
In line with the Constitution, proposals were put to this Parliament that there be a variation of the number of voters in electorates of not more than 10 per cent either way. [More…]
According to the provisions of the Constitution we reduced the variation in electorates to 10 per cent. [More…]
The Minister should be as aware as I am that, although that might sound a worthy objective, in terms of the Australian Constitution as presently formulated it is absolutely impossible to achieve. [More…]
They would mean that in order to pay any moneys one would have to utilise the provisions of section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Minister spoke as if it were not possible for a program of this type to be funded by means of section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
But there is no need to finance that program by means of section 81 of the Constitution. [More…]
Under that Bill, by means of section 96 of the Constitution, a massive universities program is funded. [More…]
We urged that, by the mechanism of section 96 which ensures that the States would be involved in the process of the funding ofthe programs, a better integration would be achieved between those programs proposed by the Interim Committee and, in the future, by the Children’s Commission itself, than would be the case if the Commonwealth simply funded programs direct and did not involve the States in the way that they would necessarily be involved by the application of grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
-The House is debating again the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1975 [No. [More…]
If there were a double dissolution and if the Labor Party had a majority of the combined membership of the Senate and House of Representatives, it could obtain at a Joint Sitting, as provided by the Constitution, a majority to have those Bills on which the double dissolution was granted put through and passed. [More…]
The fact is that the Constitution requires a majority. [More…]
The Constitution provides also that it must be carried by a majority of States. [More…]
As a great lawyer, perhaps he overlooked the fact that the Constitution, makes that provision. [More…]
I look upon it perhaps as a second home in some ways, but I am sure that the great majority of the people in New South Wales would agree with me that it is not only their more populous numbers which are to be considered in these matters which affect the whole country but the minorities have some rights under our Constitution since it was based on the principle that smaller States and indeed other States would have a say. [More…]
Under the constitution the Senate normally has an election for half of its members every three years. [More…]
It is a deep constitutional principle that governments stand or fall on their support or otherwise in this House and not by what goes on in the Senate. [More…]
Of course there is a considerable difference in the activities of the 2 chambers which have a very different role to play within our Constitution. [More…]
We borrowed this principle from the proceedings and Constitution of the House of Commons at Westminster. [More…]
All the proceedings of this House are based on the procedure and constitutionality of what was developed in England over centuries of trial and error. [More…]
So, closer analysis of this proposition shows that we would be making a very big change to the Constitution of this country and I am not sure, even after the debate on this Bill, that all its ramifications have been fully thought out. [More…]
This is a proposition that would do considerable violence to the place of the Senate in the Constitution. [More…]
I conclude by saying that there is no general demand by the Australian people for making this change to the Constitution. [More…]
A Constitution (Alternation) Bill cannot- I repeat cannot- be the subject of action taken under section 57 of the Constitution which, of course, refers to the proceedings for a double dissolution. [More…]
All that is required is for the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) to ask the Governor-General to agree to have a referendum on the subject of the Constitution (Alteration) Bill put to the people. [More…]
If the people agree to the change being made, that becomes an alteration to the Constitution. [More…]
I ask honourable members opposite to have a look at the report of the Constitutional Review Committee. [More…]
The honourable member for Curtin ought to brush up on his law when it comes to constitutional questions, because section 57 of the Constitution has nothing whatsoever to say about or to do with the matters that he brought before the House. [More…]
What he is doing is introducing a constitutional trick. [More…]
It is a trick to employ constitutional practices and procedures and an attempted alteration to the Constitution in order to persuade the people that he is a technical expert on the Constitution and is worthy of governing this country. [More…]
I turn to the Constitution itself. [More…]
I must confess that I am a devout admirer of those who drafted the Constitution- the fathers of our Constitutionand gave us a legal framework that has been a confirmed source of protection in times of trouble and need. [More…]
The relevant section of our Constitution that deals with the Senate is section 7. [More…]
What does the Prime Minister intend by trying to amend those 2 paragraphs of section 7 of the Constitution? [More…]
Why does he want to alter the Constitution so that senators must submit themselves for an election whenever there is a House of Representatives election? [More…]
And according to those who wrote ‘The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth’, Quick and Garran, there is a necessity to ensure that the Parliament itself, whether in the House of Representatives or in the Senate, reflects the mature and long term views of the Australian people. [More…]
I refer to such matters as the Racial Discrimination Bill, the attempts to gerrymander the electorate in order to sustain an authoritarian system of democracy; and various Constitution Bills that were knocked back by the Senate and the people. [More…]
I now want to refer to ‘The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth’ by Quick and Garran in relation to mature judgment of the people and the obligation to sustain the long term interests of the Australian electorate. [More…]
A Constitution is a charter of government; it is a deed of trust, containing covenants between the sovereign community - [More…]
At the same time a Constitution which did not contain provision for its amendment with the development, growth, and expansion of the community which it is intended to govern, would be a most inadequate and imperfect deed of partnership. [More…]
The authors go on to say that those 2 ingredients must be combined and that the Constitution should be a living organism changing as necessary to meet environmental changes. [More…]
I ask one other question: Why did the fathers of the Constitution provided that there should be a 6-year term for the members of the Senate? [More…]
It was to ensure that the Prime Minister or the Government of the day could not intimidate or blackmail members of the Senate by threat of a double dissolution or by any other means when exercising their constitutional powers, to ensure that the Senate is a States’ House reflecting the views of the States and a House of review having all the qualities and power that a House of review needs to express the mature view and the long term attitude of the Australian people to constitutional change and the business of government. [More…]
I will do all I can to prevail upon the people to continue to do what they have done so frequently, that is, not to change the Constitution in a way that will react against their interests. [More…]
However, I think it is necessary that I do say that under the Australian Constitution there is already an opportunity for the government of the day to have simultaneous elections. [More…]
Not only is this a measure to reduce the power of the Senate, it is also a measure designed to ensure that the Australian Constitution will be arbitrarily changed so that there will not be available to the Government the option which is now available to it. [More…]
The Government is in a position, thanks to the constitutional powers that are accorded it by sections 12, 13 and 32, to ensure that House of Representatives and Senate elections are held at an identical time. [More…]
The Government does not seem to be interested in the present provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
In other words, honourable members opposite try to get simultaneous elections to reduce the power of the Senate not because they really see the matter as urgent and not because the Constitution is inadequate but because they are intentionally trying to give to the Labor Government a security of tenure which its actions should deny it and which I am quite confident the Australian people equally will deny it the next time it goes to the polls. [More…]
They must acknowledge that State government expenditure must have the same impact as national government expenditure, whether their income is derived from their own sources or from the Australian Government under section 96 of the Constitution or whether the spending program is their own initiative or part of a national program- part of the Australian Government’s nationally accepted responsibility. [More…]
The Minister for Transport (Mr Charles Jones) pointed out in his second reading speech that there is a constitutional provision in relation to these measures, namely, section 5 1 of the Constitution, which gives the Australian Parliament power with respect to: [More…]
The Minister made the point that this proposal was considered worthy enough by our founding fathers to be included in the Constitution. [More…]
Australia has had to wait for a Government with a truly national approach to transport problems before the vision of the framers of the Constitution could commence to be realised. [More…]
This hurdle was recognised even by our founding fathers who drew up the Constitution. [More…]
That is why provision is made in section 5 1 (xxxiii) of the Constitution for the Australian Parliament to have power with respect to: [More…]
Probably it could be done under the Constitution in relation to overseas shipping, I do not know. [More…]
To talk about the Australian Government setting up a corporation to control the stevedoring industry without at the same time setting up a corporation that would have complete control over the whole industry, to the extent that the Constitution would permit it to be done, is quite silly. [More…]
Clause 7 of that fund’s constitution provides that: medical members of the association shall be elected by the council or the committee appointed by the council to select medical members. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to seek the approval of the Parliament to pay to Tasmania, in accordance with the provisions of Section 96 of the Australian Constitution, a sum not exceeding $650,000. [More…]
Under section 96 of the Australian Constitution, the Australian Government will make the payment to Tasmania, which in turn will make advances to the company, subject to certain employment conditions that I will deal with at a later stage. [More…]
Perhaps the Constitution itself needs to be heavily amended for his purposes. [More…]
This underscores one basic fact, namely, that there are some aspects in relation to which section 57 of the Constitution ceases to have effect. [More…]
My own basic objective in proposing a new Federal Superior Court was to free the High Court of Australia as of this time but particularly for the future for the discharge of its fundamental duties as interpreter of the Constitution and as the national court of appeal untrammelled by some appellate and much original jurisdiction with which it need not be concerned. [More…]
The real solution in this matter is not to proceed with this court but to attempt basic constitutional reform of the judicature chapter of the Constitution and in the meantime, I suggest, to use what has been referred to by Mr Justice ElseMitchell, for instance, in an article that he had published in the Federal Law Review, as the autochthonous expedient- the use of the State courts as repositories of Federal jurisdiction. [More…]
We in this Parliament ought to be engaged in modernising our judicial system, and this cannot be achieved until we have undertaken a far-reaching reform of chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
If we examine the history and interpretation of chapter III of the Constitution we will find that it offends in many respects. [More…]
But that is not because of chapter III of our Constitution; it is despite it. [More…]
A quick analysis will indicate the constricting effect of chapter III of our Constitution. [More…]
The matter is an elementary one because already under the Constitution- and this is the main thrust of the Petroleum and Minerals Authority legislation- the Commonwealth can, through its overseas trade powers, its interstate trade powers and its defence powers, on appropriate occasions and for appropriate purposes definitely engage in mining and acquire an interest in a mining company. [More…]
-When the debate was adjourned last evening I was referring to various aspects of Chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
Indeed, they were various unsatisfactory aspects of Chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
I was referring to the fact that section 72 of the Constitution requires justices and others who exercise Federal jurisdiction to be appointed for life. [More…]
We can do it only by constitutional amendment. [More…]
As interpreted, Chapter III of the Constitution confines the courts to the exercise of judicial power. [More…]
They are not judges or justices and therefore those ancillary matters such as dealing with particulars cannot be dealt with other than by judges or justices under Chapter in of the Constitution. [More…]
This is another instance of a defect in Chapter III of our Constitution. [More…]
The High Court should have the primary function of dealing with constitutional matters. [More…]
This can be achieved only by an amendment to Chapter III of the Constitution. [More…]
Under Chapter III of the Constitution a general appellate court cannot be created for the country. [More…]
I am suggesting to honourable members that it is time they abandoned the Superior Court project and gave consideration to seeking an amendment of the Constitution to make sure that we have one set of courts in this country- one national set of courts. [More…]
The Courts administering the law should all derive an independent existence and authority from the Constitution. [More…]
Some practical difficulties would occur in carrying such a principle beyond the superior Courts, but it is not easy to see why the entire system of superior Courts should not have been organised and erected under the Constitution to administer the total content of the law. [More…]
I hope that the Prime Minister will go back to the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
There we could move an amendment to chapter III of the Constitution to establish one hierarchy of courts in Aus.tralia one system- and not two or three systems of courts. [More…]
We could amend the Constitution to enable justices, judges and magistrates to be appointed to a limited age, to enable specialist judges to be appointed, for instance for a family court, to a specific age. [More…]
This is another amendment of chapter III of the Constitution that ought to be considered. [More…]
Then we ought to have an amendment to the Constitution that would enable a flexible appellate structure to be created- indeed a new appellate court of the type I mentioned earlier. [More…]
If it is desired- I myself think it desirable- to have fewer courts of appeal in Australia through which litigants have to traipse one does not have to alter the Constitution by referendum to do that. [More…]
The true effect of the Bill would be to remove from the State supreme courts all those matters which they presently administer under section 77 (iii) of the Constitution and to re-direct them to the Superior Court. [More…]
It would redirect the bulk of matters within the original jurisdiction of the High Court into the Superior Court, leaving the High Court principally a constitutional and appellate tribunal. [More…]
One cannot deny that technically the power to establish a federal court additional to the High Court is within the Constitution. [More…]
As the honourable gentleman well knows it would be far more simple just to splash a grant or two towards the States under section 96 of the Constitution for the expansion of their courts. [More…]
They remove certain areas of doubt where they previously existed, particularly in relation to the constitution of the bench of the court in providing that there shall be not less than 3 judges in dealing with matters of professional behaviour or conduct of a legal practitioner, which certainly brings the provisions relating to the Northern Territory Supreme Court into line with similar provisions concerning State courts in Australia. [More…]
When we have a look at the constitution of the Corporation we must wonder at its ability to do just that. [More…]
Sub-clause (12) of clause 5 of the Bill represents, for the first time to my knowledge, an interesting extension of the disclosure of interest provisions which are contained in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It may be that he was referring to the vote on the Constitution Alteration (Sumultaneous Elections) Bill. [More…]
He should know as should the shadow Leader of the House on the Opposition side who is a lawyer, that a proposal to alter the Constitution requires the support of an absolute majority of the members of this House. [More…]
I point out that the notice paper for Monday, 2 June 1975 showed the first item of business to be the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1975 (No. [More…]
That notice paper was issued to all members of this House on the Friday preceding the Monday and therefore the Opposition knew full well on the Friday that there would be a constitution alteration Bill coming up for discussion on the Monday. [More…]
Surely the eminent Leader of the Opposition does not think that on a constitution alteration matter members from either side, who are required by the Constitution to be here, should stay away from the Parliament. [More…]
The letter from the Opposition has just been received, but I will be surprised if that request will be met because it is an impossible situation when matters concerning the Constitution are involved. [More…]
I do not think any responsible Leader of the Opposition could expect members to stay in London or somewhere else when a constitution alteration Bill is coming up for discussion particularly when 3 days’ notice is given to all honourable members. [More…]
He answered: ‘Yes’ to the first question and then referred me to his second reading speech in Hansard on the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill 1974. [More…]
In the referendum questions put as a result of the passage of that legislation, Territorians could have been granted the right to vote at a referendum proposing laws to alter the Constitution were it not for the third question in respect of that referendum proposal. [More…]
And I refer to the necessity for this House to maintain the Rule of Law and the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I believe that they show a tendency and a trend that we have never known in the history of this Parliament since its opening in 1901 with deception becoming under Labor the syndrome and the practice of the day, where intimidation is possible and has been practised in the last few months and where the law and the Constitution have been undermined. [More…]
If we believe in the Constitution we ought to think always of what it > means. [More…]
And we should do our best to uphold that Constitution and the Rule of Law. [More…]
The then Senator Murphy, the Attorney-General and highest law officer of the land, the man who, with the Prime Minister, should most protect the Constitution, carried out this raid himself. [More…]
The Government was forgetful of section 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
And finally, to meet the challenge of moulding a truly national transport system- including the railways and other forms of transport- we have sought to restore the Inter-State Commission specified in section 10 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
The area within which the Office will provide legal aid is the area within which the Australian Parliament is empowered to make laws under the Constitution. [More…]
Facts now before the public indicate a deliberate devious attempt to avoid by a subterfuge the constraints of the Constitution and to defraud the States. [More…]
What an irony that we debate these matters on the very anniversary of the date on which the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act was signed, 9 July 1900. [More…]
states that the Government is bound to the terms of the Financial Agreement with the States regardless of anything else in the Constitution, including Section [More…]
The use of the formula by the Government to raise funds overseas has all the earmarks of a deliberate conspiracy to evade the Constitution for secret and disturbing political ends. [More…]
Was there indeed a conspiracy to deceive and to defraud the States and to evade the terms of the Constitution? [More…]
Was there a conspiracy to deceive and defraud the States and to evade the terms of the Constitution? [More…]
He appears to have been the leading member of an illegal conspiracy to evade the Constitution. [More…]
Has the Prime Minister led a deliberate conspiracy to evade the Constitution? [More…]
Why was section 105A of the Constitution ignored? [More…]
That section binds the government to the terms of the financial agreement, notwithstanding anything else in the Constitution, including section 61. [More…]
Section 61 of the Constitution has never been used in this way before. [More…]
I say this because they conspired to corrupt the Constitution. [More…]
It knows that it is a breach of our Constitution to be raising money overseas other than for defence purposes or temporary purposes. [More…]
Nobody can tell me that 2 Q.Cs., the former Attorney-General and the Prime Minister, did not know that it was a breach of the Constitution to go forward and seek money, on a misleading minute of the Executive Council. [More…]
Both these men have misled Australia by conspiring to get around the Constitution. [More…]
Further the Financial Agreement is the supreme document of the Constitution. [More…]
In a sense it stands above the Constitution. [More…]
But the fact is that the Financial Agreement in its own way does stand above the constitution. [More…]
This Government has shown a preparedness in this event to trample over the Constitution. [More…]
But if honourable members care to analyse the statements that the Prime Minister has made, they will see that very nearly every statement is either a misunderstanding of administrative procedures, a misunderstanding of what is contained in the Constitution itself, or a failure to understand the proper and most effective means of raising loans overseas. [More…]
The second question is: Was the $4,000m of borrowing legal and constitutional? [More…]
The Parliament has been ignored, the Constitution by-passed and the Loan Council and the Financial Agreement treated as of no consequence. [More…]
That is provided in the Constitution. [More…]
Indeed, if my recollection is correct, only one certificate has been given under that provision of the Constitution. [More…]
The constitutional change in this 4 decades has been immense. [More…]
Even at that time, it was undertaken by everybody who was concerned with the Statute of Westminister and the construction of it that there would be no interference in the States and that the House of Commons and the House of Lords would not be asked to do something which would alter the constitutional position of the States. [More…]
If this legislation were passed and if we suppose that the British Parliament passed the legislation as requested, it would interfere with the Constitution of the States. [More…]
Therefore, it is not only a wrong process in terms of the way we see the development of our Constitution but also a direct contradiction of what was undertaken clearly and without qualification at the time of the Statute of Westminster. [More…]
The way in which what is proposed should be done is to consult the people who determine the Constitution, and that is all the Australian people, voting as they can, at a referendum. [More…]
That would have the effect of ensuring that the constituent States need not fear in a similar sort of manner anybody interfering further with the powers which were given them by the Constitution or in some way imperilling their position as constituent States of the Commonwealth. [More…]
I recapitulate: If the Government wishes to have a referendum and to test the matter by constitutional amendment, I will support it because I very strongly believe that the final court of appeal should be the High Court of Australia. [More…]
What we will have if we achieve this by referendum is a determination according to the Constitution and not by reverting to some anachronistic procedure which is fraught with peril and which stands as a direct threat to the independence of the constituent States which make up the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
Well, he might as an individual support such a proposal, but we all know the results of attempts made in this country to change the Constitution be referenda. [More…]
This Labor Government more than any other government has tried to change the Australian Constitution by referenda, but it requires only one determined group of people, hiding behind the words with which they choose to cloak their real thoughts, to oppose a referendum for the community as a whole to oppose it. [More…]
I am reminded of the peculiar situation that exists in Australia with its successively rigid Constitution. [More…]
But the only way the Opposition can suggest is a referendum when it knows that invariably when this Government puts forward referendum proposals the Opposition opposes them and its very opposition frustrates the attempts to change the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Many people in Australia increasingly, I hope, are becoming aware of the rigidity of the Australian Constitution and its complete and total inadequacy to meet the needs of Australians in 1975. [More…]
The Australian Constitution provides that that document can be changed by referendum of the people. [More…]
On this occasion the AttorneyGeneral’s Government is in effect saying: ‘The Constitution is not adequate; we will bypass it and revive an ancient device’. [More…]
I am very sorry that the Attorney-General finds our constitutional setup so rigid and so frustrating. [More…]
I venture to suggest that a great number of people throughout Australia have been extremely grateful over the past 2’/2 years that we have had the Constitution Act of 1 90 1 because if we had not we aU know very well that the legal balance which still exists between the Federal Government and the State governments in our Federation would have been greatly disturbed. [More…]
Of course the Constitution needs updating. [More…]
For the AttorneyGeneral to manifest so very clearly during the course of this debate his frustration and annoyance with the rigidity of the Constitution is, I think, very revealing. [More…]
Papua New Guinea must aspire to that true sovereignty which no State under the Australian Constitution could ever have, or has ever had. [More…]
If, for example, he looks at the Commonwealth of Austrafia Constitution Act he will find recited there words to the effect that the ‘people of the various States, uniting under the province of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Commonwealth’. [More…]
Section 1 of our Commonwealth Constitution speaks of the legislative power of the Commonwealth. [More…]
But I cannot, nevertheless, refrain from saying that I have the utmost doubt as to the constitutional validity of the purported conferment of the command in chief of the armed Services upon any person. [More…]
It is in clear conflict, in my opinion, with section 68 of the Constitution which vests the command in chief of the military Services in the Governor-General. [More…]
But here is an attempt to alter explicitly section 68 of the Constitution. [More…]
We need to debate the constitutional issue. [More…]
He raised very succinctly for that Committee the role of the Governor-General in section 68 of the Constitution. [More…]
Under Section 68 of the Australian Constitution, and separately under Letters Patent, he is vested with command-in-chief of the Defence Force as the Queen’s representative. [More…]
I drew attention to the fact that section 1 of our Constitution bespeaks the uttering together in one indissoluble Commonwealth and the fact that the legislative power under section 51 is invested in the Commonwealth. [More…]
I have already alluded to the provisions of our own Constitution in sections 1, 51 and 61. [More…]
I am happy to say that over the last few months, as a result of the renewed effort to have the Constitutional Convention reconvened, it has been agreed that at next month’s Constitutional Convention, which will assemble in Melbourne on 24 September, 2 local government proposals will be on the agenda. [More…]
Those items will come before the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
They are listed immediately after the agenda item concerning the referendum on interchange of powers and the agenda items concerning amendment of the referendum provisions contained in section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
On page 45 of the Platform Constitution and Rules of the Australian Labor Party, we see that the Australian Constitution is to be amended to provide for the protection of fundamental civil rights and liberties. [More…]
affirms the decision taken by resolution of the House on 31 May 1973 that the Australian Parliament join with the parliaments of the States in the Constitutional Convention to be convened to review the Australian Constitution in September of that year, and at such subsequent times as the Convention from time to time determined . [More…]
Mr Speaker, the Opposition Parties welcome the change in approach by the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) which enables the Constitutional Convention to be held in September, and welcomes therefore the motion that he has moved. [More…]
It is our hope that this Convention will be a useful forum in which State and Federal representatives may constructively consider constitutional reform in a way which will advance the good government of Australia. [More…]
There are changes which can be made to the Constitution for the improved working of the Federal system. [More…]
I speak now in the constitutional sense. [More…]
I gave the Minister section after section of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. [More…]
Again I asked, during the course of my speech in the second reading debate, whether the Minister for Defence (Mr Morrison) would give an explanation of the apparent conflict- I put it no harsher than that- with section 68 of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not take the view that this legislative flourish can put at nought the constitutional provisions which exist in section 68 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution. [More…]
Under the Constitution, any Minister is responsible for the administration of a Department of State. [More…]
One cannot be a Minister under the Constitution unless one has a Department of State to administer. [More…]
It had no books, no clear constitution and there seems to be considerable doubt whether it had properly elected officers, or whether it really had meetings. [More…]
I cite the Australian Labor Party’s platform, constitution and rules as approved by the 31st National Conference at Terrigal in 1975. [More…]
They are also covered by sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution. [More…]
That is provided for by section 105A of the Constitution. [More…]
Consolidated Revenue draws its principal standing from section 81 of the Constitution which, since it is brief, I quote: [More…]
All revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth in the manner and subject to the charges and liabilities imposed by this Constitution. [More…]
I want to look first at section 8 1 of the Constitution which, of course, no Bill can abrogate. [More…]
All revenues or moneys raised or received by the Executive Government of the Commonwealth shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the purposes of the Commonwealth in the manner and subject to the charges and liabilities imposed by this Constitution. [More…]
Any moneys raised, whether by tax or by loan, must be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund in terms of section 81 of the Constitution. [More…]
Commonwealth powers of borrowing are limited in terms of the Financial Agreement which is incorporated in the Constitution. [More…]
I am worried about it particularly when I look at the implications of section 81 of the Constitution. [More…]
Whether it comes out of the Loan Fund or whether it comes out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund- I want to say something about section 81 of the Constitution for the honourable member- it has got to come out of one or other of those funds. [More…]
The honourable member referred specifically to section 8 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
They are recognisable divisions of the internal bookkeeping, but I am told that in terms of section 81 of the Constitution the legal people regard the term ‘Consolidated Revenue Fund’ as embracing all 3 aspects and not just the Consolidated Revenue Fund itself. [More…]
The point is that even though we call the funds by 3 different names- the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the Loan Fund and the Trust Fund- for the purposes of section 81 of the Constitution they are all embraced by the term ‘Consolidated Revenue Fund’. [More…]
-I accept what the Minister for Overseas Trade (Mr Crean) has said about this practice in regard to section 8 1 of the Constitution not being novel in the hands of this Government, but I am still worried. [More…]
It is the end of the formal association whereby Australia ceases to have any sovereignty over Papua New Guinea at midnight on 15 September thus enabling the Papua New Guinea Constitution to have effect on 16 September, that Constitution not being dependent on any legislative authority from Australia under this legislation. [More…]
on 16 September 1975 Papua New Guinea is to become an independent sovereign state by the name of the independent State of Papua New Guinea, having a constitution established, adopted and given to themselves by the people of Papua New Guinea acting through their Constituent Assembly. [More…]
The Constitution of the new colony provided even then for an Executive Council and a Legislative Council. [More…]
Under the Constitution it should have been for temporary purposes. [More…]
This is the Government that changes the national anthem and changes the name of the Government itself without any reference to the wishes of the people or without proper regard for the Constitution. [More…]
We have in our Constitution certain requirements laid down in law, quite inflexible, with which every Australian Parliament and government must conform. [More…]
Such a provision is not written in the Constitution precisely, although it is written that money Bills can originate only in this House. [More…]
This motion seeks to give honourable members the opportunity to endorse a fundamental principle of our democracy, to support our Constitution and the accepted convention which has in recent times been rejected by one State Premier and now stands threatened by another. [More…]
Obviously the Constitution itself has a part in developing the convention. [More…]
The Constitution itself in respect of these matters is quite clear. [More…]
I read one sentence from section 15 of the Constitution: [More…]
Insofar as the convention is based upon some kind of history and some kind of past practice, both the Constitution and Odgers ‘s Australian Senate Practice support the Government. [More…]
It has been shown incontestably that the convention as determined by the Constitution and as determined even by practice of the Senate, as interpreted by Odgers, is much narrower than the Opposition is putting it. [More…]
I think that I should mention to honourable members what some of the newspapers think about how the Constitution has been contravened in this round about method. [More…]
They are asking us to continue or expand appropriations for a scheme whose validity under the Constitution they are challenging. [More…]
In the meantime they get no assistance from their colleagues in this Parliament, because one does not know whether the Liberals, from the top to the bottom, or the National Country Party of Australia either for that matter, want the RED scheme to be expanded or scaled down, or whether they think it is unconstitutional. [More…]
The quorum of 33% per cent, which was established under section 39 of the Australian Constitution, is the highest, as far as I can discover, in the world. [More…]
It is envisaged by the Constitution and would not require anything so impossible as the passage of a referendum in order to achieve it. [More…]
We also know that on 2 December 1972- not yet 3 years ago, and yet the Constitution states that the House of Representatives should be elected for 3 years- the people of Australia chose a majority of members of the Australian Labor Party to govern in this House. [More…]
We know that in that place a majority of senators decided that in May 1974, before the 3 years required by the Constitution were up, they would take the people of Australia to another election. [More…]
Since then this other chamber, the other House of the parliamentary system in Australia as defined in the Constitution, has set about taking some other decisions. [More…]
I said at that time, and I repeat it, that the Governor-General should have dismissed both the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) and the then Attorney-General, former Senator Murphy, from their positions because they had so contravened the Constitution that their actions set at nought the essence of democracy about which in this debate Government members have been speaking. [More…]
When the founding fathers drew up our Constitution they balanced the rights of the colonies, which were later to become the States, with the rights of the population of Australia as a whole. [More…]
I suggest that if the Constitution had been drawn up about 12 or 15 years later than it was the situation we have at the moment would not have occurred, because about 1910 or 1911 after a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom the House of Lords had the power to refuse money taken away from it- or it agreed by virtue of the circumstances that it could not refuse money to the Parliament. [More…]
I believe that that sort of power would have been enshrined in the Constitution if it had been drawn up about 1 5 years later. [More…]
This is a matter, or course, which has been considered by various committees and conventions considering the Constitution for many years past. [More…]
I remember that it was considered by the Constitutional Review Committee set up by the Parliament in 1956. [More…]
The Constitutional Convention which assembled in September 1973 also considered this matter and referred it to one of its committees. [More…]
I believe that committee has also recommended that it should be a matter of convention as distinct from constitutional amendment. [More…]
There are obviously difficulties in drafting any constitutional amendment which refers to political Parties. [More…]
The Constitution itself does not do that and while there has been some legislation introduced by the Minister for Services and Property which identifies political parties in the same way as political parties have been identified in much legislation in other countries, including federal countries, I believe there have not been any constitutional provisions of that character yet devised. [More…]
There is a proposal now to abandon this Constitutional Convention. [More…]
In May last year the Opposition parties went to the people on a published program to ‘support and work for the continuing examination by the Australian Constitutional Convention of the changes to the Constitution which 70 years experience has revealed as being necessary’. [More…]
I often wonder what the situation would be if the Australian Constitution had been written in 19 14 instead of in 1 90 1 . [More…]
The provisions in the Constitution about what Senates can do about money Bills was an acknowledgement of the convention that had never been breached in the British system, but which for sheer political expediency the Opposition is willing to breach at any time. [More…]
I will not take up much of the 10 minutes I have skirting those aspects of the Constitution which the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Crean) raised except perhaps to remind him that it was the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) before the last election who was very fond of describing the then members of the Senate as yesterday’s men and men elected for a certain number of years. [More…]
It was their voice and, of course, the Senate is acting constitutionally in terms of the compact that was made in the 1890s when the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. [More…]
Under the constitution of the Council, it is laid down that the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives should apply. [More…]
It could not be under its present constitution. [More…]
To make that possible a constitution for the NACC is necessary. [More…]
The Executive Council minute carries a notation, consistent with the Constitution, that the borrowings were to be for temporary purposes. [More…]
-The programs which would be affected are those which the Australian Government has specified as the subjects for grants of money under section 96 of the Constitution to the States. [More…]
It has long been regarded that section 44 (v) and section 45 (iii) of the Constitution provided adequate protection of the public interest in respect to possible conflict of interest. [More…]
It opposed the holding of a referendum for an amendment to be made to the Constitution to enable local government to receive direct financial assistance from the Federal Government. [More…]
It even opposed local government being dealt with by the .Constitutional Convention which was held last week. [More…]
However every power, every executive, judicial or legislative act, and the basis for such power and such actions are to be derived from the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution establishes the boundaries of power for the Parliament. [More…]
The British have not based their Constitution in a written form. [More…]
We have a written Constitution, which is this fundamental organic law. [More…]
Our Constitution provides that the Parliament shall have power for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
I would like to examine some of the actions of our present Government and to compare them with their basis of power and their role as fitting within the context of a constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary democracy that we have. [More…]
Whilst I would never deny the proposition that it is the place of the High Court in the final analysis to determine whether or not a law of this Parliament is valid I put it to the Committee that any AttorneyGeneral of this country has an obligation to advise the Government that he serves whether or not Acts passed by this Parliament are within constitutional power. [More…]
One is reminded, of course, of the fate of the petroleum and minerals authority legislation which was rejected by the High Court as being outside the operation of section 57 of the Constitution being legislation which ought not to have been considered at the Joint Sitting of this Parliament convened last year. [More…]
Australia has perhaps the most rigid legalistic Constitution in the Western world. [More…]
The argument that the Opposition parties use is that the matter involved is one for the States, it is not to be found in the written words of the Constitution, or it was not in the contemplation of the founding fathers who, with the exception of Sir Isaac Isaacs who died in 1948, died many years ago. [More…]
What is the position if one wants to change the Australian Constitution? [More…]
I turn to my good friend, the honourable member for Wentworth, who probably has had as much experience as anyone, to say that the Constitution reflects the best interests of Australia in 1975. [More…]
He is silent Yet, if we put up a referendum proposal to change an aspect of the Constitution in any way, it is predictable and certain that his Party, the Liberal Party, and also the National Country Party, will oppose that referendum proposal on every pretext or another and you will frighten Australians into saying no. [More…]
That leaves really one instrument of constitutional change in this country. [More…]
At present the Constitution makes provision- in section 51 (xxxvii)- for references of powers by the States to the Australian Parliament. [More…]
The proposed Constitution alteration before the House will remedy this position by making it quite clear that a reference given by the States will be revocable, that it may be given subject to conditions, including conditions regulating the kinds of laws that may be passed in pursuance of it, and may be made for a limited period of time. [More…]
The other important thing that the proposed Constitution alteration will do is to make the powers of reference mutual: That is to say, it will authorise references, which for technical reasons are described in the Bill as ‘designations’, of powers by the Australian Government to the States. [More…]
This was a matter that Standing Committee ‘B’ of the Australian Constitutional Convention asked should be made clear. [More…]
The premier of Victoria, Mr Hamer, said that he welcomed the proposal as a distinct improvement on the situation and one which would make the Constitution itself a great deal more flexible and responsive than it has been in the past. [More…]
He thought it gave emphasis to the central idea of the Australian Constitutional Convention, namely, that it would be possible for representatives of the States and the Commonwealth to meet for the purpose of reaching agreement on the reference of certain powers. [More…]
The leader of the Tasmanian delegation, Mr Everett, Q.C., expressed his confidence that the Tasmanian delegation would strongly support the proposal and that he believed the Commonwealth’s offer was a landmark in the reconception of the Constitution and that history would applaud it. [More…]
Standing Committee B subsequently resolved to recommend to the Convention that the Constitution be altered in the manner proposed by the Bill as passed by the House of Representatives. [More…]
Mr Speaker, it is clear that the proposal embodied in this proposed Constitution alteration has a very wide measure of support. [More…]
The terms of the Constitution alteration now before the House received the unanimous support of those who attended the Melbourne Convention last week. [More…]
The Constitution alteration now proposed will allow this matter to be taken up with the States and Territories so that a single, sensible, acceptable law of defamation will apply throughout the length and breadth of the land. [More…]
These matters would complement the powers already conferred by the Constitution on the Australian Parliament with respect of marriage under section 5 1 (xxi) of the Constitution, and under section 5 1 (xxii) with respect to divorce and matrimonial causes and, in relation thereto, parental rights and the custody and guardianship of infants. [More…]
Our Constitution requires that after there has been a census of the Australian people there be an electoral redistribution. [More…]
I am not advocatingindeed the Opposition does not advocate- that the situation should be otherwise, but if the Government is so committed to a principle of one vote one value why does it not, to be consistent, initiate some amendment to the Constitution to cover that situation? [More…]
If the National Country Party and the Liberal Party continue in their operations in regard to the Constitution and in their opposition to electoral reform and in the manner they have conducted themselves over the last year there is a fair chance that the processes of democracy in Australia as we know them in this Parliament will not survive. [More…]
He intimated that we should also make seats in Tasmania larger if our argument of one vote one value is to hold water, but the honourable member surely must be aware that the Constitution sets down the minimum number of seats for a State as small as Tasmania. [More…]
-While you may like to kick the Constitution around as your Party has been doing over the past 2Vi years we are not prepared to do so. [More…]
As the honourable member knows, that it constitutionally a totally false argument to put forward because Tasmania must have a minimum of 5 seats under the Constitution irrespective of the numbers that live there. [More…]
-Mr Deputy Chairman, I want to address some remarks to the enforcement of the Constitution and the law generally in the debate on the estimates for the Attorney-General’s Department. [More…]
The Attorney-General himself should be deeply involved in the upholding of the Constitutionand the Constitution is a federal Constitution. [More…]
The general attitude of the Attorney-General and of this Government is one of contempt for the Constitution. [More…]
What is the High Court there for if it is not to deal with the question of whether a piece of legislation or an Act of the Government is constitutional? [More…]
Earlier this year- I have already spoken on it- we had the loans affair, which was a gross contempt of the Constitution and a gross abuse of the fundamental constitutional principle. [More…]
-Under the Australian Constitution education is one matter which was not- and never has been- handed over by the States to the Commonwealth. [More…]
It also employs another device, section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
This section has been used by succeeding Australian governments, quite dishonestly I believe, to circumvent the Constitution as it was originally intended. [More…]
I am one who has always believed that if there is a constitution, be it in a club, a society or a nation, one should abide by the rules so laid down in that constitution. [More…]
If one believes that the Constitution should be changed, that for instance education should be directed by the Commonwealth, there is machinery by way of a democratic referendum of the people to change the Constitution. [More…]
In the advertisement he said that more and more effort was being made by the Australian Government to force grants on State governments under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Again, and in line with the Constitution, we were elected to govern the country. [More…]
I happened by chance to find in my files a copy of the platform, constitution and rules of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
I should like to quote from section 53 of the Australian Constitution which states: [More…]
We are still arguing on the basis of a Constitution that was drawn up some 75 years ago. [More…]
He has met not only the legal obstruction of the Constitution but also obstruction by the States, which have taken legal action to prevent the development of an authority which is worth while. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware that the purpose of the Bill is to provide for a referendum to amend the Constitution of the Commonwealth by inserting in the Constitution two new sections to be known, if the referendum is carried, as sections 108A and 108B. [More…]
In summary, the effect of these two proposed sections is intended to clarify the power of the Commonwealth Parliament to refer powers under the Constitution to the State parliaments and, conversely, to clarify the power of the State parliaments to confer on the Commonwealth Parliament residual powers that the States have. [More…]
I would ask the Government to consider that in respect of this Bill there is a unique State involvement as the legislation deals with the constitutional balance between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
Nobody could logically argue that in a matter which affects the powers of the States under the Commonwealth Constitution the full views of the States ought not to be known by this Parliament. [More…]
That theory is that there should be a clear and unambiguous facility under the Constitution for an interchange of power between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
However, we would argue, and the House also should be reminded, that unless the legal and constitutional co-operation which is inherent in this proposal is matched by a financial partnership between the Commonwealth and the States, the objective of co-operative federalism of which the Prime Minister spoke in his second reading speech will not be achieved. [More…]
The power of the Parliament of the Commonwealth to designate a matter under this section is not limited by the provisions of this Constitution other than this section. [More…]
It has occurred to members of the Opposition and to others that in the event of this amendment to the Constitution being carried at a referendum there could be read into this provision a possibility that, for example, the provisions of section 92 or section 99 of the Constitution would cease to have the force and effect which they presently have. [More…]
I, and I am sure other honourable gentlemen who sit on this side of the House, do not believe that the Constitution which was adopted in 1901 is necessarily up to date and totally satisfactory for our conditions in 1975. [More…]
The history of the Australian Federation during the past 10 years has been one of a gradual transfer of power from the States to the Federal Government, yet during that period of time that transfer of power has on no occasion been facilitated by an amendment to the Constitution, except in respect of the referendum to give the Commonwealth power over Aboriginal affairs. [More…]
This has not occurred as a result of any constitutional alteration, except in the case of responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. [More…]
It is, of course, one of the quirks of the Constitution that while it makes provision for the transfer of powers to the central government from the State governments, there is no reciprocity. [More…]
There is nothing even like the compact clause in the United States Constitution which enables agreements between State governments in that federation to be given formal, legal supportlimited as this provision may be. [More…]
The nearest we have come to recognising formally a need to give additional constitutional sanction to power sharing between governments has been through the Commonwealth-State Financial Agreement and the subsequent inclusion of section 105a in the Constitution. [More…]
The very existence of these bodies demonstrates the incapacity of the present division of power under the Constitution to cope with the evolving needs and demands of our society. [More…]
The ad hoc nature of many of these arrangements, the legal uncertainties arising from their lack of formal constitutional backing, the unnecessary and costly duplication of effort and the complications which may flow from this cry out for something to be done. [More…]
Whatever might be done in reordering and restructuring the division of power between the national government and the States, in my opinion it would be wrong to leave open still the question of recognising in the Constitution the need for giving formal constitutional authority to the interchange of powers between the Federal government and the States. [More…]
As we all know, in practice the Australian Constitution has proved to be extremely difficult to change. [More…]
As Professor Geoffrey Sawer has said so cogently, beyond any doubt constitutionally Australia is a frozen continent. [More…]
As a consequence, we have been obliged to get around the Constitution in many ways, and this has become the name of the game. [More…]
If the experience of the past 75 years is any guide at all, the continuing change in our social, economic and political life can make a constitutional provision, previously thought to be inviolable, not only obsolete but also detrimental to the workings of good government. [More…]
In Australia in the twentieth century we have already witnessed how many changes have made parts of our Constitution quite unfitted for dealing with many aspects of our life- in the fields of trade, commerce, corporations and industry. [More…]
In 1901 the provisions of the Constitution on these and related matters were probably a reasonable reflection of the needs of the time. [More…]
But today, obviously, the corporate and economic facts of life in Australia have far outstripped the Constitution. [More…]
There are many other ways, too, in which the rate of change has made the Constitution obsolete. [More…]
The result has been that whatever the economic and social realities have been at a particular time, in terms of the allocation of constitutional powers, change can and may soon make them outmoded. [More…]
The Constitution makes no provision for developments like that. [More…]
A very great risk to our society, arising out of the inability of the Constitution to move with the times, is that the nature of change and the speed of change may be such that all governments in our system may lose control of evolving situations unless our constitutional mechanisms have the adaptability and flexibility to meet them. [More…]
One of the difficulties which Australia faces today in relation to its constitutional crisis is not that we need to review the Constitution but rather that we need the mechanism to change it. [More…]
Jointly they did their best to torpedo any constructive or effective attempt to carry the much needed constitutional amendments. [More…]
However, section 128 of the Constitution- the referendum provision- has proved that this device has failed to meet the need to update our Constitution. [More…]
As the honourable member for Bennelong said, certainly the Constitution has been amended but, with a few notable exceptions, largely as a result of judicial interpretation by the High Court rather than at the ballot box. [More…]
Let me wrap this up by indicating that I firmly believe that section 128 must be the most serious issue facing this country and is without question the major stumbling block in constitutional change. [More…]
Clearly, as I said before, the problem really is not how to review the Constitution but to change it. [More…]
What is needed is for the intergovernmental arrangements to be given suitable recognition in the Constitution to enable interchanges of constitutional authority to be achieved without the trauma of referenda or backdoor dealings between the Federal Government and the State governments. [More…]
Furthermore, such a change more clearly opens up possibilities for power sharing, backed by formal constitutional means, hopefully enabling us at least to minimise the duplication of effort which is now sometimes required. [More…]
Our present Constitution is short on the machinery necessary to keep the working of government at the formal level in touch with the evolving needs of our society. [More…]
I conclude by reiterating what I claimed earlier, that the real problem is not to review the Constitution, but to change it. [More…]
Difficult as this is, this Bill at least which proposes to amend the Constitution is one constructive avenue by which we can make the Constitution work with some semblance of efficiency and perhaps some semblance of success. [More…]
I think it is desirable that we put the proposal in the context of constitutional development and the need for reform of the Constitution in Australia. [More…]
Quite clearly a constitution which has had its form for 90 years, although it has been operative for only 75 years, needs some amendments to bring it up to contemporary requirements. [More…]
It was out of these sorts of considerations that the original impetus for a convention on the Constitution commenced in Victoria and it was in Victoria that the call for a convention came. [More…]
The purpose of the convention was to find a rationale for the necessary amendments which could make the Constitution respond to contemporary needs. [More…]
What was seen at that time was that there should be a whole package of constitutional amendments which would be put to the Australian people by referendum. [More…]
There has been a piecemeal approach to amendments to the Constitution and those that have been put up over the last 2lh years have all failed. [More…]
I believe that some of those constitutional amendments could have been successful if they had been separated and yet been put as part of a whole refurbishing of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution, as it binds the Commonwealth and the States, can be altered in 3 ways. [More…]
It can be altered de facto by decisions of the High Court on constitutional cases. [More…]
For my own part I do not like to leave to judicial decision the interpretation of the Constitution into a contemporary document. [More…]
But it is not proper that constitutional development in Australia should de facto rely upon judicial interpretation of the Constitution by the High Court. [More…]
When the Constitution was being drawn up a provision was put in section 5 1- it is in section 5 1 that the great majority of the powers of the Commonwealth Parliament are to be found- at placitum (xxxvii), which provides that matters can be referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth by the parliaments of the States. [More…]
A case had been decided by the High Court in which it was held that the exercise of the States applying a receipt duty tax was an excise power and it was therefore unconstitutional for the States to do it. [More…]
So there was mutuality between the Commonwealth and the States for a refurbishing of the Constitution to put powers in the appropriate parliaments where they would be exercised better. [More…]
The Bill proposes to insert in the Constitution 2 new sections, section 108a and section 108b. [More…]
Proposed new section 108a (1) is quite clear as to what it means on its wording, but 108a (2) would present a great deal of problems to some people who are concerned that the Constitution is not changed from its basic federal concept to render it a more centralist constitutional document. [More…]
The power of the Parliament of the Commonwealth to designate a matter under this section is not limited by the provisions of this Constitution other than this section. [More…]
That will raise great fears on the part of many people that the Bill is proposing to alter the Constitution quite dramatically by allowing the Commonwealth to pick up a piece of power, which it now does not have, and give it to the States. [More…]
The second thing is that I believe, on the meaning of the words, that the Commonwealth cannot designate more power than the remainder of the Constitution itself in fact gives to it. [More…]
The three of those need a great deal of examination before we will satisfy people’s minds that they can readily and properly vote in a referendum for this change to the Constitution. [More…]
Finally, I draw attention to section 128 of the Constitution, which is the section which deals with referendum changes to the Constitution. [More…]
Those of us who have taken an interest in the Australian Constitution over recent years, I believe, have come to the point of view that there is a great need for reform, and the referendums which have been put to the Australian people recently are an example of the desire of this Government to effect reforms to the Constitution. [More…]
We live in a very much different Australia from the Australia in which the founders of the Constitution lived. [More…]
They worked on the Constitution for a considerable number of years before it was finally carried as an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament and became the Constitution of this country. [More…]
If honourable members study the Constitution Act they will see that in the initial stages it was not necessarily intended that Western Australia should become a member of the Federation in the first instance. [More…]
So we find inherent in our Constitution provisions which would not be included in a constitution which was written today. [More…]
However, we all realise the great difficulty in changing specific provisions of the Constitution to allow for the need for change. [More…]
The Constitution Alteration (Inter-change of Powers) Bill is one way in which we can overcome some of these difficulties. [More…]
These constitutional problems would, I believe, be largely overcome if this referendum is carried and the States can refer powers. [More…]
We need something written into our Constitution to enable a formalization of any agreements which may be arrived at in cooperation between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
It can be said that some of the points that he made emphasise one of the difficulties and one of the problems of constitutional referenda. [More…]
Perhaps there is a fear in the minds of many people when it comes to changing the Constitution. [More…]
That is why, as already mentioned on 2 occasions by the right honourable member for Bruce (Mr Snedden) and the honourable member for Diamond Valley (Mr McKenzie), there is a difficulty in having constitutional alterations passed and in fact in having any referenda passed by the people. [More…]
I was interested in the remarks of the Prime Minister when he mentioned that the reference of powers by the States to the Australian Parliament is already allowed for in the Constitution. [More…]
The proposed Constitution alteration before the House will remedy this position by making it quite clear that a reference given by the States will be revocable, that it may be given subject to conditions, including conditions regulating the kinds of laws that may be passed in pursuance of it, and may be made for a limited period of time. [More…]
That brings me to the point that there is a great deal of value in this legislation which is being presented for the alteration of the Constitution by the insertion of proposed new sections 108a and 108b. [More…]
So, it is for that reason that, as was pointed out by the honourable member for Bennelong, we in the Opposition support the constitutional proposals involved in the change which the legislation presented by the Prime Minister seeks to achieve. [More…]
It is, as the House knows, a Bill which proposes that a referendum be held to alter the Constitution with respect to the interchanging of powers between the Commonwealth Parliament and the State parliaments. [More…]
Jacobi) in a speech that was equally as wide ranging as that of the honourable member for Lyne drew attention to the remarks attributed to Professor Sawer of the Australian National University in which he described the Australian Constitution as perhaps a frozen Constitution. [More…]
With respect to its Constitution, Australia is a frozen continent. [More…]
It was the right honourable member for Bruce (Mr Snedden) who said that our Constitution is not only 75 years old but really finds its roots or its basis in an earlier period. [More…]
We know that attempts to change our Constitution have failed lamentably. [More…]
There are really only 3 instruments of change provided for or built into the Constitution. [More…]
One is the system of referenda referred to in section 128 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is a notorious factperhaps ‘notorious’ is the wrong word, but it is certainly a fact- that Labor Party governments want to change the Constitution by referenda. [More…]
The second method of change which the Constitution provides is to be found in section 51 placitum (xxxvii) which enables referrals of power by the States. [More…]
This measure seeks to overcome that situation by changing the Constitution to permit the States to have returned the power that they have referred if they want it back and to attach conditions if they wish to do so. [More…]
I refer to the fact that the other systems of change have so dismally failed that the High Court which interprets the Constitution and which I heard the Chief Justice say the other day was actually an arm of government that is something with which I might not necessarily agree- has turned out to be the instrument of change. [More…]
It is to overcome the rigidity or inflexibility which is such a feature of our Constitution and which results in our country being described by prominent academics as the frozen land that this change is put forward on this occasion. [More…]
I agree with one of the earlier speakers who said that if this can be brought about it will be one of the most momentous changes for good in the future- I am not talking about next week or in 6 months time, I am talking of 10 years, 20 years, 50 years or 100 years- that will have been brought about in the Australian Constitution, because it will introduce an element of flexibility which, at the moment, is completely lacking. [More…]
When one looks at sub-section (2) of proposed new section 108a I suppose the principal point I can put to him is, as he appreciates, that it provides that the power of the Australian Parliament to designate a matter is not limited by the general provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
One might find support for the proposition from some other part of the Constitution but that might be a matter where a reference of power might help overcome the problem in the way in which sub-section (2) of proposed new section 108a contemplates. [More…]
The situation we come back to is that sub-section (3) of proposed new section 108a makes it clear that provisions like section 92 of the Constitution -are applicable to State laws made under a designation. [More…]
I conclude with these final words: I am not sure whether the germ of this idea of a mutual exchange of powers can be traced back to the 1957 Joint Committee on Constitutional Review of this Parliament. [More…]
I know that the Prime Minister has been very much attached to the idea of constitutional change for a great period of time. [More…]
Certainly this Government, his Government, has tried very hard to upgrade and to modernise the Constitution. [More…]
The initiative in bringing this measure forward is largely a tribute to the Prime Minister’s persistent interest in constitutional reform and constitutional change and a recognition that this frozen, rigid Constitution of ours must somehow in 1975, and in 1985 and in 1995, be made capable of adapting itself to the changing world that it is intended to serve. [More…]
Further, for the Attorney-General to threaten to treat a referral of this Bill to a select committee of both Houses or to a Senate committee as a failure to pass within the terms of section 57 of the Constitution is to treat an important social service, legal aid, as a simple tactical political tool. [More…]
Firstly- I invite honourable gentlemen opposite to examine this- there must be serious doubts as to the constitutionality of the functions conferred by the Bill on the Australian Legal Aid Office. [More…]
Certainly the incidental power under the Constitution would be some help in providing a constitutional basis base for the provisions of clause 6 of the Bill. [More…]
Those words in themselves acknowledge the tenuous constitutional base on which this Bill rests. [More…]
These days if people attack legislation the Government attempts to shame them because they have dared to exercise their undoubted power to challenge unconstitutional legislation. [More…]
Obviously there is no power in the Constitution to legislate with respect to legal aid as a subject matter. [More…]
Legal aid should be available in accordance with the Constitution and not in defiance of it. [More…]
There is no head of power under the Constitution entitling the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws generally with respect to legal aid, but it may be supposed that it can legislate to provide legal aid as an incident to the enforcement of rights under legislation of the Commonwealth Parliament- for example, under the Bankruptcy Act or under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
He knows only too well what is contained in section 123 of the Constitution because no one reminds us more frequently of his knowledge of the Australian Constitution and no one reminds us more frequently of his role as Australia’s greatest foreign minister. [More…]
Section 123 of the Constitution guarantees the rights of States to determine whether their borders will be changed. [More…]
This is akin to the Attorney-General (Mr Enderby) advocating constitutional anarchy. [More…]
The Government cannot rip up sections of the Constitution and then come in here and plead ignorance of them. [More…]
But the Prime Minister sought to ride over not only the Constitution but also the rights of the Islanders and of the Queenslanders. [More…]
The Prime Minister has caused it all because not within weeks, not within months, not within years but within days of becoming Prime Minister he cancelled almost every option by indicating his opposition to the Federal system and by indicating his opposition to the Constitution itself. [More…]
By following a course of constitutional anarchy he has jeopardised relations not just between a Labor Government and a Country Party-Liberal Party Government in Queensland, but between 2 countries, Papua New Guinea and Australia. [More…]
The Australian Government could even have dictated the guidelines as it has in the case of other grants under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
As it is, the federal legal aid program proposed in this BUI will be limited constitution.ally to all matters arising under federal law and to people to whom the Federal Parliament has a special responsibility, such as Aborigines, students, migrants and pensioners. [More…]
It is most unfortunate but the form of the Bill and the form of the Constitution, unless there can be co-operation between the States and the Commonwealth, automatically give rise to such an unequal form of legal aid. [More…]
They made it clear that the area within which the Australian Legal Aid Office provides legal aid is the area within which the Parliament is empowered to make laws under the Constitution. [More…]
At the moment, this nation faces a certain difficulty- a constitutional crisis, if honourable members like- and the question that arises is: Who governs Australia? [More…]
There is a certain section in the Constitution- and I think this is what all of the discussion is about in the finishwhich acknowledges to begin with that there is only one House that can originate what are called money Bills. [More…]
He wrote: … the newspaper demand that you should dismiss a Premier on the ground that there was some reason for believing that he no longer enjoyed the confidence of the electors always seemed to me to be based upon an absolute misconception of the constitutional position of a modern Governor. [More…]
The constitutional authority of a Premier rests almost entirely upon his success at a general election, and upon his continued authority in the popularly elected House, and not upon irresponsible speculations as to whether he would have lost his majority if the Constitution had provided for annual and not triennial elections. [More…]
It would, in my respectful opinion (and in this I am expressing the majority view among reputable lawyers in this State), have been nothing short of a calamity if during the very great constitutional crisis, New South Wales had possessed a Governor who had subordinated the constitutional authority of a Governor to the purely opportunist demands of those who found the constitutional restrictions irksome. [More…]
As specified in the Bill, there is initially to be an interim council for the College which will make recommendations about the specific details of the functions of the college, its constitution, arrangements for determining financial needs and the way in which it should co-operate with other educational institutions. [More…]
Once that interim council has made its recommendations a permanent council will be set up and the interim council will cease to exist, and there will be regulations under the proposed Act to specify the functions, constitution and so on. [More…]
I know that previously there has been a gap in the constitutional power relating to authority; in these off-shore waters. [More…]
The Royal Commission on the Constitution in 1928 recommended constitutional changes in this area and there was a full exposition of the difficulties in this area by the Senate Select Committee on Off-shore Petroleum Resources. [More…]
Does the Prime Minister acknowledge that if a half-Senate election is held those Bills which meet the requirements of section 57 of the Constitution lapse? [More…]
The political immorality of the Opposition is demonstrated further by the grossly improper incitement of non-Labor State governments to restrain the Governors of the States from exercising their duties under the Australian Constitution in relation to periodic Senate elections. [More…]
The years 1975 or 1976 could see the first time in the 75 years during which Australia has had a national Parliament, the first of the 25 occasions on which a Governor-General has put such requests to the State Governors, that a Premier advises a Governor to disregard constitutional practice, to fail in the duty which the Constitution imposes on a Governor. [More…]
The House of Representatives is not only the national chamber; it is the democratic chamber; it is the grand depository and embodiment of the liberal principles of government which pervade the entire constitutional fabric. [More…]
by the Constitution, it is expressly intended to be such a House, and by its organisation and functions it is best fitted to be the area in which national progress will find room for development. [More…]
He must be blind, he must be deaf, if he does not know the charges which have been made of massive illegality and of possible conspiracy to defraud and to deceive the Constitution. [More…]
Having created the greatest constitutional crisis in Australian history the Opposition has now unleashed forces that nobody can effectively control. [More…]
In a democracy we rely on the fact that the people who elect members to Parliament expect their members to honour the democratic rules of a constitution. [More…]
If the Opposition parties tear up those rules, tear up that constitution, they unleash those forces so that there is no rule of law. [More…]
Does this not relate to one of the great dangers of any constitution? [More…]
Let us consider the threat envisaged by the founders of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution is designed on the basis that there would be no right to reject appropriation matters. [More…]
Section 53 of the Constitution clearly says that appropriation matters can be initiated only in this House and sections 54 and 55 place restrictions on this House as to the type of legislation it can submit to the Senate. [More…]
National Country Party to betray the judiciary of this nation and to betray the Constitution? [More…]
Why is it that the Opposition relies on the Senate which does not have the support of the people but which purports to be the financial House when the Constitution says that that is not to be? [More…]
Because the Constitution itself under sections 80 to 100 apportions the tax collected. [More…]
Section 87 of the Constitution states that the money collected is to be divided on the basis that three-quarters goes to the States and one quarter is retained by the Australian Government. [More…]
So there was no need to have the power of rejection in the Senate because at that stage it was clearly stated in the Constitution that the fiscal resources of the nation would be divided on the basis that only one quarter at most would be retained by the Australian Government. [More…]
From the point of view of the Constitution what a laughing stock they would be. [More…]
If the Oppositon is not willing to give justice or the appearance of justice under the Constitution, it deserves to have unleashed on it all the terror - [More…]
We will say that it is about time we got a new Constitution, one in which the people count and in which elected representatives make the rules. [More…]
If ever there has been an outrage against any constitutional provision, this Government has outraged section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
There are 21 Bills which conform with section 57 of the Constitution, and the Prime Minister knows only too well that he has only to get into his car, go to Yarralumla, make an application to the Governor-General and ask him to dissolve both Houses of the Parliament. [More…]
All that the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Manufacturing Industry have to do is to prevail upon the Government, in its corporate sense, to say: ‘We want to resort to section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
I call upon my friends and supporters in the trade union movement, of whom I have many hundreds of thousands, to rally behind the Prime Minister’s call, to stand up and to defend the system of government by the people, of a government entitled to govern for its full 3-year term, enshrined by the Constitution as the right of all elected governments. [More…]
the continuing incompetence, evasion, deceit and duplicity of the Prime Minister and his Ministers as exemplified in the overseas loan scandal which was an attempt by the Government to subvert the Constitution, to bypass Parliament and to evade its responsibilities to the States and the Loan Council; [More…]
the continuing incompetence, evasion, deceit and duplicity of the Prime Minister and his Ministers as exemplified in the overseas loan scandal which was an attempt by the Government to subvert the Constitution, to by-pass Parliament and to evade its responsibilities to the States and the Loan Council; [More…]
This attempt to circumvent tradition and the Constitution is an act of sheer anarchy- no matter what one may term it it is blatant political anarchywhich will add fuel to the fires of anarchy in the nation. [More…]
Perhaps, after all, the members of the Opposition in this critical situation deserve to be named the political and constitutional barbarians of the 20th century. [More…]
Some months ago, the hapless Captain Bill, bleeding profusely from between the shoulder blades, vacated the leadership of the Opposition and was replaced by that dashing and decisive defender of the Constitution, the old squire of Wannon. [More…]
I sincerely believe that the people of Australia who live under a Constitution which contains the safeguard of an Upper House, really want another say. [More…]
I am proud to say that I represent an electorate which was named after Sir Samuel Griffith, one of the fathers of our Constitution. [More…]
The founders of our Constitution had the wisdom to foresee some 76 years ago a situation in which chaos would reign so supreme that the people, by means of the Upper House, should be given another say as to whether they wanted the Government of the day to continue. [More…]
2) 1975-76 for the reasons given in the Senate resolution is not contemplated within the terms of the Constitution and is contrary to established constitutional convention, and therefore requests the Senate to re-consider and pass the Bills without delay. [More…]
I shall tender no advice for an election for either House or both Houses until this constitutional issue is settled. [More…]
Basic constitutional conventions, every bit as important as what is written in our constitution, would become meaningless. [More…]
Internationally Australia’s standing as a stable parliamentary democracy, as a constitutional nation would disappear forever. [More…]
You have registered no oath to destroy the Constitution, while I have the most solemn one to preserve and defend it. [More…]
This Prime Minister is asking this House to carry a resolution in defiance of the Constitution itself because the motion says that the purposes of the resolution of the Senate are not contemplated in the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Of course the Constitution gives to the Senate concurrent powers with the House of Representatives in these matters. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s involvement began when on December 13 he signed an Executive Council minute which was an evasion of the Constitution, a conspiracy to defraud the Loan Council. [More…]
He knows quite well that that original document, that infamous and evil December 13 Executive Council minute, was a defrauding of the Constitution and an evasion of all responsibility of government. [More…]
The Governor-General has responsibilities under the Constitution. [More…]
We in the Opposition have a place under the Constitution as part of the processes. [More…]
The Constitution is not only for a Prime Minister. [More…]
That all words after ‘Senate resolution’ be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: ‘is within the terms of the Constitution and that the House of Representatives should face the people.’ [More…]
The Prime Minister comes in here and says he gives his solemn oath to preserve the Constitution. [More…]
The issue here is the preservation of our Constitution. [More…]
the Senate through our Constitution the ultimate power to block money Bills and therefore to make the continuation of government impossible and force the Lower House to go to the people. [More…]
This power was not put in the Constitution just to create some inconvenience for the Australian people. [More…]
It was put in the Constitution as a protection. [More…]
We are fighting for the preservation of decent government and the preservation of our Constitution. [More…]
When this megalomaniac decides that he can override the Constitution we have a dangerous man in charge of this country. [More…]
It is his duty to get advice from the Prime Minister but it also is his duty to get advice from the greatest constitutional advisers of this country. [More…]
We will take this Government on if it wants to corrupt and break the Constitution because in the long term the message will get through to the Australian people. [More…]
Such a notion was never within the contemplation of the founders of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
But had they known that that type of individual would ever gain power in a government I am certain they would have rewritten the Constitution. [More…]
I will tell honourable members opposite why they are following the papers’ pattern: Because they are paying the newspapers $30,000 a day, or nearly $lm a month, to destroy a government unconstitutionally and they are giving support to that action. [More…]
They are not prepared to accept that type of policy which was never intended by the founders of our Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution provides - [More…]
What I am saying is that honourable members opposite have been creating fear in this community when there is no constitutional crisis. [More…]
The Constitution provides a process that can be followed. [More…]
We know that by the way he has been going on here and on television- the irrational stance, these eyes that flash in defiance of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The most significant thing about his speech is that he left out the basis of constitutional precedent for his argument. [More…]
The Constitution simply does not contemplate a double dissolution because of a Budget rejection. [More…]
It is impossible and it is impracticable for the constitutional provisions for a double dissolution to be implemented in terms of a Budget. [More…]
Does he seriously suggest that the founders of the Australian Constitution intended that there should be a period when the country would go a full period of 6 months- half a year- without there being an appropriation of funds? [More…]
At the original Convention the founders of the Australian Constitution did not contemplate that there would be a rejection of a Budget by the [More…]
I use for the basis of that view the fact that the original Constitutional Convention had before it a specific proposal that the Senate should have power to reject a Budget. [More…]
It is not in the Constitution. [More…]
It was deliberately and calculatingly left out of the Australian Constitution because the founders recognised that to include such a provision would be to give a powerful and improper weapon to the House which was not the popular House. [More…]
My attention has been drawn to section 56 of the Victorian Constitution Act. [More…]
That Constitution Act provides that the Legislative Council has the right to reject a money Bill. [More…]
That power was specifically not included in the Australian Constitution for the Senate. [More…]
This afternoon we have seen two eminent lawyers on the other side dart, weave, shift and shuffle in an attempt to make the Australian Constitution say what it does not say. [More…]
The fact is that the Australian Constitution does not provide for, does not allow and does not specify in any way the right of the Senate to reject a money Bill. [More…]
What the Australian public is faced with is that the Australian Constitution and the conventions surrounding it have been kidnapped by the Liberal-National Country Party coalition. [More…]
It may be a breach of the Constitution but we will just write out the cheques.’ [More…]
Honourable members opposite talk about a constitutional crisis provided for by the Senate. [More…]
It is provided for by the Constitution. [More…]
If we desire to know what are the powers of the Senate over money Bills we find them expressly set out in the Constitution. [More…]
The draftsmen of the Constitution included these provisions because they knew- and this is a matter of historical fact- that the smaller States, that is smaller in population, would not vote for Federation unless they have some protection given to them in the Senate and they got it. [More…]
It would be absurd to suppose that the draftsmen of the Constitution conferred these powers on the Senate with a mental reservation that they should never be exercised. [More…]
Why are matters written into the Constitution if it is not a living embodiment of the laws that govern the nation? [More…]
A constitution is not a mere written document from which nothing derives. [More…]
The Constitution is the sort of living spirit of the law which governs our institutions today and allows its provisions to be utilised. [More…]
No constitution maker nowadays would frame a constitution with two equal assemblies; such a system would create chaos. [More…]
He fights not to preserve democracy; he fights not because of respect or regard for the Constitution, for convention or for propriety. [More…]
In 1970 he dismissed that stance and he has scorned the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution which the Prime Minister called archaic, which he has condemned clause by clause, word by word, and which he has contemptuously disregarded, he now pleads condones him, protects him and provides him with a sanctuary. [More…]
They are- continuing incompetence, evasion, massive deceit, duplicity subversion of the Constitution, bypassing of the Parliament, chaos in a cabinet where there is no control and wrecking of the economy. [More…]
A lot has been said about the constitutional background to this situation. [More…]
The Australian Constitution was the product of the British Parliament, the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in 1 900. [More…]
In the same way in which Queensland, which got its separation and independence in 1859, had a more democratic constitution than New South Wales, which attained its constitution in 1852, so it was that the Australian Constitution does not precisely enshrine the principle of the exclusive responsibility of the Lower House in the way in which that principle subsequently developed in Great Britain. [More…]
The Government raises money for defence purposes under the heading of Defence because that is a purpose unassailable under the Federal Constitution. [More…]
They have repudiated all the development of the Westminster system of government of which the Australian Constitution is but a part. [More…]
They have quoted chapter and verse of that Constitution but let us look at other parts of it. [More…]
I refer to that section of the Constitution- I think it is section 59- which says that the Queen can reject any Bill passed by the Australian Parliament. [More…]
That provision is part of the Constitution. [More…]
At such time as we do meet the Australian people we will not have to meet them on the basis of what happened in 1900 when the Australian Constitution was passed by the British Parliament. [More…]
Section 83 of our Constitution rightly provides that no money shall be drawn from the Commonwealth Treasury except under the appropriation laws made by the Parliament. [More…]
If so, did this report state that the Australian Constitution (sub-section 51 (xxxi)) refers to the powers of the Australian Parliament to make laws with respect to ‘the acquisition of property on just terms from any State or person for any purpose in respect of which the Parliament has power to make laws’ and the compensation paid for land acquired in any area ceded by New South Wales would be based on this premise. [More…]
Even last night, I understand, because of the support given and because of the money being spent the Leader of the Opposition was on the telephone to a senior executive from News Limited giving that gentleman a personal account of his talks with the Governor-General on the constitutional crisis. [More…]
Those opposite are breaking down all the tenets of the Constitution in an endeavour to wreck a government that seeks to make known to the Australian people the forces behind the Opposition parties. [More…]
The Opposition is acting in accordance with section 53 of the Constitution which clearly gives the Senate power to reject Supply Bills in exactly the same way as it can reject any other Bill. [More…]
Sir John Quick and Sir Robert Garran, draftsmen of the Constitution, expressed the position clearly in their authoritative commentaries on the Commonwealth Constitution in the following words: [More…]
We will use the power vested in us by the Constitution and delay the passage of the Government’s money Bills through the Senate until the Parliament goes to the people. [More…]
In accordance with long established constitutional practice which the Prime Minister has himself acknowledged in the past the Government must then resign. [More…]
I hope in speaking later on this Bill to indicate the reasons if they are thought through they will be seen to be correct why sensible usage in 1975 would suggest that the section in the Constitution which states that the Senate may not amend a money Bill can be sensibly interpreted only to mean also that the Senate may not reject such a Bill. [More…]
If in the context of 1975- as of now- the Senate can no longer claim that the section of the Constitution which says it may not amend carries an implication that nevertheless it can reject the Budget, the people who want to do these things should take into account the consequences of their action. [More…]
Constitutions are more than written documents. [More…]
Constitutions have a spirit as well as letter of the law. [More…]
Constitutions are operated with conventions as well as with laws and, above all, constitutions ought to operate with common sense. [More…]
Our system is the only Westminster parliamentary system under which the present situation can happen, and despite the quotations about why the words are there, they were taken out of some of the State Constitutions that existed prior to the Australian Constitution being written in 1901. [More…]
I was particularly impressed with his comment that common sense ought to apply to the operation of our Constitution. [More…]
Of course, common sense must apply in the operation of any constitution. [More…]
No constitution can contemplate every situation; no constitution can embrace all situations. [More…]
Where I depart from my agreement with the Minister for Overseas Trade is that the remarks that he addressed to the operation of the Constitution and the very proper appeal that he made to the operation of common sense were remarks addressed to conditions of normalcy. [More…]
I put it to the House that there is a responsibility on this Government and on this Prime Minister because a great issue is now involved- the great issue being the clear deadlock between the House of Representatives and the Senate, a deadlock not contemplated in conditions of normalcy by those who wrote the Constitution. [More…]
I think it is a matter of regret that the Government’s principal legal adviser, the Attorney-General, was prepared to lend the weight of his office to the proposition that a power which is very clearly spelt out in the Australian Constitution, because the extraordinary circumstances to justify its use had never arisen before, had in some way become a dead letter or had become atrophied. [More…]
Because of these perhaps unique and certainly very abnormal circumstances the situation is too serious for the Senate to do other than to respond responsibly and to use the power given to it by the Constitution. [More…]
The Opposition has used the power given to it by the Constitution to delay the Appropriation Bills and the Bill we are now debating until such time as the Prime Minister sets an election date for the House of Representatives. [More…]
Section 53 of the Constitution says: [More…]
-Before the sitting was suspended for dinner I was pointing out that section 53 of the Constitution is quite clear insofar as it makes the point that the Senate shall not initiate a money Bill and shall not amend a money Bill. [More…]
Yet we find a situation in which the Opposition is trying to hang its cap on the very flimsy suggestion that because the Constitution does not actually mention the word ‘reject’ it can reject the Bill. [More…]
But the intention of the Constitution is quite clear. [More…]
We should look back to the original history of the Constitution and to the constitutional conventions during the 1 890s when this Constitution was founded. [More…]
Such Bills have been presented in accordance with section 96 of the Constitution and have contained conditions under which the Minister may release funds to the States and recover moneys not expended for the purposes for which they were provided. [More…]
Such standing legislation will also overcome a deficiency in the present situation in that there is at present no specific legislative authority in terms of section 96 of the Constitution for payment to the States during the Supply period, as the annual States Grants (Aboriginal Assistance) legislation has not been enacted in past years until after the introduction of the Budget. [More…]
There is a whole number of things which are primarily under our Constitution State matters. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: For how long will he say that no allegations have been made against him, as he repeated on television this week, and/or his Government when allegation after allegation of attempted fraud, of deception, of dishonesty, of conspiracy to evade the Constitution, of disreputable conduct has been made in this House and outside it? [More…]
276 is a lawful and proper exercise within the terms of the Constitution of the powers of the Senate. [More…]
f ) That the Senate affirms that it has the constitutional right to act as it did and now that there is a disagreement between the Houses of the Parliament and a position may arise where the normal operations of Government cannot continue a remedy is presently available to the Government under section 57 of the Constitution to resolve the deadlock. [More…]
evasion, deceit and duplicity of the Prime Minister and his Ministers as exemplified in the overseas loan scandal which was an attempt by the Government to subvert the Constitution, to by-pass Parliament and to evade its responsibilities to the States and the Loan Council: [More…]
Is Mr Gruzman a recognised authority on the Australian Constitution or is he a distinguished criminal lawyer? [More…]
It is of interest that in the last few days we have seen other correspondence on the same subject from eminent Australian jurists, eminent Australian academics and eminent Australian constitutional lawyers. [More…]
He expressed the opinion- and it would have been seen by many honourable members- that, no matter what words one uses, to refuse Supply in the Senate would be illegal as section 53 of the Constitution does not give that power. [More…]
denounces the blatant attempt by the Senate to violate section 28 of the Constitution for political purposes by itself endeavouring to force an early election for the House of Representatives; [More…]
The Opposition in the Senate has failed to pass these Bills, notwithstanding that the nation is now entering the third week of grave constitutional crisis. [More…]
Moreover, it has done so by a procedure of delay and prevarication that finds no warrant in the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Of course, Opposition members in the Senate are refraining from such action and the consequences which would flow not only because they know in their hearts that rejection would be a travesty of our Constitution but because, as we now comprehend, they do not have the numbers in the Senate to take this extreme step. [More…]
They are not facing up to the procedures of the Senate or of the Constitution. [More…]
The Senate first asserts that its message is a lawful and proper exercise within the terms of the Constitution of the powers of the Senate. [More…]
Under the Constitution, the Senate has neither the power to initiate nor to amend the Appropriation Bills for the annual services of the Government. [More…]
All this is spelt out in section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
The message therefore is not contemplated within the terms of the Constitution. [More…]
Moreover, it violates an established constitutional convention. [More…]
At question time today, reference was made to the letter that Sir Richard Eggleston of the Australian Industrial Court, a distinguished constitutional lawyer, expressed on this matter. [More…]
It has not complied with section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
While the Australian Constitution is a written constitution it has to be read and applied in the light of the conventions of the Constitution. [More…]
Thus Lord Haldane speaking in 1900 as a member of the House of Commons on the Bill for the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act said: [More…]
The High Court of Australia has itself observed in the Engineers Case and in other cases that one of the most important of the conventions- the principle of responsible government- is interwoven in the texture of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Responsible government is not spelt out specifically, explicitly in the Constitution, but everybody acknowledges that in Australia responsible government is the law of the land. [More…]
Sir Owen Dixon, a distinguished Chief Justice of the High Court, observed to similar effect, as I have quoted Lord Haldane and the Engineers Case, when commenting at Harvard in 1955 on the Australian Constitution. [More…]
It is specified in our Constitution; it is explicit in our Constitution that the House of Representatives initiates money Bills. [More…]
The House of Representatives is not only the national chamber; it is also the democratic chamber; it is the grand depository and embodiment of the liberal principles of government which pervade the entire constitutional fabric. [More…]
By the Constitution it is expressly intended to be such a House and by its organisation and functions it is best fitted to be the area in which national progress will find room for development. [More…]
It is part of a deliberate pattern on the part of the Opposition of challenging the role of conventions in the operation of our Constitution in its lust for power. [More…]
The Senate message asserts too that because of its decision to block Supply I should now seek a double dissolution of the Parliament under Section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Government will not stand idly by while the Leader of the Opposition seeks to destroy the conventions of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution can survive only while the people of Australia remain the ultimate jury in this democratic society of ours. [More…]
The Prime Minister, in refusing to go to the people, is denying the survival of the Constitution. [More…]
Sir Robert said: ‘It would be absurd to suppose that the draftsmen of the Constitution conferred these powers - [More…]
The whole of the illegality of that Executive Council minute needs to be sheeted home to the man who has come into this House today and alleged that in some way the Opposition is breaching the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution of Australia can survive only while the people who live in this democracy are given an opportunity to vote on the government that they choose to rule them. [More…]
The Constitution gives the Senate those 3 options. [More…]
I stress that the Senate has carried out none of the constitutional functions which are legitimately reposed in it by the Constitution. [More…]
There is no such provision in the Constitution. [More…]
Nobody wrote a provision into the Constitution to say that the Senate may accept the Budget, reject the Budget, request amendments to the Budget or refuse even to look at the Budget. [More…]
The allegations about evasion of the Constitution, evasion of the Loan Council and of massive illegality were made in precise and detailed form on 9 July. [More…]
The honourable member for Hume (Mr Lusher) talked about bending the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members opposite can argue themselves black in the face forever, with one side asserting that because the Constitution does not say ‘reject’, therefore it can reject and another side saying that common sense can mean only that the Bills cannot be rejected. [More…]
I have no comments on the Travel Agents (Deposits and Levies) Bill other than to say that the Bill is necessary to ensure the validity of the deposits and levies provisions of the Travel Agents Bill with regard to the fidelity fund, otherwise any contribution sought from licensed travel agents could be regarded as a tax within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution. [More…]
Indeed it was because the architects of the Constitution were keen to ensure that the small States had adequate representation and protection of their interests that the Senate was conceived in its present form, with its present system of representation. [More…]
They are not going to get it because the Constitution is sacred to this country. [More…]
This Government, the present Federal Labor Government, has used section 96 of the Constitution, which provides for specific purpose grants, in a dictatoral fashion to impose the will of the Federal Government upon the States- a purpose quite unintended by the founders of the Constitution. [More…]
As we have a federal system, regardless of how we would draw up the Constitution if we were drawing it afresh today, it is important that we recognise that it is a system with its own checks and balances, a system which with goodwill can work, a system in which the ultimate control is that of the democratic constituents, who can determine from their own assessment of how money is spent and how money is raised how the government of the day- local, State or Federal- is carrying out its responsibilities. [More…]
For the first time positive recognition is being given to the authority of the States in a meaningful spirit of federalism and accountability, for the spending and raising of money will rest to a marked degree with the people who are elected to fulfil the requirements of the Constitution as originally envisaged. [More…]
The States have rights under the Constitution; but those rights can be torpedoed and sabotaged by a hostile centralised government which does not recognise the particular position of the States in a co-operative operative federalist system. [More…]
Four State governments- New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australiachallenged the Act in the High Court of Australia and on 24 June 1975 the High Court of Australia by majority decision declared that the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Bill 1973 was not a valid law of the Commonwealth in that its passage through the Houses of Parliament did not meet the procedural requirements of section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
In his obsession to cling to power at all costs, the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) is willing to defy all constitutional processes, to wreck democratic institutions and deliberately to inflict unnecessary hardship on the community. [More…]
His avowed aim now is to strip the Senate of the vital protective powers which were the keystone of the Commonwealth Constitution and which remain the one fundamental safeguard of the States and of the people against the total entrenched power of the juggernaut government that he is creating. [More…]
The Constitution clearly provides that if a government cannot guarantee Supply it must submit itself to the people. [More…]
Section 57 was inserted in the Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the Senate and this House. [More…]
Our Constitution clearly contemplates that except for the introduction and amendment of money Bills the Senate has equal power with the House of Representatives. [More…]
The Senate not only has the constitutional power to refuse or to fail to pass a money Bill; it is, when circumstances justify it, the voice and instrument of the Australian people. [More…]
He has one constitutional course available to him- to seek a dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
Anything that was done would be done legally, would be done within the Constitution and would be done with the approval of a decision of Parliament. [More…]
Presumably it accords with the Constitution. [More…]
There is no possibility of this Government doing anything which the law officers of the Crown do not certify is within the statutes and the Constitution of this country. [More…]
Is the power to which the Prime Minister referred the power which is conferred on the Senate by section 53 of the Australian Constitution? [More…]
Will he give the people the opportunity to say in a formal manner whether or not they believe this safeguard against bad and corrupt government should be struck from the Constitution? [More…]
Section 53 of the Constitution lays down the Senate’s powers as regards money Bills. [More…]
Section 53 of the Constitution, it will be noted, does not expressly say that the Senate can reject money Bills. [More…]
I draw the contrast with the Victorian Constitution Act which says that the Legislative Council may not originate money Bills, may not amend money Bills but may reject money Bills. [More…]
The Senate operates under a Constitution, a British Act of Parliament, which does not give the Senate the express power to reject money Bills. [More…]
No lesser an authority than Sir Richard Eggleston, a very distinguished academic, constitutional and forensic lawyer has recently pointed that out in correspondence in the newspapersthat is, there should be no assumption that the Senate is entitled to do things which it is not expressly given the right to do under section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is a product of the fact that in 1967 we managed to change the Constitution to give this Parliament the authority to do so. [More…]
Of course the legal reason for the definition in the Bills is that it ensures that constitutionality of the Bills under section 51, placitum (xxvi) of the Constitution. [More…]
2) 1975-76 for the reasons given in the Senate Resolutions is not contemplated within the terms of the Constitution and is contrary to established constitutional convention; [More…]
b) denounces again the blatant attempt by the Senate to violate section 28 of the Constitution for political purposes by itself endeavouring to force an early election for the House of Representatives; [More…]
declares that the Constitution and the conventions of the Constitution vest in the House of Representatives the control of the supply of moneys to the elected Government and that the action of the Senate constitutes a gross violation of the roles of the respective Houses of the Parliament in relation to the appropriation of moneys; [More…]
I repeat that for 75 years the Australian Constitution has proceeded on the undeniable proposition that a government formed in this House must be able to govern, and to govern it must be able to obtain moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of government. [More…]
The Senate’s message denies that its action has been taken for the purpose of violating the principle contained in section 28 of the Constitution. [More…]
In passing, I observe that one of the ‘constitutionalists’, the law and order men, the men of principle, in the Opposition demonstrated his fine appreciation of constitutional principle by saying that this Government’s term of 3 years is already up! [More…]
Like so many of his colleagues, not only are his mathematics conveniently wrong; so too is his appreciation of our Constitution. [More…]
The attempt by the Senate to force the demand on the Government by holding up the Appropriation Bills is a violation of the principles contained in the Constitution. [More…]
The powers of the Houses of Parliament in respect of Bills appropriating moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government are dealt with in section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
I have already referred the House to a letter to the Age of 27 October from Sir Richard Eggelston, a distinguished and eminent member of the Constitutional Bar before his appointment to the Australian Industrial Court by the then Menzies Government in 1960. [More…]
Those actions, as I have already shown, are designed to violate section 28 of the Constitution. [More…]
There is therefore nothing in the Constitution that warrants the view that the [More…]
My Government will not shrink from its clear duty to uphold the authority of this House under the Constitution. [More…]
The subsequent behaviour of the Opposition in this Parliament had demonstrated that given the opportunity a Senate, controlled by forces opposed to change, would elevate that aberration of April 1974 into orthodox behaviour under our Constitution. [More…]
-The Prime Minister seems to believe that the Constitution is Mr Whitlam, the Prime Minister. [More…]
This Government has acted against the Constitution, as it did last year, and is seeking to subvert the Constitution now, seeking to go against the opinion of that learned judge Mr Justice Murphy and that learned Q.C. [More…]
Mr Whitlam and against all the constitutional authorities. [More…]
the continuing incompetence, evasion, deceit and duplicity of the Prime Minister and his Ministers as exemplified in the overseas loan scandal which was an attempt by the Government to subvert the Constitution, to by-pass Parliament and to evade its responsibilities to the States and the Loan Council; [More…]
for the grave threat to the Australian Constitution resulting from the attempt by the Prime Minister to reduce the power of the Australian Senate; and [More…]
Allowing a course of conduct by Ministers of the Government which amounts to grossly improper standards, including attempts to evade the Constitution in the events surrounding the infamous loans affair, scandals involving the relations of Ministers and political appointments; [More…]
For example, section 45, placitum (iii) of the Constitution already places a restriction on members of Parliament receiving remuneration for work done as a member of the Parliament beyond that allowance which is paid to him. [More…]
Another question would be: Should members and their spouses have any restriction placed on them other than that envisaged by section 45 of the Constitution? [More…]
By his response he sought to imply not only that it was not the Committee’s function to examine possible changes in the constitution of commissions in the 3 areas of postsecondary education but also that he was not contemplating any such change. [More…]
for the grave threat to the Australian Constitution resulting from the attempt by the Prime Minister to reduce the power of the Australian Senate; and [More…]
The evasion and contempt of Parliament and of the Constitution have become a critical issue in the attempt of the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) to hang onto power. [More…]
He believes that he alone is the Constitution; that he alone is the Parliament. [More…]
All have a proper part and proper powers under the Constitution. [More…]
The Government is more and more characterised by efforts to throw off the constitutional restraints. [More…]
Now he says he wants to smash the Senate unilaterally, to tear up the Constitution of which he is only a part, this Parliament and the representatives in this place are only a part. [More…]
Its power to pass or reject them is unconfined by section 53 or any other provision of the Constitution and its power to otherwise deal with them is also unconfined save in so far as contrary provision is made by the exceptions which, as I have said, have no application in this case. [More…]
Under the Constitution the Senate does not occupy a subordinate place in the exercise of legislative power. [More…]
His centralist dreams are inappropriate and out of touch with the needs of this time and his refusal to face the truth about Australia and its Constitution is leading him deeper and deeper into unconstitutional actions. [More…]
I have said repeatedly, where a GovernorGeneral may have to act as the ultimate protector of the Constitution. [More…]
His contempt for procedures was symbolised by an attitude to a former Speaker and now his attitude to the Constitution and the powers of the Constitution and the place of this Parliament is culminated by his proposal to govern without parliamentary approval of funds. [More…]
Is that device to be used because the Prime Minister knows full well that if there is to be a guarantee the Government would immediately be outside the Constitution and acting illegally? [More…]
There are some views that there could then be a process of criminal conspiracy between the banks and the Government to evade the processes of Parliament and the laws of the Constitution. [More…]
Outside the House and by proxy in the Senatedisgracefully by the stolen proxy of a dead Senator’s vote- he has been prepared to say that the conduct of the Government justifies any extreme course, justifies tearing up the Constitution, justifies economic disruption and chaos. [More…]
The issue at stake is the basic constitutional rights of this House. [More…]
The Senate cannot be dissolved except at the times and in the terms strictly laid down by the Constitution. [More…]
The Senate is saying that every 6 months it has the power to require an election for this House, while its own term must remain inviolate under the Constitution. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition’s motion- his first censure motion ever against the Governmenttalks about unconstitutional conduct. [More…]
It has not complied with the clear procedures of the Constitution. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition asserts that my Government is threatening the Constitution through an attempt to reduce the powers of the [More…]
Attorney-General and the SolicitorGeneralthat there should be no conflict with the Constitution, the Audit Act, or any other law. [More…]
That is not the way our Constitution is drawn. [More…]
Indeed, a very important part of our whole Constitution is the right to be able to censure a corrupt and a bad government. [More…]
If ever this safeguard, if ever this protection is taken away from our Constitution, then it leaves this country wide open to a dictatorship. [More…]
We are concerned about chaos being caused, but we believe that there is a constitutional process- a Westminster process- that has been accepted through British parliaments over the years; that is, once money is cut off, the Government goes to the people and lets the people decide. [More…]
The position of the Senate is spelt out in section 53 of the Constitution which deals with money Bills. [More…]
The consequences of the action are that those who claim to be defenders of the Constitution in fact are becoming its sub.verters. [More…]
I must say that I am getting a little sick of the unctuous way in which everything that can be done to frustrate the proper working of this House is being done in the name of something called ‘defending the Constitution’. [More…]
All parts of our Constitution have purposes and precedents, and they all ought to be interpreted with commonsense. [More…]
A document is not only letters or words; a constitution has a spirit, and a constitution works only with conventions plus commonsense. [More…]
Whether conventions put flexibility into a system which otherwise would be too rigid or whatever else they may do, a constitution works the better because of them. [More…]
That sort of thing is a travesty upon the working of a constitution. [More…]
It brings the Constitution into disrepute. [More…]
I have said this before: Had the Australian Constitution been written in 1912 instead of in 1901, it would have had enshrined therein that the Senate could not reject a money Bill. [More…]
The Constitution says that a money Bill cannot originate in the Senate and that the Senate cannot amend such a Bill. [More…]
Because of the federal nature of our Constitution and because of its provisions the Senate undoubtedly has constitutional power to refuse or defer Supply to the Government. [More…]
If he refuses to do this I have the authority and indeed the duty under the Constitution to withdraw his Commission as Prime Minister. [More…]
That correspondence was undertaken on his own behalf without the backing of the Parliament and in a way which ignored completely the fact that under the Australian Constitution there is not one House of Parliament but there are 2 Houses of Parliament. [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution, fortunately, the powers of changing the Constitution lie not with the members of the Opposition, not with the members of the Australian Labor Party, nor indeed even with the members of this Parliament. [More…]
The only way in which the powers of the Australian Constitution can be changed significantly is by referendum. [More…]
The importance of this election is that we on the Government side of the House are confident that in the right honourable Bill Snedden we have a man who can and will act with the authority of this Parliament, who will act in accordance with the terms of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
There is no doubt that as a result the Australian Constitution will be observed and the rights and interests of the Australian people protected. [More…]
Indeed, the verdict of 13 December must remain the ultimate determinant and, as my colleague the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has said, if there is any doubt I would commend to honourable members a reading of the letter from the representative of Her Majesty the Queen which completely refutes the allegation that the Governor-General acted in any way outside the powers which are his within the Australian Constitution. [More…]
His misfortune was not of his own making but was due to those in his own Party who wanted to abuse the forms of the House and to reject the Constitution. [More…]
Whereas section 5 1 paragraph 26 of the Constitution confers on the Parliament of Australia the power to make laws with respect to ‘The people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws’; and [More…]
9 a Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representative elections. [More…]
14 a Bill for an Act to provide for the constitution of Aboriginal councils and the incorporation of associations of Aboriginals and for matters connected therewith. [More…]
alteration to the Constitution held in 1974. [More…]
I must say that I was grieved somewhat by the cavalier fashion in which the previous House of Representatives was prepared to vacate what I think are its historic rights because of a chance difference in the political constitution of the upper House as against the lower. [More…]
I wonder how in the future constitutional usage and practice will be taught in Australia after what happened on 1 1 November. [More…]
In those days we had the learned text of Bagehot’s English Constitution. [More…]
The most modern interpreter of the working of the British Constitutionthe Australian system is modelled on the British system- is one called Ivor Jennings. [More…]
As we understand the situation here, the Australian Constitution firmly places the prerogative powers of the Crown in the hands of the Governor-General as the representative of the Queen of Australia. [More…]
These sorts of events, fortunately, are not likely to happen again while the political constitution of the 2 Houses is the same, but at least we on the Labor Party side have an interest in the future conduct of events because when we are returned to power in this House the likelihood is that there could be almost equality politically in the other place. [More…]
The Constitution is quite specific. [More…]
I tried to suggest early in my speech that common sense- surely common sense is an essential part of the operation of constitutional governmentwould say in the latter quarter of the twentieth century that Senates cannot reject money Bills either. [More…]
In fact, in Quick and Garran’s famous book on the Constitution I think the authors observe that it was suggested that it ought to have said wherever the word ‘Governor’ appeared it meant ‘Governor-in-Council’. [More…]
There are not many places in the Constitution where the Governor has any powers as such, but again those powers, unless they are to be potential tyranny, surely are meant to be exercised in the sense of ‘Governor-in-Council’, not the Governor as a paramount chief or trying to take to himself in 1976 powers that were discarded by the Crown in the United Kingdom almost 200 years ago. [More…]
Difficulties arise with a written Constitution such as Australia has. [More…]
It tried to put into writing what were the conventions of the British system at the time the Constitution was written. [More…]
It is unfortunate that had our Constitution been written in 1912 instead of 1901 it would have incorporated what became the Parliament Act of the House of Commons in 1911, that is that there could have been no refusal of Supply in another place. [More…]
As the honourable member for Hunter has just said, they were very strong words from a man who has served in a position which has enabled him to understand the Constitution of this country and what is required of the office of the Governor-General probably better than has anybody else in the country. [More…]
Like it or not, no matter how honourable members opposite try to gild the lily, the facts are that a government was removed- picked off- right in the middle of its term by methods which are not in accordance with the normal requirements of the Constitution of Australia and certainly the constitutional conventions which apply in Australia. [More…]
Section 57 of the Constitution, the double dissolution section, provides for a conflict between the Houses to be decided by the people. [More…]
We were wrongly dismissed and there has been violence done to the Constitution. [More…]
If we accept the interpretation of the Constitution by the Governor-General that the Constitution grants him absolute power we will have a situation in which he can, if he wishes, dismiss any government at any time that he likes. [More…]
The Constitution grants equal power to the Senate. [More…]
Part of the legacy is that 43 per cent of the Australian people now have no respect for the Constitution or the parliamentary system. [More…]
I would argue that the time has come when the Australian Labor Party should start looking at framing a new Constitution. [More…]
I believe there are too many holes, too many flaws and too many inadequacies in the present Constitution for it to stay for very much .longer. [More…]
I believe that because of what happened to it over the past few months and all the other inadequacies that have built up over many years the time has come when the Australian Labor Party, when returned to government, should put up a new Constitution with many changes and also without the inadequacies I outlined a few moments ago. [More…]
Still the Constitution is prostituted to get Labor out of office. [More…]
The Privileges Committee, in my view, should be asked to establish whether the Governor-General fulfilled the constitutional requirement of section 62 of the Constitution which says that there shall be a Federal Executive Council to advise the Governor-General in the Government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Did the Governor-General defy or fail to seek or take the advice of the then Prime Minister, the then Attorney-General or the Crown Solicitor as it was his duty to do in terms of the Constitution and in terms of all the traditions? [More…]
You violated the Constitution. [More…]
It is said that the decision of the people on 13 December resolved the constitutional issue relating to the respective powers of the 2 Houses- the people ‘s House, or the House of Representatives, and the upper House, or the Senate. [More…]
People did not vote in the main on the constitutional issue. [More…]
The people were led to believe that the decision to sack the Whitlam Government was based on an impartial and proper interpretation of the Constitution and therefore the constitutional powers of the Houses were not an issue at the election. [More…]
Does anyone believe that this corrupt Government which came to office at a premature election founded on a grand conspiracy will do anything to update the constitution? [More…]
Having made those comments I want to say very briefly- I do not claim to be a great constitutional lawyer- that 14 years in practice has persuaded me that the real lawyers in Australia are completely right when they say that the Governor-General’s decision was correct. [More…]
We have had enough of the claptrap and nonsense that he acted unconstitutionally. [More…]
I believe that Sir John Kerr acted with courage and force to defend the Constitution and that he gave something more precious than anything else to the people of Australia. [More…]
We have had Canberra dictation and the States being made prisoners under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
What would Cockburn, Deakin, Parkes, Kingston, Braddon and the rest of them have thought of the interpretation of the Constitution that was foisted on us on 1 1 November? [More…]
The Constitution is quite precise. [More…]
Section 62 of the Constitution states- and I guess this is exactly what Cockburn, Parkes, Deakin and Braddon and the rest of them meant by it back at the end of the last century: [More…]
The Governor-General of this country, in any reasonable, democratic, commensense historical interpretation of the Constitution, has no right to make decisions on his own. [More…]
So on 1 1 November when he made his decision he ignored his clear and bounden duty- a duty imposed upon him by the Constitution, and the only duty and the only option that anybody can accept that he had- to accept the advice of and consult the members of the Executive Council. [More…]
Let us consider what is meant by his interpretation, confirmed by the troglodyte from Denison, of the Constitution. [More…]
If one reads the sections of the Constitution where the GovernorGeneral is referred to- there are some ten or fifteen sections, I think- one will find that he has an absolute unchallengeable authority to govern without any advice and answerable to no-one. [More…]
You represent, at the Opening of Parliament, an interpretation of the Constitution which threatens Australian democracy. [More…]
It is faintly amusing to me, with my particular memories, to hear the death bed attachment of the Opposition to constitutional forms of Government. [More…]
I recollect that in 1955 the interference of the then Federal Executive of the Australian Labor Party in the affairs of the Victorian branch of the Labor Party was responsible for tearing up the rule book and the constitution of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
I believe that very serious weaknesses were shown to exist in our Constitution on 1 1 [More…]
If the House chose to appeal to the High Court for an interpretation of the Constitution or for redress under the Constitution it could not do so because it already would have been dissolved and therefore it would have no person who was able to take such action. [More…]
The Governor-General is the possessor of absolute power in certain respects with regard to the Constitution. [More…]
If honourable members re-examine history, and very recent history too, they will concede that it is not the fault of the Governor-General that they had to go to the polls on 13 December last year but perhaps the fault of those who drew up our Constitution three-quarters of a century ago. [More…]
I would hope that a Governor-General, no matter by whom he was appointed, would be a man who maintained his integrity in the face of political pressure and onslaught and did what was best for the people and allowed by the Constitution of this nation. [More…]
If the Labor Party has feelings about what happened last December perhaps it should direct those feelings towards the Senate, the other place, which constitutionally blocked the Budget. [More…]
The people were told last October, November and December that the state of the nation required and justified any breach of the Constitution, any attack on conventions and traditions; any departure from honour and decency; any disruption; any deception; any duplicity to destroy the properly elected Government in mid-term. [More…]
It means that the Governor-General may dissolve Parliament whenever the technical provisions of section 57 of the Constitution are fulfilled regardless of the advice of his Ministers. [More…]
It is part of our heritage and the title, the name, is part of our heritage and it ought to be seen that way, particularly as nobody was prepared to go to the trouble of putting to the Australian people that we ought to change the title as it is known in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution calls us the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
There appeared the words: ‘Be- it enacted by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia’, and that is not the title by which we are known in the Constitution. [More…]
I do not intend to pursue a discussion on the Constitution or a discussion as to the rights of governments or lower houses under the Constitution; I intend to deal with what I believe is the one overriding, pervasive requirement imposed on governments in this place. [More…]
The only means open to the then Opposition to allow the people to express an opinion was for the Senate to deny Supply, which is legally within its powers as laid down in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
As honourable members well know, section 1 of the Constitution provides that the legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in the Federal Parliament which shall consist of the Queen, a Senate and a House of Representatives, to be called the Parliament or the Parliament of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Under the Constitution they, together with the Queen, make up the Parliament of the Commonwealth. [More…]
He acted, as indeed he was required to act under the Constitution, to resolve the deadlock. [More…]
As we are constantly reminded, we have a fairly rigid Constitution. [More…]
It may not be the kind of Constitution which we would write if we were writing it today. [More…]
Our Constitution has important checks and balances, and these have been demonstrated in recent times. [More…]
Section 105A of the Constitution provides that the Commonwealth may make agreements with the States with respect to public debt of the States, and further provides that any such agreement may be varied by the initiating parties. [More…]
He was a Minister of the Government which was in power for 3 years- which, of course, was 3 years too long- and he then had plenty of opportunities to change the Constitution. [More…]
After all, what difference would one more constitutional proposition by his Leader have made? [More…]
The honourable member’s contribution in the debate to the Constitution was a lamentably poor one. [More…]
I want to say to the honourable member in reply to his remarks, and I am not being vindictive because I have a personal regard for him: Thank heavens we have a written Constitution and thank heavens we have men like Sir Garfield Barwick who can interpret that Constitution according to law and what is said, and not what a power-hungry band of men who want to cling desperately to power hope it might say if words can be bent to suit their insatiable demands. [More…]
That is what the constitutional issue is and that is where the breach of the Constitution by the previous [More…]
I want to refer to an extract which seems to me to sum up the whole constitutional issue. [More…]
It was written only a few days after the previous Government was dismissed and I suggest to the House that it summarises the whole of the constitution issue. [More…]
That demonstrates complete disregard for the conventions of our democracy in that the former Minister was party not only to a breach of the Constitution but also to a breach in our electoral law. [More…]
It systematically rigged electoral boundaries so that it could always look after its supporters and be in a position to abuse and disregard the Constitution when it suited the Government. [More…]
I do not intend to canvass the activities of the GovernorGeneral but I want to say in all sincerity that somebody somewhere along the line, whether on this side of the House or on the Government side, will have to face up to their constitutional responsibilities. [More…]
I believe that section 57 of the Constitution ought to be amended and I think the people opposite ought to initiate that process. [More…]
Members of the Opposition can rest assured that we on this side of the House trust the written Constitution and have explicit faith in the Governor-General. [More…]
It is perfectly possible that in 1966 they completely misunderstood the efforts of the Prime Minister of Malta and myself who desired and tried to work for a Commonwealth arbitration commission of 3 Premiers to go in an endeavour to sort out the terrible difficulties in which the Constitution of Rhodesia had got and also her relations with Britain. [More…]
It is the product in turn of a defective Constitution under which Australia has laboured for many years. [More…]
Every constitutional convention by which parliamentary democracy can function has been broken. [More…]
Further reserve powers in the Constitution have been abused. [More…]
I refer to the powers to reserve the royal assent, the power of the Governor-General as contained in the Constitution to refer legislation back to this House with a request for alterations, or for legislation to be deferred for as long as 2 years. [More…]
No one has been able to say that he breached the Constitution. [More…]
In point of fact the Constitution ought to give the Federal Parliament the same power over industrial relations as has every other Parliament in Australia; that is to say, the right, by legislation if need be, to move in and to make industrial law. [More…]
But we do not have that right, and it is only because of the constitutional restrictions that are placed upon the Parliament that the sole right to determine industrial relations resides with the Arbitration Commission. [More…]
It knows that it is only because of a quirk of fate that it is in the position of being the sole arbiter and that the Government has no constitutional right. [More…]
There can be little doubt that the people of Australia, including myself, always believed and were encouraged to believe by section 53 of the Constitution that money matters originated only in this House, that the other chamber, the Senate, could not alter those Bills, could not change them in any way at all but could send them back to this House with requests for amemdment. [More…]
I do not presume to be a constitutional lawyer and I do not pretend to speak as one. [More…]
If it fails to do that, it is not only degrading this chamber, it is not only giving to the Senate a privilege and a right that that chamber does not enjoy by the Constitution; it is also bringing into question the whole purpose of a need for a Parliament in this country. [More…]
Like everything else, constitutions have to be read in the context of history and development. [More…]
The Constitution says that there shall be a Federal Executive Council to advise the Governor-General in the government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
If honourable members read the predecessors of our Constitution in British history- for instance, the Bill of Rightsand if they look at the assertion of supremacy of the Parliament in various ways I think that they will agree with me. [More…]
I am quite confident that the Governor-General’s interpretation of his executive authority extended through the Constitution, as revealed in the power he used on 1 1 November, would offend, affront and horrify the citizens the honourable member represents. [More…]
As one reads it one will find in the Constitution somewhere- I cannot tell honourable members offhand - [More…]
The Constitution also makes mention somewhere of the Queen appointing the Governor-General. [More…]
However, for a long while my view has been that in respect of our relationships with the other place we should have amended the Constitution so that the other House can defer matters only for a period of time, such as is the case in Britain, I understand, or more appropriately in view of the relationships inside the constitutional processes so that there could be joint sittings as the honourable member for Burke (Mr Keith Johnson) mentioned this afternoon. [More…]
I do not subscribe to the view that the Australian Constitution cannot be changed by referendum. [More…]
Our error is to leave the changing of the Constitution to the political instruments and this can be nothing but a partisan exercise. [More…]
Just as we find ourselves bedevilled by the constitutional processes of the last century now, it will happen to everybody else in the long run. [More…]
I suggest that we get together on the questions of constitutional reform, the supremacy of this Parliament and the pre-eminence of the House of Representatives. [More…]
We have seen the use of the law for political purposes- that is, the Constitution and the foreign exchange regulations. [More…]
Therefore we have a situation which is not covered by any statute or by the Constitution and which was certainly not foreseen by those who framed the Constitution whereby the political balance of one of the Houses of this Parliament can be completely destroyed by the appointment of persons of political viewpoints, different from those of the senators whom the people of the States concerned chose. [More…]
We heard an awful lot about the Constitution too, but that was not the key issue on which the election was fought. [More…]
Reliance on section 57 of the Constitution to dissolve both Houses was possible only because of the Senate’s treatment of proposed laws other than the Appropriation Bills. [More…]
Constitutional amendment is an urgent necessity in Australia so that unwritten conventions are spelt out and dubious discretions removed from our Constitution. [More…]
I invite the attention of honourable members to the quite frightening ramifications of section 58 of the Constitution. [More…]
For the time being, then, the Constitution of our country remains a tyrant’s charter. [More…]
I notice that in all the speeches that have been made by the new members and by the older members, no reference has been made to the constitutional crisis and the role of the Governor-General. [More…]
No one has said that perhaps the Constitution ought to be changed to give the Senate some sort of monetary role so it can introduce money Bills. [More…]
Suffice to say that in the Constitution there is an in-built safety valve giving the Governor-General absolute discretion to dissolve the Parliament. [More…]
The motion I have moved is identical with the resolution regarding the constitution of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence which was passed during the previous Administration. [More…]
Since this is an issue which falls particularly within the jurisdiction of the Inter-State Commission under the Constitution and is one of the matters which was regarded as urgently requiring the Commission’s attention when the Parliament was recently discussing the Inter-State Commission Bill, I ask the Minister: How soon does he expect to proclaim the legislation, to appoint the Commission’s members and to direct the Commission to investigate this serious and continuing problem in interstate transport? [More…]
We are inflicted with a Constitution which I think was a creditable and notable feat of creation in the 1890s but which now, because of the restrictions imposed by its very terminology, inhibits all development, that in fact government should evolve. [More…]
Certain constitutional difficulties are involved because this chamber just cannot keep on increasing by one or two members at a time. [More…]
If there is to be any increase in this chamber there must of necessity be movement in the Senate and, under the Constitution, an increase in the number of senators will be reflected in the membership of this House. [More…]
Yet the antiquated Constitution does not cover that sort of serious discrepancy. [More…]
Did the framers of the Constitution, I ask myself, overlook this or did they, in the Australian vernacular, leave a sliprail down in the hope that someone might take advantage of it one day. [More…]
I would be inclined to think that the latter was in the minds of the framers of the Constitution. [More…]
One would have expected some proposal to set up an inquiry or to alter the Constitution to prevent a repetition of the sad events of last year. [More…]
Section 53 of the Constitution said that. [More…]
We are urging that there be an amendment of the Constitution to give support to what was obviously intended in section 53, that unless this is the House of pre-eminence, the House of the people, the House where taxes are raised, we will not have democracy in this country. [More…]
That means nothing unless we have constitutional reform and can say: ‘Yes, section 53 really means what it says; you cannot get a double dissolution unless you are talking about delays in legislation other than money Bills, according to the present interpretation of the Constitution’. [More…]
The Government, subject to the Constitution, is the last decision maker. [More…]
The Constitution makes abundantly clear the role of the House of Representatives as the sole originator of Bills for the purposes of public finance. [More…]
The Constitution also makes clear the inability of the Senate to amend any Bills dealing with such matters of public finance. [More…]
Since Federation the forms, practices and patterns of the Parliament have been built around and founded on the acknowledged and constitutionally prescribed fact that in regard to financial matters the House of Representatives is predominant over the Senate. [More…]
Indeed, it was a widely held belief by eminent constitutional scholars that as the Constitution forbade the Senate authority to amend Bills relating to financial matters this was tantamount to a prohibition on its authority to defer or reject such Bills. [More…]
He was further denigrated by direct insults to the effect that he was more intent on safeguarding his own future than on exercising his constitutional powers. [More…]
The attempt to destroy him came after he showed the Opposition he was no Charlie McCarthy but his own man, sworn to uphold the Constitution, which he did. [More…]
It is interesting that the founding fathers- those men who drew up the Constitution of this country- saw the possibility of an occurrence which did occur and they wrote into that Constitution those things which would overcome it. [More…]
The fact that we now have a new Government, the fact that this country without a shot being fired, without tanks going on to the streets, has been able to change a government, proves that the Constitution is sound and it proves that the Constitution must not be changed. [More…]
Yet in view of section 92 of the constitution I can foresee a situation where the establishing marketing structures and equalisation schemes will be cast aside by a wild scramble for lucrative liquid milk markets in the various capitals and the States. [More…]
In addition, of course, it is worth remembering that in a famous- if it can be called that- Chifley Memorial Lecture, titled The Constitution v. Labor, by the present Leader of the Opposition in this House, the present Leader of the Opposition in this House said: [More…]
For that reason I say that it is well and truly time that the Constitution of Australia was revised to make it very clear that in the future no GovernorGeneral can take the action of dismissing a constitutionally elected government. [More…]
For those reasons I believe that action is very necessary indeed to overhaul the Constitution of this country, to make sure that in future the Prime Minister, as the elected head of Government, is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, not a person appointed. [More…]
Yet in accordance with our Constitution as it now stands that type of situation could be a reality. [More…]
I repeat that the time is well and truly overdue for our Constitution to be revised. [More…]
The time is well and truly overdue to make sure that the constitutional convention of filling a casual vacancy in the Senate with a person of the same political background as the senator to be replaced is not broken. [More…]
It is time that that convention was firmly established and written into the Constitution. [More…]
In the present Constitution nothing is laid down to say that the Prime Minister shall not come from the Senate. [More…]
This right of the House of Representatives must be laid down firmly in the Constitution. [More…]
That would mean that the constitutional crisis which this country suffered last year could never recur. [More…]
It should also be laid down formally in the Constitution that the Governor-General, an appointed person, is not commander-in-chief of the armed forces. [More…]
One of our Australian institutions is the Constitution, and that Constitution provides that we have a Governor-General and sets out the legal parameters within which that Governor-General must work. [More…]
I wish to make this point for the consideration of honourable members: Even though we may not agree with parts of the Australian Constitution or with the legal parameters within which the Governor-General works, we, as Australians, are obliged to go along with that situation as gracefully as possible until the people of Australia change that Constitution. [More…]
If the Governor-General had broken the Constitution by bis actions of late last year in dismissing the then Prime Minister, I very much doubt that he would still be Governor-General today. [More…]
Therefore we must conclude that the Labor Party agrees that he acted within the law of this nation according to the Constitution. [More…]
If we do not like the Constitution, let us change it. [More…]
If we Australians do not like our Constitution, the remedy is available: We must change it. [More…]
I believe we should be able to make these decisions because section 53 of the Constitution gives the House of Representatives this power. [More…]
The GovernorGeneral ‘s Speech makes no reference to the need for action to ensure that there cannot be a recurrence of the constitutional crisis which threatens the continuation of the Australian parliamentary system as we know it. [More…]
Yet the constitutional crisis shook the very foundation of the people’s form of government. [More…]
The people have some right to an inquiry into the Constitution to prevent this sad event from recurring. [More…]
Party politics is one thing, but a deliberate attempt to drag down the authority of our own Constitution is another. [More…]
However, this was indeed the interpretation given by some observers to the original draft of the Constitution, which has, of course, undergone some amendments as a result of public pressure within Poland itself. [More…]
We hope that the adoption of the new Constitution in Poland will not, in fact, have that effect. [More…]
-Well, he has had some experience in government and he is always telling us how he was on the Constitutional Review Committee in the late 1950s and how much he learned about the Constitution. [More…]
Secondly, does the Prime Minister see that section 123 of the Constitution governing alterations to State boundaries will in any way apply to the Commonwealth’s position in these negotiations? [More…]
I preface the question by referring to the provisions of section 44 of the Constitution relating to bankruptcy and insolvency. [More…]
Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of section 44 of the Constitution, will the Attorney-General examine this particular agreement registered under the Bankruptcy Act to ascertain whether there has been any breach of the Constitution in respect of the honourable member’s ability to remain a member of this House? [More…]
Last December the seventh general meeting of the Polish Communist Party demanded that changes be made to the Polish constitution. [More…]
Under the constitution a leading role was to be given to the Communist Party of Poland. [More…]
Executive Government, was given the function of interpreting the Polish constitution. [More…]
This meant, in effect, that Rafferty’s rules would be observed in all constitutional measures in Poland and that the Polish people would be put formally as well as in fact under the complete domination of the Polish Communist Party. [More…]
Another change in the constitution was that the foreign policy of Poland for the future would be based on eternal friendship with the USSR. [More…]
Part of the process is one instance which we have witnessed in the last 3 months- the taking over formally of a position in the Polish constitution which the Russian imperialists occupied for so long. [More…]
Let us examine those strictures which he has passed upon the recent changes in the Polish constitution. [More…]
Let us consider the subject of the State Council of Poland being given the right to interpret the constitution. [More…]
On 13 December the honourable member finalised the action of 11 November when the whole Australian Constitution was torn up and handed over for interpretation to one man- an appointed official. [More…]
He will go out to his residence this afternoon and pay his respects to him, instead of starting to look at the constitutional situation and seeing what has been imposed upon the Australian people. [More…]
The first is to write into the Polish Constitution that the Communist Party in essence is the only Party which will be permitted in that country. [More…]
What it wants to write into the Constitution amounts to a denial of the right of political association, of the formation of parties and of any real chance of an effective opposition in the Polish Parliament; secondly, the taking away of the rights of an independent and free Polish foreign policy by writing into the Constitution that, ipso facto, the foreign policy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, will be, for all intents and purposes, the foreign policy of Poland; and, thirdly, by giving to an arm of the Executive, the State Council, an interpretive right- whatever the honourable member for Wills might say it is not the right of the Governor-General of Australia but in fact is the right of the High Court of Australia- to interpret the Constitution. [More…]
Any changes in the Polish Constitution are pure formalities and there has not been any significant change in the position in Poland. [More…]
He was reading to us from a document which I believe was somewhat akin to the constitution of the Soviet Union. [More…]
I congratulate the Minister for restoring that socialistic and entirely revolutionary term which Queen Victoria fought so hard to ensure should not be in the Australian Constitution because it was redolent of Oliver Cromwell. [More…]
Its implementation represented nothing other than the carrying out of this Parliament’s obligation under the very first paragraph of section 5 1 of the Constitution, which states: [More…]
The power to legislate is a sovereign one, conferred by the Constitution, and is based on the external powers given in the relevant placitum of section 5 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
I also remind the House of the recommendations of the Senate Select Committee of Off-shore Petroleum Resources and in particular of the paper delivered by Professor Richardson, the respected Professor of Law at the Australian National University, in which he pointed out that the constitution of the respective State Ministers for Mines was a derogation of the authority of the Commonwealth Minister and as such in breach of the Constitution. [More…]
One of the great simple clauses in the Constitution is section 92. [More…]
The High Court ought to be free to concentrate on its great tasks as the interpreter of the Constitution and the ultimate court of appeal. [More…]
It removed from this House a duty imposed upon it by section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
We consequently disagree most strongly with the statements in the minority report, especially in view of the fact that Local Government, State Government, Federal Government, and Voluntary Agencies are well represented on our Regional Council ( as per Ministers ‘ Agreement and our Constitution). [More…]
Our constitutional monarchy in Australia is no exception. [More…]
Part of that essential tolerance is not only an adherence to the written word of the Constitution but a respect for and a submission to convention; and furthermore, an interpretation of those conventions and those written words which is politically practical and represents commonsense. [More…]
Only by codifying the essential conventions, by changing our written Constitution, and, more immediately, by the resignation of our substitute Head of State who made these decisions which brought about this damaging and politically dangerous situation will tolerance return. [More…]
He spoke about whether there was power under the Constitution to take such action. [More…]
Obviously he has not read section 5 of the Constitution. [More…]
Under section 83 of the Constitution, there can be no appropriation unless there is a vote of the Parliament. [More…]
If there had been an attempt at appropriation, even if the money had been borrowed overseas, it would have been illegal and unconstitutional to appropriate it without a vote of the Parliament, not just the House. [More…]
Under section 61 of our Constitution the Governor-General in Council has certain obligations. [More…]
Before I go on to other matters, I should like to touch on the constitutional questions which have been raised, and which one could say have been done to death. [More…]
I recognise the emotional content of these issues, but surely those honourable members must realise, if they think about the matter, if they look at the Constitution, that their arguments lack any basis in law or in logic. [More…]
The vast majority of constitutional lawyers of any standing whatsoever in this country now recognise- not all of them recognised it beforethat the Senate has the power under section 52 of the Constitution to defer or reject Supply. [More…]
I remind honourable members opposite of section 1 of the Constitution, to which I wish to refer: [More…]
It was in fact a judgment that resulted in the Constitution of Australia functioning properly, functioning so as to permit the electors of Australia, at an appropriate time, there having been a block- a complete confrontation between the Senate and the House of Representatives- to make up their minds and to cast their decision. [More…]
Is its ambition to concentrate all power in the House of Representatives, to destroy the Constitution? [More…]
I hope that his reference to codifying the Constitution and making it clear to the Australian people will be looked at by the Government and that it will not be possible for those pseudo great men, interpreters of the Constitution who wish to misrepresent the facts, to put the GovernorGeneral into a position where his situation is falsified. [More…]
I am well aware of the provisions of section 55 of the Constitution. [More…]
I do not think he would mind my saying that this Government takes a slightly different approach to the external affairs power under the Commonwealth Constitution from that adopted by our predecessors. [More…]
I am not like the automata of the Labor Party who have to vote as they are told and whose Caucus, under its written constitution, has to do what an outside body tells it to do. [More…]
Had it not been for the checks and balances contained in our Constitution, with the States being vested with certain powers that enabled them to prevent the rush to centralism by the previous Labor Government, we could well find ourselves today in the position of being a centralist nation with a government that was, in the words of the Leader of the Opposition ( Mr E. G. Whitlam), ‘ a unitary system of government, a unicameral system of government’, in other words, one Parliament only with no Senate representing .the diverse interests of the 6 States of the Commonwealth, with no States with legislative power and with a capacity to check the excessive abuse of power by a power hungry centralist government. [More…]
I defy honourable members to go to the Constitution and find that expression. [More…]
Wales and Victoria retain primary responsibility and on which the Commonwealth Government would have no power in terms of the Australian Constitution to take direct, unilateral action. [More…]
The son of establishment figures who drafted the Australian Constitution around the turn of the century have been reincarnated in the present Prime Minister. [More…]
The changes recently proposed to the constitution of Poland by the Polish United Workers Party- the Communist Party there- were severe and repressive. [More…]
They included the official recognition of the leading role of the Polish United Workers Party in ‘gradually transforming Poland into a state of all the people’, with such a role to be written into the constitution. [More…]
The amendment also included the incorporation into the constitution of an official eternal alliance with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or, to use the original wording, to make the constitution reflect the ‘unshakable fraternal bond’ with the Soviet Union. [More…]
However, the socialist nature of the state will be defined in the constitution. [More…]
In addition, the role of the Polish United Workers Party has been modified so that the wording of the constitution provides only for its being a ‘leading political force in the construction of socialism’. [More…]
Regarding Poland’s place in the socialist community, the revised wording of the constitution omits reference to an ‘unshakable fraternal bond’ with the Soviet Union and simply states that Poland ‘strengthens its friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union and other socialist states’. [More…]
Whereas Section 5 1 paragraph 26 of the Constitution confers on the Parliament of Australia the power to make laws with respect to ‘The people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws’; and [More…]
He was charged under 3 articles of the Soviet constitution, namely articles 138 ( 1 1), 1 87 ( 1 ) and 209 ( 1 ). [More…]
That the House of Representatives agrees that the Commonwealth Parliament participate with the Parliaments of the States in the continuing work of the Constitutional Convention established to review the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution and accordingly resolves: [More…]
The first is that all Australians, I think, saw the Constitutional Convention when it first convened as holding some significant hope for modification in areas of the Constitution- which have arisen either because of the changes that have occurred since 1 90 1 or because of the financial problems that beset individual State governments as a result of the passing to them of the tax powers during the war years- and of perhaps modifying the balance or powers between the Commonwealth and the States in a way which might make the business of government at Federal and State levels more workable. [More…]
There is no need whatever to alter the Constitution of [More…]
There may be some exceptions to that proposition- for instance, as the Constitution stands it is not possible for the State governments to impose certain taxes. [More…]
With that exception, the proposition is correct that none of the proposals which have been made for varying the financial arrangements between the federal and State governments by the present Government need any alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
When the Parliament decided 3 years ago that the Convention should be held none of us had any knowledge of the distortions and upheavals in the Constitution which were to follow soon afterwards, particularly in the last 12 months. [More…]
Never before has constitutional reform been more important and more urgent. [More…]
The survival of parliamentary democracy depends on an urgent reaffirmation of the great conventions which provided the framework of constitutional government in this country, conventions struck down by the conservative forces in their pursuit of power. [More…]
Until last year all Australians believed that their system of government was based upon a number of propositions which, although nowhere stated in the Constitution, had through long parliamentary usage in Westminster systems gained the status of law. [More…]
If Australia is not to become a second rate democracy, these conventions must be reaffirmed and given constitutional protection. [More…]
The course of constitutional reform is extraordinarily leisurely. [More…]
that this Convention approves in principle the amendment of the Constitution to make provision for the inter-change by reference or designation of legislative powers between, the Commonwealth and the State Parliaments and further resolves that the precise form of the constitutional amendment should be settled by the Commonwealth and State Governments in consultation and when so settled presented to the electors at a referendum as soon as is reasonably practicable. [More…]
The suggestion that the Federal Government should be able to designate powers which hitherto have been exclusive to itself but which after the designation could be exercised by State governmentsthat is, that there should be a mutuality of reference of powers by one parliament to the other to complement the existing power that the State parliaments have always had under the Constitution to refer powers to the Federal Parliament- originally came 3 years ago from the governments of Victoria and New South Wales. [More…]
At the first meeting of the Convention in Sydney in September 1973 it was agreed by the States and the Australian Government delegation, largely on my initiative, that the Commonwealth and States should be able to interchange their powers, to make the Constitution less rigid. [More…]
I twice brought in Bills to amend the Constitution to enable such interchanges of powers between the State and Australian parliaments. [More…]
The States cannot alter the Constitution as it stands. [More…]
They can refer matters to the Federal Parliament, but they cannot alter the Constitution otherwise. [More…]
Only the people can alter the Constitution, and the people cannot alter the Constitution unless they approve a Bill to alter the Constitution which has passed this Parliament or, in certain circumstances, one of the Houses of this Parliament. [More…]
I said earlier that there is no need to alter the Constitution if we wish to alter the financial arrangements between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
There is, however, a need to alter the Constitution if we are to alter the financial arrangements in Australia as they relate to local government. [More…]
However, the government responsible to this House in this Parliament cannot, under the Constitution as it stands, make arrangements to take over local government debts. [More…]
In fact, it is now as urgent for the Constitution to be amended to enable the Australian Government to take over the debts of local government as it was 50 years ago for the Constitution to be amended to enable the Australian Government to take over the debts of State governments. [More…]
Accordingly, a constitutional amendment is now required. [More…]
I believe that no constitutional amendment is more necessary. [More…]
The Constitution as it stands completely ignores the 2 key factors in making local government a partner in our federal system: The need to take a national approach to offset inequalities between councils nationally, not merely within one State, and the need to free local government from its status as a vassal of State governments. [More…]
The High Court decision has now made it plain that there is no need to amend the Constitution in that respect. [More…]
It is still, however, as I have said, as necessary as ever to alter the Constitution to permit local government debts to be taken over by the Australian Government. [More…]
The significance of local government is such in Australia now that it is very difficult for us to understand why it is not mentioned in the Constitution. [More…]
There is no doubt that if Australia was devising a constitution now for the first time local government would be mentioned in the Constitution. [More…]
We are handicapping ourselves by not giving local government constitutional rights in Australia. [More…]
I believe that we will have an opportunity in Hobart next October to assert as the convention did in Melbourne last September that local government should be recognised in the Constitution. [More…]
As I said earlier, one does not have to alter the Constitution in order to alter the financial arrangements between the federal and State governments. [More…]
One does need to alter the Constitution to alter the financial arrangements as they affect local government and as increasingly they will burden local government. [More…]
I believe, as regards financial matters which to many minds are all that matters constitutionally in Australia, it is more necessary even than it was when the Constitutional Convention was first mooted in 1971-72 that there should be amendments of the Constitution to permit local government to have the recognition and the role which all of us now would recognise that it must have in a contemporary community. [More…]
I am asked what this has to do with the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The whole subject with which we are dealing concerns the relationship of local government and the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Local government must be represented at the Constitutional Convention and must be given a more equitable membership on the proposed council for intergovernmental relations. [More…]
Therefore I ask the Government to take more positive steps to make local government an equal partner within the Constitution. [More…]
Remembering that the Conciliation and Arbitration Act is an Act designed to carry out that placitum of the Constitution that gives Parliament the power to make laws in respect of the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the borders of one State- that the prime objective of the Act is the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes- the Government is now writing into the Act a provision that is actually going to cause industrial disputation. [More…]
How on earth can an organisation or a body that relies upon a constitution that places the emphasis on its role of prevention and settlement of industrial disputes be expected to manage the economy when it has control over only one single factor that goes to the control of inflation and the other things that economists seek to control? [More…]
It is clear that had road transport been of any importance late last century our Constitution may have given the Federal Parliament the same powers as it did over navigation and shipping. [More…]
Following that decision it became apparent that, whilst the Family Law Act as we know it is a valid exercise of constitutional power in the majority of its clauses, there are various aspects which are deemed to be ultra vires the Constitution. [More…]
In the decision of the Chief Justice he said that there was constitutional power under Chapter III, there was constitutional power under section 5 1 placitum (xxi) and under section 5 1 placitum (xxii). [More…]
Accordingly, as explained by the Attorney-General (Mr Ellicott), the amending legislation is aimed at writing down the Act to be more in accord with the legal powers of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
One lesson that we learn from the High Court decision- indeed we suspected when we were debating the Family Law Bill last year that we might learn it- is that in Australia under our Constitution the Federal Parliament does not have power to legislate with respect to matters relating to the family and that therefore under our constitutional set-up the only type of court that can deal with all matters relating to the family is a family court set up under State law which is invested with the necessary State and Federal jurisdiction. [More…]
The High Court occupies a position of special importance under our constitutional framework. [More…]
Not only is it the final interpreter of the Constitution, but it has a significant role as the court of appeal from State supreme courts and other federal courts. [More…]
It is vital to the working of the High Court that it should be left free to concentrate on constitutional issues and on the fundamental issues of law that come before it in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction. [More…]
One is directly from section 75 of the Constitution; the other from the power given to the Parliament by section 76 of the Constitution to confer original jurisdiction on the High Court. [More…]
The High Court has an appellate jurisdiction, conferred by section 73 of the Constitution. [More…]
The existing provisions forbidding State courts from dealing with inter se questions have operated to prevent State courts from making a substantial contribution to the interpretation of the Constitution, since most constitutional issues involve inter se questions. [More…]
My concern is to restore to this House its rights, indeed its constitutional duty under section S3 of the Constitution, to initiate changes in the taxation laws. [More…]
If we look at the Constitution we find that more attention is paid to the duties of customs and excise than to anything else. [More…]
Such Bills have been presented in accordance with section 96 of the Constitution and have contained conditions under which the Minister may release funds to the States and recover moneys not expended for the purpose for which they were provided. [More…]
I also explained that the standing legislation which I was proposing would overcome a deficiency in the existing situation as there is at present no specific legislative authority in terms of section 96 of the Constitution for payment to the States during the Supply period, as the annual States Grants (Aboriginal Assistance) legislation had not been enacted in past years until after the introduction of the Budget. [More…]
The Minister would know that after direct negotiations with that Committee I had recommended approval of the NACC constitution and had undertaken to facilitate its effective role through the establishment of a secretariat, the institution of regional conferences and expansion of responsibility and decision making. [More…]
In view of his very proper assertion of this Parliament’s sole authority under the Constitution to conduct matters of foreign affairs, I ask: Has he investigated, or will he have investigated, the constitutionality of this State Act? [More…]
Section 86 states that any attempt to undermine the Constitution is to be considered a criminal offence. [More…]
This Bill contains details of proposed appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1976-77 totalling $1,725,446,000 for expenditure on: (a) the construction of public works and buildings; (b) the acquisition of sites and buildings; (c) advances and loans; (d) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure; (e) grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution; and (f) new policies not authorised by special legislation. [More…]
We have powers under the Constitution which we have a duty to use. [More…]
It is far too late for us to deal with the bankruptsbankruptcy is our constitutional responsibilitywhen we could have prevented the bankruptcies. [More…]
The time has come, we firmly believe, for the national Parliament to accept the whole of the duty laid on it by the people when, in 1967, they overwhelmingly voted to change the Constitution so that legislation for the benefit of the Aboriginal people could be passed. [More…]
It is interesting to note that the provision relating to the right to sue for the recovery of gifts may attract a view that it is not a constitutional power. [More…]
The Constitution itself certainly gives us rights to deal with marriage. [More…]
This raises the interesting question of whether we have the power so to legislate under placitum (xxi) of section 5 1 of the Constitution because the power seems to be more related to the property factor. [More…]
The proposed section 92 (2) does so to the extent that the Constitution permits. [More…]
As alluded to by the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith, it may not be within section 51 placita (xxi) and (xxii) of the Constitution which refer to marriage, divorce and matrimonial causes and, in relation thereto, parental rights and the custody and guardianship of infants. [More…]
The question which must arise is whether or not the Attorney-General can be satisfied that it is an incidental provision because unless it is an incidental provision to the constitutional power I would have some doubts whether State law will be affected. [More…]
The same action would be justified if organised labour found it necessary to paralyse industry in order to crush an uprising of the armed forces or an attempt by any other group to overthrow the Constitution by unlawful means. [More…]
Once we reach the stage at which people lose respect for the Conventions that govern the relationship between the governed and those who govern we can say we are already on the high road to tearing up the Constitution en route to anarchy. [More…]
Those in the militant and privileged minority will not even worry about defending the Constitution once they find that it does not mean what they want it to mean. [More…]
The trade union movement has a bounden duty to work out in advance the steps that it must take to defend the Constitution. [More…]
Any member may be expelled or have his membership suspended for a prescribed period on the grounds that in the opinion of his branch, or of the State executive, or of the State council he has been guilty of disloyalty to the Party, its constitution or platform or of conduct gravely detrimental to the best interests of the Party. [More…]
It is true that until 1967 the Constitution prevented this Parliament making laws or appropriations for people of the Aboriginal race in the States, but by an overwhelming majority in 1967 the Australian people determined that this should be a Federal responsibility. [More…]
But because there are problems in ensuring that the Board adequately represents all those diverse sections of the meat industry, it seems reasonable to look at the adequacy of the Board’s present constitution and perhaps extend it and redefine it. [More…]
Therefore, I am circulating a possible draft constitution of a new Australian meat and livestock corporation in respect of which I would hope all sections of industry- producers, consumers, and meat exporters-will submit their observations and comments to the Government. [More…]
To act in the manner he chose, Sir Garfield Barwick had to ditch the convention that the Chief Justice of the High Court must not give secret advice to the Governor-General on a matter calling for an interpretation of the Constitution which could involve political partisanship. [More…]
Then, I think we have to concede, with an exceptional insight into the thoughts of the Chief Justice, he said that if the then Prime Minister did not seek an election ‘it could establish the circumstances where the Governor-General under section 61 of the Constitution would feel impelled to withdraw the Prime Minister’s commission’. [More…]
There is, however, one difference between the Australian Constitution and the United Kingdom convention. [More…]
The Australian Prime Minister has no special powers under the Constitution. [More…]
He is not even recognised under the Constitution. [More…]
Those are the elements really responsible for the violence done to our conventions that prop up the Constitution. [More…]
Honourable members opposite ought to look at placitum (xxxv) of section 5 1 of the Constitution, which reads: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good Government of the Commonwealth with respect to: [More…]
Under the Constitution there can be no change in the boundary of a State without either the consent of the State Parliament or the people of that State. [More…]
Beyond answering in those general terms and beyond a reference again to the constitutional position of the Islands mentioned by the honourable member, all I can say is that at this juncture the negotiations are proceeding well. [More…]
The decision is based on section 51 of the Constitution and the dictum ‘external affairs commences from the low water mark’. [More…]
I hope that sometimes people will read section 53 of the Constitution intelligently and will not allow for the implication of words that are not there and will not distort the meaning of words that are there. [More…]
You have adequate powers in the Constitution to control prices and incomes.’ [More…]
We have the table on which Queen Victoria signed the proclamation for our Constitution, and that set up this Parliament as the federation of the Australian colonies. [More…]
We all know and we all admit- I think with some pride- that our origins come from the British Constitution, from the British people. [More…]
We have the proclamation which sets up the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I was asked whether I would lend my support to a peaceful demonstration at the Sydney Town Hall next Monday night to discuss why the Governor-General did certain things to change the Constitution of this country. [More…]
I think a little while ago, if my ears amazingly enough were working straight, he said words to the effect that the Governor-General changed the Constitution. [More…]
To say that the Governor-General was guilty of changing the Constitution, as the honourable member for Sydney did tonight, is not only absurd but would not be believed by 99.99 per cent of the people of this country who have tried to follow the controversy that flowed on from the GovernorGeneral’s decision to dismiss the Whitlam Government. [More…]
It should well be remembered that Salvador Allende, a man elected to office with only 36 per cent of the popular vote, proceeded, upon his election, on a deliberate program to disrupt, overturn and destroy Chile’s traditional institutions and resorted to illegal methods in violation of that country’s constitution. [More…]
On many occasions his actions were declared by the Chilean Supreme Court, a body internationally respected, to have been in total disregard of that constitution. [More…]
Despite repeated resolutions from the Chilean Congress for Allende to observe the Constitution, this man plunged his country down a Marxist path to chaos and ruin. [More…]
There is no difference under our Constitution or under the law, if the proper arrangements under the Constitution are used to deny Supply, whether that process takes place in one House or another. [More…]
He is tearing up about threequarters of our Constitution in one statement. [More…]
The Commonwealth does not really have the constitutional power to deal with ex-nuptual children and others, and that is certainly going to affect the efficacy of the family law jurisdication. [More…]
Again, while agreeing with the inclusion of that provision in the Bill, might I cross swords with the Attorney-General on his concept that the best way to overcome the defect in the Constitution is to confer jurisdiction on the States in relation to this matter. [More…]
Under placitum 37 of the Constitution, there is power for this to be done. [More…]
Just as it tore up the rules and rode roughshod over the Constitution to gain office, this discredited coalition is now thumbing its nose at the time-honoured tradition of integrity which the Commonwealth has always exercised in its relations with the States. [More…]
We are looking now at a new constitution for the Australian Meat Board. [More…]
So you can see, Mr Chairman, how the situation has seriously and rapidly deteriorated in recent years, because in 1974 when the Labor Government was in office and it put its Supply legislation before the Senate, as it is obliged to do pursuant to the Constitution, Senator Withers said in the Senate: ‘I do not intend to deal with this matter until such time as you, the House of Representatives, submit yourself to an election ‘. [More…]
It was not the intention of the Constitutioncertainly not the intention of section 53 of the Constitution- that that should occur. [More…]
Let me remind the House that in the 1 89 1 draft of the Constitution the word ‘reject’ was proposed to be inserted in section 53; that is, the Senate may have the power of rejection. [More…]
What I am putting to you, Mr Chairman, is this: Section 53 of the Constitution states that except in the case of Appropriation Bills the powers of both Houses are equal; but the Senate cannot even amend Appropriation Bills. [More…]
But in that case again messages were sent back to us from the Senate clearly indicating that the Senate had powers to deal with this matter and saying, for the sake of the record but obviously quite erroneously, that if there is a deadlock between the Houses it can be resolved pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
J refer to what our forefathers did when drafting the Constitution which worked for 75 years. [More…]
On the basis of the Constitution we are able to say that we in the House of Representatives certainly have the power to submit annual Appropriation Bills but you, the Senate, irrespective of your party political complexion, have no power to reject those Bills, because once you do that you have failed in your task. [More…]
The instrument for the destruction of the power of the House of Commons- the power over the purse- is the very instrument, the Constitution compromise, by which the disparate States of Australia reluctantly, grudgingly and with the greatest possible caution finally agreed to federation. [More…]
Where else but in the English speaking world would we see restrictions such as those which are still found in sections 58 and 59 of the Constitution? [More…]
The honourable member for Kingsford-Smith has asked: Unless the Constitution is altered what will be the position when, for the first time, the majority in the Senate come from a different political persuasion to that of the Government in the House of Representatives? [More…]
That is in section 53 of the Constitution, the opinion of the Governor-General and of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia notwithstanding. [More…]
The debate will continue because we have an archaic Constitution which belongs to another age. [More…]
-The Governor-General ‘s action of dismissing the Whitlam Labor Government was right, proper and constitutional and of that there can be no doubt. [More…]
This was their interpretation of the Constitution in their honest times. [More…]
I do think, without in any way impugning what the Governor-General did because I support it 100 per cent, that it would be desirable to amend the Constitution so as to provide that under these circumstances there should always be a double dissolution. [More…]
I think also that it would be a good thing to amend the Constitution so that under these circumstances there must be a double dissolution. [More…]
There is nothing undemocratic in any way in calling for an election when one of the Houses of Parliament, properly and in accordance with the Constitution, believes that the Government should obtain a new mandate for what it is doing. [More…]
It is for these purposes that I have drawn and will present to the Parliament, I hope in the course of the next few weeks, a private member’s Bill to amend the Constitution so as to provide that there should be an automatic double dissolution when the Senate rejects Supply and at the same time to provide that there shall not be this situation in which the Senate can send one House to the people without itself going to the people. [More…]
Let me make these constitutional points quite clear. [More…]
Let me turn to another constitutional point. [More…]
I now put a constitutional point which I have put before as a member of the Library Committee of this House and which I believe is a proper constitutional point. [More…]
Section 56 of the Constitution states: [More…]
This is written into the Constitution. [More…]
Let me come back to this quite important constitutional point: I believe that the position in which Mr Speaker or Mr President was put is utterly and completely indefensible. [More…]
I put it to the House as a matter of quite high constitutional importance that what has happened to Mr Speaker- he recounted it to the House yesterdayshould never have been allowed to happen. [More…]
But I put it to the House that when we are looking to these parliamentary appropriations we should do so in terms of section 56 of the Constitution, the terms of which are repeated in standing order 292 of this House. [More…]
I quote from the Australian Labor Party Platform Constitution and Rules as approved by the Thirty-First National Conference, Terrigal, 1975, which under the heading Constitutional Matters states in clause 2: 2. [More…]
(a) Amendment to the Australian Constitution- [More…]
The Senate was deliberately given wide and sweeping powers by the authors of the Constitution. [More…]
We must not go through the measures, such as the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith was doing, of grossly distorting the history and wording of section 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
That section, giving the Senate explicit power to reject Bills, was in the Constitution of 1891 and was in the Constitution most of the time in 1898. [More…]
It was removed at the last minute as a drafting amendment by the drafting committee and accepted without debate by the Constitutional Convention on the understanding that no substantial alterations had been made to any section. [More…]
I was attracted by the arguments of the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr Wentworth) about constitutional amendments, because it is a fact that as the Constitution was written the Senate effectively has more power than the House of Representatives. [More…]
It can force the lower House to an election, whereas the lower House cannot force the Senate to an election unless there are grounds for a double dissolution; and that does not make the Senate the equal of the House of Representatives as the Constitution intends it to be. [More…]
The reason that it got into the Constitution was that the Constitutional Convention never debated the possibility of the ordinary annual services of the government being rejected by the Upper House. [More…]
Great care was taken to forbid that explicitly in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitutional Convention did not debate the other possibility because at that stage it had not occurred. [More…]
The Constitution has to be looked at in the light of the time it was framed and the constitutional understandings of the time. [More…]
As our Constitution is written, the Governor-General is an essential umpire, an essential defender of the powers of this chamber and this Parliament against the Executive. [More…]
If we are thinking of constitutional amendments we should look very carefully at the provision that gives the Prime Minister power to dismiss the Governor-General. [More…]
I am quite certain that the Governor-General would have had many sleepness nights before he decided that, by virtue of this nation’s Constitution, he had no option but to do what he did. [More…]
The mechanism of this nation’s Constitution is such that if a government cannot get Supply it must go to the people. [More…]
The Constitution clearly sets out also that this country shall be governed under a 2-House parliamentary system. [More…]
Constitution and policies the Labor Party advocates the abolition of the Senate. [More…]
I assure honourable members that there would not have been an Australian Parliament if the fathers of our Constitution had not agreed to a 2-House parliamentary system, with the second House ensuring that the rights of the small States are protected. [More…]
One goes back to 9 July 1900 to discover that Queen Victoria, with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons, enacted the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. [More…]
I trust that at the end of our term of office, when we come to the next general election, the people of Australia will say: ‘At least we have had a government in power which was prepared to give practical effect to the Constitution of this country and to give back to the States and local government the right and the power to make decisions which strictly should be made in their own areas ‘. [More…]
The constitutional question comes in under the estimates for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. [More…]
There is no doubt at all that this goverment prostituted the Constitution, debased the conventions upon which the Constitution operates and it used the Constitution for no other reason than to accomplish its deplorable, Tory, political machinations. [More…]
At this time in every mainland State the distribution of electoral divisions is in breach of both the Constitution and the Electoral Act. [More…]
It is now seen, of course, that they were also resisting distributions which would have been in accordance with the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution provides that the number of members of this House who are chosen in the several States shall be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people and shall be determined with regard to the latest statistics of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The High Court pointed out on 1 December that the Constitution does not mention the census, and that the reference to the census is contained in an Act which states that the holding of the census will be on a date fixed by regulation. [More…]
These statistics show that there arc 3 States which do not at present have the constitutional numbers in this House to which they are entitled. [More…]
Also under the Constitution- quite apart from the statute- there has to be a distribution in Queensland. [More…]
Under the Constitution there has to be a distribution in New South Wales and Western Australia as well. [More…]
Whether one looks at the Constitution as interpreted as recently as 1 December or at the statute as it stands and has not been invalidated by the High Court there must be a distribution in the 5 mainland States. [More…]
Even if the statute were varied and the will of the people as expressed in May 1 974 were set aside there would still have to be a distribution under the Constitution and the amended statute in four of those States, in all except South Australia. [More…]
Donald Home does not doubt for one moment that the Australian Constitution confers on the Governor-General the power to dismiss a Ministry or a Minister. [More…]
The Constitution does not mention the circumstances under which the Governor-General should exercise that power; that is to say the Constitution lays down no guide lines. [More…]
Donald Home also points out that the Australian Constitution is based on an uneasy, clumsy union of two principles of governmentthe federal principle, and the responsible government principle. [More…]
But it is there for a very good legal reason, namely, to ensure that it comes within the provisions of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Any attempt to fill this office with a person who would be, by virtue of background, constrained not to act in a constitutional crisis would be to place this nation in a dangerous situation. [More…]
It is my view that the office of Governor-General must always be occupied by a distinguished Australian who must now, because of the complexities of that high office, be absolutely conversant with every section of the Constitution and ready to implement it fearlessly whenever the overriding consideration of the national welfare arises. [More…]
Time will show whether Professor Clark is right about the Governor-General and the Constitution and the events of last Novermber as he was undoubtedly right about Indo-China. [More…]
This Parliament, in the enactment of the Nauru Independence Act 1 967, made provision for the final moves of the Nauruan people to the adoption of their own constitution. [More…]
In the course of negotiations that preceded the independence of Nauru, the Nauruan leaders expressed a wish that provision be made for appeals to the High Court from certain judgments of the Supreme Court of Nauru that was to be established under that constitution. [More…]
We have had, of course, to consider the source of constitutional power to enable the Parliament to enact the legislation and to confer the jurisdiction on the High Court. [More…]
The source of power to provide for appeals from Territory courts is to be found in Section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
73 and 76 of the Constitution by reason of the exercise of legislative power outside Ch. [More…]
7 1 , 72 and 73 of the Constitution, and not being State courts. [More…]
The Constitution provides for an Inter-State Commission. [More…]
It would have been possible for the Loan Council to admit local government representatives because the Financial Agreement, pursuant to section 105A of the Constitution, permits the 7 heads of government in Australia to agree on such arrangements for the Loan Council provided they are unanimous on the question. [More…]
At the meeting of the Constitutional Convention in Melbourne a year ago the proposal was put that there should be a referendum to amend the Constitution to provide that the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any local government body constituted under the law of a State or Territory on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit, that is, to amend the Constitution to make it plain that this Parliament could grant assistance to local government bodies in the same way as it has always been able to grant assistance to State governments. [More…]
I should add that the High Court decision in the Australian Assistance Plan case makes it plain that the Constitution does not now have to be altered to permit grants by this Parliament directly to local government bodies. [More…]
There is nothing surprising in the fact that local government was ignored when the first constitutional conventions were held in the 1 890s, but there can be no excuse for ignoring local government today. [More…]
If the Constitution were being drafted today, it is inconceivable that local government would be ignored. [More…]
Yet at the Melbourne meeting of the Constitutional Convention a year ago when the proposition came up for a vote that the Constitution should be amended by holding a referendum to provide for the borrowing of money by the Com- monwealth for local government bodies constituted under the law of a State or Territory, there again State Liberals who attended- the 8 from South Australia and Tasmania and the Liberal Movement representative from South Australiaall voted against the proposition. [More…]
This is one amendment to our financial relations which would seem to require an amendment of the Constitution. [More…]
As local government is not protected by the Constitution at present the responsibility sharing process has been one that has been determined unilaterally by the State governments. [More…]
We tried to amend the Constitution. [More…]
We believe that the State governments must have primacy within the structure of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
-As my colleague the honourable member for Grayndler points out, there is a third person mentioned in the Bill who is not defined in any Act or in the Constitutionto wit, the Prime Minister. [More…]
There is no such statutory or constitutional body. [More…]
I doubt whether any Minister could give the Committee a definition of the composition or the constitution of the Australian Council of Local Government Associations. [More…]
The first speaker on the Government side, the honourable member for Kennedy (Mr Katter), took it on himself to mention the constitution of the Australian Council of Local Government Associations. [More…]
However, there are provisions in the Constitution which would authorise legislation to confer on an authority power to investigate a wide range of road transport accidents which could be held to come within the jurisdiction of the Australian Government. [More…]
That is a very precious right that all Australians share, even though in a sense it is not enshrined in our Constitution. [More…]
Section 77 (2) of the Constitution Act 1934-1975 states: [More…]
This is enshrined in section 83 of the Constitution which states: [More…]
As each day passes it becomes clearer that the conservatives of our country have not only outraged our Constitution and our political stability but also have damaged our economic recovery. [More…]
I understand that next week in Hobart when the Constitution Convention is being held an opportunity will be taken by at least one Minister, and possibly others, to inspect the 2 competing sites. [More…]
The Constitution merely states that the question of telephonic or telegraphic or other like services are the responsibility of the Commonwealth. [More…]
The Constitutional Convention will be taking place in Hobart next week and I do not wish to canvass in detail what will be the problems in a legal sense of trying to get agreement as to how best we should amend the existing Constitution. [More…]
I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that we should be putting to the Australian people a brand new Constitution- a complete alternative- rather than trying to go through the difficulties of amending words in a section and deleting other sections. [More…]
But I think it would be very important to suggestand I will be urging this on my own Party- that we do submit to the Australian people an alternative Constitution which would clearly show that the House of Representatives is the paramount House of the people in respect of money bills, that there is room for a Senate and that if there were difficulty between the 2 Houses in other than Supply there would immediately be a joint sitting and there matters could be resolved. [More…]
I think the Constitution has to reflect the fact that our forefathers considered that the House of finance is the House of the people and that the Government is entitled to remain in office for 3 years providing it has the numbers in that House. [More…]
Perhaps we may have a constitution that can avoid having the problems associated with that position. [More…]
So let us make it very clear that we do need a new Constitution. [More…]
We ought to take out of the present Constitution all the archaic provisions such as section 59 which provides that Her Majesty may disallow any law within 12 months. [More…]
No Australian could possibly imagine that that section is still in the Constitution. [More…]
I should like to see a set of circumstances under which the Australian people could vote de novo on what the Constitution should be like on the basis that when they elect a House of Representatives it ought to be able to govern, and on the basis that a Senate has certain duties and if there is a conflict other than on money Bills it can be resolved without a double dissolution. [More…]
We can achieve it by noting the way in which our Constitution was structured and its very purpose of holding together a community which has quite diverse interests. [More…]
The reality is that if we are to hold this country together, and if we are to be able to get rid of the continual discussion we hear from groups in some parts of Australia of secession, we can do so only so long as there is a position in the Constitution which guarantees the participation of these groups in the Commonwealth. [More…]
He is assuming that the great bulk of people in New South Wales and Victoria can out-vote the rest of Australia on putting in a form of Constitution which will entrench the interests of the people he and I represent. [More…]
Not surprisingly, at that time he indicated that he wanted to talk mostly about the enforcement of the law on the Constitution. [More…]
Before I get off the point about the Constitution, I am delighted to see that in at least one item appearing in these estimates there is a reduction in cost, attributable no doubt to these constitutional affairs. [More…]
He suggested a completely new Constitution in the context of claiming that the actions taken by the Austraiian Labor Party last year were correct. [More…]
He suggested a completely new Constitution. [More…]
There may be some sort of an argument that there is a constitutional deficiency in some place or another in the Constitution which needs looking at. [More…]
But to suggest a completely new Constitution is, in the reality, something which would not be achieved, looking at the record of referendums in Australia. [More…]
Surely the honourable member is expecting pigs to fly before he would expect a completely new Constitution to be agreed to. [More…]
One matter which needs looking at from the point of view of constitutional amendment relates to the tenure of office of the GovernorGeneral. [More…]
It has dawned upon the Australian people that that would be totally at variance with out attitude to the Constitution. [More…]
I do not want to deal with individual cases but, with the greatest respect, I thought that under our constitutional system, including the conventions under the Constitution, the judiciary was independent. [More…]
The suggestion that the Chief Justice should seek the permission of the Prime Minister to carry out some act is totally at variance with 2000 years of British and subsequent Australian constitutional history and development. [More…]
It is totally at variance with the independence of the judiciary which has been sustained and supported over many years of constitutional endeavour. [More…]
These people have not the first, second or last notion about constitutional proprieties or about how our system has developed, how it has served the people or how to obtain a proper system in the future. [More…]
They want to see the Constitution altered so that it cannot recur. [More…]
Whilst there has been a lot of emotion about the dismissal of the Whitlam Government and the handing over on 1 1 November to a party which at the time had a minority of ten in the House of Representatives, the people’s House, the debate from now on will be about an alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
If one looks at the Constitution, it is made quite clear in the language that is used. [More…]
He said: ‘It is no use having a constitutional convention. [More…]
We ought to rewrite the Constitution.’ [More…]
For goodness sake, what sort of Constitution would the Opposition come up with? [More…]
It says so in section 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is elementary constitutional law. [More…]
I believe that any commonsense understanding of a working Constitution in 1976 can come to only one sensible conclusion; that is that Supply cannot be refused and ought never be refused in another place. [More…]
I hope that when constitutional conventions and similar bodies are meeting they give some consideration to what I think is essential, and that is that paramountcy in financial matters should reside in this House, the [More…]
Under section 98 of the Constitution, this Parliament’s powers to make laws with respect to inter-State trade and commerce extend to navigation and shipping. [More…]
In the course of some half a dozen amendments to the constitution of the River Murray Commission, there were a great number of provisions made for the erection and the maintenance of weirs on the Murray. [More…]
The judges are, in accordance with the Constitution, to be appointed by the Governor-General. [More…]
The constitutional requirement, that a judge may be removed from office only by the GovernorGeneral on an address from both Houses of Parliament in the same session praying for his removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, is contained in clause 6 of the Bill. [More…]
Jurisdiction in other federal matters will remain with or be vested exclusively in State courts so far as the Constitution permits. [More…]
For example, common law actions in contract or in tort by or against the Commonwealth and its authorities will continue to be a matter for State and Territory courts, except to the extent to which the High Court has and exercises original jurisdiction, which cannot be taken from it under the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 32 of the Bill would confer on the new Court, so far as the Constitution permits, jurisdiction in matters that are associated with matters of federal jurisdiction before the Court. [More…]
It recommended, among other things, that the Commonwealth Government should initiate a national policy aimed at acquiring land in the form of national parks and reserves for the protection of habitat sites and that a program of grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution be instituted to enable the States to acquire areas of wildlife habitat that are of national significance. [More…]
That is where the appeal involves the interpretation or effect of the Constitution of Nauru, is in respect of a determination of the Supreme Court of Nauru of a question concerning the right of a person to be or to remain a member of the Parliament of Nauru, and is in respect of a judgment, decree or order given or made by consent. [More…]
In the course of looking at the legalities of the situation it is interesting to look at how our own High Court, in dealing with cases which I think related more to Papua New Guinea, has been in a bit of a dilemma in the past as to whether its powers were virtually under section 122 of the Constitution or what is known as the external affairs power, which is placitum (xxix) of section 51. [More…]
We agree with the AttorneyGeneral (Mr Ellicott) that the external affairs power provides a sufficient constitutional base for this Bill. [More…]
At the recent Constitutional Convention there was a move to try to write it down and a suggestion that it should be limited specifically to matters which are deemed to be basically external, of an international nature. [More…]
I do not think this is fair to our Constitution or to the powers of our court. [More…]
It is noteworthy also that clause 7 of the Bill, in referring to the constitution of the court, provides that the High Court, when hearing an appeal or application for leave referred to in clause 5, is to be constituted as a full court of not less than 2 justices. [More…]
The power in the Constitution to legislate with respect to external affairs and also with respect to relations of the Commonwealth with the islands of the Pacific would enable the Parliament to enact the Bill so there is no doubt about the constitutional validity of this Bill. [More…]
Quite obviously, if those who hope to improve and update the Constitution are to have their hopes endorsed and come into practice it is necessary to put to the Australian people measures that have the support of the Opposition, the Government and, probably of necessity, at least a majority of the States, as otherwise the measures are likely to fall to the ground. [More…]
The High Court will no longer have original jurisdiction in patents and trade mark matters, except to the extent that an action may be brought in the original jurisdiction of the High Court under section 75 of the Constitution. [More…]
Such Bills have been presented in accordance with section 96 of the Constitution and have contained conditions under which the Minister may release funds to the States and recover moneys not expended for the purposes for which they were provided. [More…]
Such standing legislation will also overcome a deficiency in the present situation in that there is at present no specific legislative authority in terms of section 96 of the Constitution for payment to the States during the Supply period, as the annual States Grants (Aboriginal Assistance) Bill has not been enacted in past years until after the introduction of the Budget. [More…]
I have with me an interesting document entitled the Victorian Branch Constitution of the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
So the system involved in the document setting out the State constitution of the South Austraiian branch of the Austraiian Labor Party conforms with the principles of the amendment that the Minister has introduced into the House but not with the principles of the Act as amended by the honourable member for Hindmarsh (Mr Clyde Cameron), a South Australian member, in 1973. [More…]
A people’s convention be elected to recast the Federal Constitution to provide for the sumpremacy of the national Parliament, the abolition of State parliaments and the creation of provincial councils. [More…]
As the present Minister for Aboriginal Affairs would be aware by now, I assured the NACC at that point that I would be recommending to the Government of the day the acceptance of an NACC constitution which had been modified over a period of consultation. [More…]
He pointed out that the Commonwealth had power under section 52 of the Constitution to make laws with respect to places acquired by the Commonwealth for public purposes such as the estab,lishment and operation of airports. [More…]
That the national government controls mineral export licensing through trade powers under the Constitution gives recognition of this pre-eminent national interest. [More…]
The Australian Government is the only government that can constitutionally prohibit exports. [More…]
It recommended that the Commonwealth Government initiate a national policy aimed at acquiring land in the form of national parks and reserves for the protection of habitat sites and that a program of grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution be instituted to enable the States to acquire areas of wildlife habitat that are of national importance. [More…]
In leading for the Opposition in the cognate debate, I indicate that the Opposition, while not refusing a second reading to the Federal Court of Australia Bill, has an amendment which suggests that it would have been far better for that jurisdiction to be of a wider original base in accordance with that referred to in section 75 of the Constitution and of laws made by this Parliament. [More…]
Basically, they relate to the fact that there should be an appeal to the High Court as of right in matters involving interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 19 of the Superior Court Bill spelled out the original jurisdiction in accordance with section 75 of the Constitution whereas the present Bill indicates that jurisdiction will be that provided by the Parliament. [More…]
As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Constitution provides for an appellate jurisdiction of the High Court with such exceptions and subject to such regulations as the Parliament prescribes; that is under section 73 of the Constitution. [More…]
There is to be a repeal of provisions for automatic removal to and exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court in matters involving the limits inter se of the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
There is to be complete revision of the subject of removal to the High Court by order of the High Court of cases commenced and pending in other courts, extending the power of the High Court to order such removal beyond the existing category of constitutional cases to cases in Federal or Territory courts and cases where a State court is exercising Federal jurisdiction, and giving the High Court increased power over the removed causes, increased powers or remittal of the whole or part back to the original court, and entirely new powers to direct the further conduct of the cause in the original court. [More…]
There is to be new power in the High Court of its own motion to remit other court cases commenced as of right in the High Court by virtue of the Constitution. [More…]
I am advised that this could be of some doubtful constitutional validity but since it is well known that the High Court has sought this power for some years it is thought that the High Court is unlikely to hold the new section invalid should there be any test of that position. [More…]
We are advised generally that at the present time section 38a of the Judiciary Act has the effect that only the High Court may decide questions as to the limits inter se of the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth and those of the States, and that present section 40a provides for automatic removal to the High Court of cases commenced in other courts which raise such a question. [More…]
We are suggesting, of course, in our amendment that the High Court still be the major court for the interpretation of the Constitution and there be an appeal as of right in all matters relating to the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
It is chiefly relevant to the class of case set out in section 75 of the Constitution, which confers absolutely on the High Court jurisdiction in this class of case, which jurisdiction the Parliament has no power to take away. [More…]
It appears to be doubtful because it does, it is suggested, subvert the intention of section 75 of the Constitution by permitting for the first time the High Court of its own motion to remit to another court any cases commenced in the High Court under the Constitution or under Commonwealth legislation. [More…]
Thus it is now up to the High Court to decide whether it will hear a case which otherwise it must have done under the constitutional legislation. [More…]
Clause 10 of the Bill proposes to create a new power to a Commonwealth or State Attorney-General to intervene in any case between private parties pending in any Federal court or any Territory or any State court excerising Federal jurisdiction if the case involved a matter arising under or the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
I have seen many contributions to that debate and to what Australians might have to discuss in the future and about which parts of the Constitution may have to be amended to safeguard the rights of this House. [More…]
I do not wish to comment upon the authors’ particular and specific comments about the events but it is interesting to note the way in which they have drawn together quotes of the people who drew up the Constitution. [More…]
I think it is of interest when looking through these to see that obviously what happened last year in Australia was never seen as likely to happen by the people who framed the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
Until such time as that debate is concluded satisfactorily to the House of Representatives no doubt we will see people in the Senate being quite cavalier about the way in which the powers in the Constitution may be interpreted and used by the Senate. [More…]
As one of the founders of the Constitution said, there is a very thin line between what is right and revolution. [More…]
I think that if honourable members opposite and honourable members on our side of the House were to sit down and look at the record of discussions that took place and the conference minutes of the framers of the Constitution they would see that what happened last year was not envisaged. [More…]
We are not prepared to interfere with the cardinal principle of our constitution, and that is that the nominal head of the Government should be only the nominal head of the executive and not become a real substantial legislative force in the community. [More…]
On the one hand there is the clear right to religious freedom that is embedded to some extent in section 1 16 of our Constitution. [More…]
We propose to move an amendment in the committee stage of the consideration of the Judiciary Amendment Bill to give an appeal as of right where the matter concerned involves an interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
We propose to do that for the very simple reason that we feel that the High Court of Australia should be the one court in Australia dealing with the Constitution and its interpretation. [More…]
It has been said, and I think it has been said validly, that is a result which was not envisaged by section 73 of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Clause 10 of the Judiciary Amendment Bill proposes to create a new power for the Commonwealth or a State Attorney-General to intervene in any case between private parties pending in any Federal court, any Territory court and any State court exercising Federal jurisdiction if the case involves a matter arising under or the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposed new section 78 B contains provisions to facilitate the intervention and obliges the court in which the constitutional question arises not to proceed with the case unless and until reasonable notice is given to the Commonwealth and each State Attorney-General. [More…]
It allows judges to hold office for life, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and other provisions, but a person may not be appointed a judge of the Court after he has attained the age of 70 years. [More…]
It appears, therefore, that the Bill goes a far as is possible within the present constitutional limitations towards providing for the age of 70 years to be the age at which judges ought to become less active in their judicial offices. [More…]
I think we saw general support for that proposal in the last week or so when the Constitution Convention met. [More…]
I have not yet seen the amendment proposed by the Opposition relating to appeals as of right to the High Court in matters affecting the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
That all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: ‘whilst not opposing the provisions of the Bill the House is of the opinion that it should provide a Federal Court with original jurisdiction in all matters referred to in Section 75 of the Constitution and laws made by the Parliament’. [More…]
Covering clause 5 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act which says that the law of the Commonwealth shall be binding on all State Courts, is an expression of the idea that all the law shall be enforceable in the State courts. [More…]
The Parliament has no constitutional responsibility for State courts and cannot under the Constitution intervene in the organisation of those courts. [More…]
I ask that question because the judges of this court are officers of the Commonwealth just as judges of the Federal Industrial Court are officers of the Commonwealth and they are subject to the original jurisdication of the High Court under section 75 (5) of the Constitution. [More…]
I have mentioned those matters because they only indicate that there are constitutional problems with this court as well. [More…]
This underscores one basic fact, namely, that there are some aspects in relation to which section 57 of the Constitution ceases to have effect I suggest that the Attorney-General have a fresh look at section 57 to see whether it can appropriately apply to a Bill that no longer in many respects has relevance. [More…]
Honourable members know that the AttorneyGeneral is the resident expert on section 57 of the Constitution in respect of which he offered the most famous piece of gratuitous legal advice in the history of Australia. [More…]
The Attorney-General then went on to talk in very large terms about the ideals of a system of national courts, all of which we should support, and about the difficulties with Chapter III- the judicature chapter- of the Constitution. [More…]
He urged the Prime Minister to place it on the agenda of the Australian Constitutional Convention. [More…]
I was at the Australian Constitutional Convention and so was the present Attorney-General and neither he nor any of his co-delegates from his side of the House sought to place those questions on the agenda or in any way to have them discussed, not even laterally in relation to the retiring age of judges. [More…]
After sub-section (5) of proposed section 35 insert the following sub-sections: “ ‘(5a) Notwithstanding any other Act, an appeal may be brought as of right from a final judgment of a Full Coun of the Supreme Court of a State where the ground of appeal, or one of the grounds of appeal, involves the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
it appears to the High Court, at any time after the institution of the appeal, that no ground on which the appeal is brought requires the decision of a substantial question of interpretation of the Constitution, the High Court, may, without prejudice to any application for special leave of appeal, decline to hear the appeal further and strike out the appeal as incompetent, with such order as to costs as it thinks just. [More…]
I think it underlines the constitutional character of the High Court. [More…]
In the course of its administration it could conceivably lead to abuse by people inserting a ground challenging some section of an Act on the basis of it infringing the Constitution. [More…]
Division 1A- Provisions relating to Constitutional Matters ‘78a. [More…]
(1) The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, and the AttorneyGeneral of a State may, on behalf of the State, intervene in proceedings before the High Court or any other federal court of any court of a State or Territory, being proceedings that relate to a matter arising under the Constitution or in which a question of interpretation of the Constitution is involved or arises. [More…]
(1) Where a cause pending in a federal court other than the High Court or in a court of a State or Territory relates to a matter arising under the Constitution, or in a cause pending in any such court a question of interpretation of the Constitution is involved or arises, it is the duty of the court not to proceed in the cause unless and until the court is satisfied that notice of the cause, specifying the nature of the matter or question, has been given by a party to the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth and to the Attorney-General of each State and a reasonable time has elapsed since the giving of the notice for consideration by those Attorneys-General of the question of intervention in the proceedings or removal of the case to the High Court “(2) For the purposes of sub-section ( 1 ), a court in which a cause referred to in that sub-section is pending- [More…]
So, if we transfer the present reading of the constitutional powers of the Governor-General to the other sections of the Constitution which deal with, for instance, the dissolution of the Parliament, the prorogation of the Parliament and the sending of messengers by the GovernorGeneral recommending appropriations, we find that a situation has been created in which there is one person with absolute authority in this country over this Parliament, over its governance and answerable to none. [More…]
The time has come for all of us to consider a rapid alteration to this part of the Constitution. [More…]
The defence of the Senate’s action rests on the proposition that the Senate is a popularly elected House and, except in certain limited matters specified in the Constitution, enjoys equal powers with the House of Representatives. [More…]
The powers that were used to bring about that change of government were carefully written into the Constitution and any reader of constitutional debates will find countless references to the power to reject. [More…]
I can read the Constitution and this provision is very clear in it. [More…]
It is very clear that those who wrote our Constitution knew exactly what they were doing. [More…]
Deakin very carefully spelt out to the Constitutional Convention how that power would be used. [More…]
When this kind of situation prevails under the Constitution we can never have democracy in this country. [More…]
The word ‘reject’ is not contained in secton 53 of the Constitution. [More…]
It was contained in the 1891 draft of the Constitution but it was deleted. [More…]
Why would the States and the founders of the constitution argue about the inclusion of the word ‘reject’ when the money was already made available to them by section 87? [More…]
What this country needs is a new Constitution. [More…]
But the new Constitution will not be formed by politicians like Mr Bjelke Petersen or Sir Charles Court. [More…]
Section 58 of the Constitution states that the Governor-General can disallow any law or send a law back with his amendments. [More…]
Australia desperately needs a new Constitution made not by the professionals in State parliaments or the Federal Parliament but by the people- a Constitution in which they are involved. [More…]
It is about time we encouraged people to meet, to discuss the Constitution and to work out their set of rules on the basis of equality of opportunity and equality of voting. [More…]
The issue of this challenge was surely an acknowledgement by Prime Minister Whitlam of the Governor-General’s powers under sections 62 and 64 of the Constitution to dismiss Ministers, including Prime Ministers, whose appointment to office is during the Governor-General’s pleasure. [More…]
If this were so the Prime Minister, once appointed, could, even if acting in blatant disregard of the Constitution, only to be removed from Office if he advised the withdrawal of his own commission. [More…]
But it must be noted that whereas the Constitution confers some powers on the Governor-General in Council it clearly gives others to the Governor-General alone. [More…]
Clause 7 (6), which deals with the constitution of Aboriginal land trusts, emphasises that all members of a land trust shall be Aborigines living in the area of the land council in the area of which the land of the land trust is situated. [More…]
While the constitutional position is not wholly certain it is fairly clear that section 5 1 placitum (xx.) [More…]
of the Constitution does allow the Commonwealth to enact a national companies Act. [More…]
was to be interpreted liberally in line with the basic tenet of constitutional interpretation spelt out in the engineers case. [More…]
of the Constitution and to matters where interstate and intra-State trade are not clearly separated. [More…]
A National Companies Act would not be susceptible to challenge under section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
The intelligence of the High Court is now coming strongly to our aid as a result of the concrete pipes case clearly indicating that we must not be too narrow and confined in our interpretation of those words drawn by the founders of the Constitution. [More…]
Clause 1 1 ensures that State courts shall have jurisdiction with respect to these offences in accordance with the Judiciary Act 1903, but, except in the case of trials on indictment for offences committed in a State which, by section 80 of the Constitution, must be heard in the State where the offence is committed, this clause permits the State courts to exercise jurisdiction without regard to the limitations imposed by the Judiciary Act as to locality of the offence. [More…]
They may not be in such a specific form but that State favours a continuation of funds made available under section 96 of the Constitution specifically for road purposes. [More…]
It is now no longer possible to go on reading about all the nonsense written about our Australian Constitution and the events of last year without making some protest. [More…]
Our Constitution is clearly written down in the Act of 1901 whereas the constitution of England is entirely a matter of practise and custom. [More…]
One look at the authority on our Constitution, Quick and Garran, will convince most people with the barest understanding of constitutional law that it is based on the Dominion of Canada Act and 2 ideas taken from the Constitutions of Switzerland and the United States of America. [More…]
Chapter 1 of the Constitution states simply that there shall be the Queen, a Senate and a House of Representatives- in that order. [More…]
The Constitution even makes provisions for a deadlock. [More…]
The real problem is that nobody has taught our children the Constitution. [More…]
The High Court was created to concern itself with any matter or any irregularity in the Constitution. [More…]
The Labor Party is now running around calling for a republic and asking this nation to tear up the Constitution which protects the States and protects the liberties of every Australian. [More…]
Whereas we are perfectly willing to agree that the Constitution could be revised, nobody with any sense of responsibility could possibly agree that the Constitution is valid and sensible and should not be altered without the concurrence of the entire nation. [More…]
On page 2217 of yesterday’s edition of the Senate Hansard, Senator Archer is reported as saying, when asking a question of the Leader of the Government in the Senate: can the Minister advise what effect there would be, particularly on Tasmania, if the Senate were abolished as is proposed by the so-called Bowen Constitution? [More…]
I have prepared a constitution. [More…]
Because the recent change in superannuation arrangements for Commonwealth officers had led to the constitution of a new fund, it is necessary to bring up to date the references in the definition to people who are contributors to the Superannuation Fund. [More…]
Everything we do here will be done under the Commonwealth Constitution, in accordance with the powers of this Parliament and solely within the powers of this Parliament. [More…]
It is the same as the question of morality which arose last year when the people of this Party, the people who represent the establishment of this country, for their own selfish reasons ripped up the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Chifley Memorial Lecture 1957 ‘The Constitution v. Labour’, E. G. Whitlam, B.A., LL.B., M.P. [More…]
I have already indicated that a delicate question is involved as to the religious freedom that to some extent is enshrined in our Constitution. [More…]
The following list of objectives of the Confederation is taken from the proforma constitution: [More…]
That proposal sought to remove any ground for the belief that the Constitution discriminated against people of the Aboriginal race and at the same time to make it possible for the Commonwealth Parliament to enact special laws for those people. [More…]
The Labor Government looked at the constitutionality that was available to it. [More…]
In addition to assisting those categories of people, the Labor Government was able to establish that under the family allowances powers of the Constitution, it was competent for an Australian Government to provide a very wide range of assistance to the average home seeker in the Australian community. [More…]
When the Australian Constitutional Convention met in its 3 successive sessions recently we thought that we were examining history in retrospect. [More…]
Yet in the retirement of Norman Parkes and in the succession of the Parkes family since 1901 when the Australian Constitution was implemented, there is the living testimony of the development of the Australian Constitution through the House of Representatives. [More…]
However, it is a poor reflection on our Constitution and our progress as a Federation that, 76 years after attaining nationhood, our shipping industry is regulated in the main by British legislation drawn up to meet the needs of a 19th century colonial empire. [More…]
The bar to effective legislation by the Australian Parliament has been the Australian Constitution which it was believed did not give the Commonwealth Government power to enact provisions comparable to those contained in Part 1 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1 894. [More…]
Those days in the Parliament, oi course, have been very passive and anyone who can survive must have, I think, an extraordinarily strong and vigorous constitution. [More…]
The President of India has important and defined powers under the constitution. [More…]
The Standing Orders do not state- it is, however, the practice- that after you have presented a Bill to the GovernorGeneral for the royal assent he then seeks from the Attorney-General a certificate that it is in accordance with the Constitution and the law making powers of this Parliament. [More…]
Section 58 of the Constitution provides: [More…]
When a proposed law passed by both Houses of the Parliament is presented to the Governor-General for the Queen’s assent, he shall declare, according to his descretion, but subject to this Constitution, that he assents in the Queen’s name, or that he withholds assent, or that he reserves the law for the Queen ‘s pleasure. [More…]
Section 58 of the Constitution requires him to look at 2 matters. [More…]
The Constitution of this country, like the practice and customs of every other parliamentary democracy in the world, treats the Parliament as absolutely supreme. [More…]
I am not recommending that we should exercise that prerogative in anything but extreme circumstances, but the fact remains that legally and constitutionally we are the highest court in the land. [More…]
I believe that a lot of the trouble has come about through a bad constitutional practice whereby the adviser to the Governor-General in terms of section 56 of the Constitution when Estimates are being put forward in regard to the Parliament is a Minister. [More…]
What has been happening over past years in this regard is entirely unconstitutional and entirely improper. [More…]
That, in the opinion of this House, the proper adviser of the Governor-General in relation to his discharge of his duties under section 56 of the Constitution, insofar as they relate to appropriation of revenue or moneys for the services of this House, is not a Minister, but Mr Speaker. [More…]
It is not our business, of course, to say what should happen in the Senate; but in my view- it is something that is a matter for a senator, not for me- it would seem that Mr President and not a Minister is the proper adviser to the Governor-General in relation to section 56 of the Constitution and the recommendation of expenditure for the purposes of the Senate. [More…]
Now that the High Court has declared for the second time that certain sections of the Representation Act are null and void and that the original sections of the Constitution still apply, and since there are no proposed referendums to alter those sections, what steps has the Government taken to determine the number of members in this House to which each State is entitled and to undertake the redistribution of electorates which the High Court has declared must take place in the lifetime of this Parliament? [More…]
Is it a fact that the power conferred on Parliament by the Constitution to allow representation of a Territory in either House of Parliament does not enable Parliament to make the representatives members of this House or the Senate? [More…]
The term ‘Prime Minister’ is not mentioned in the Constitution. [More…]
The Government proposes to introduce 4 Bills to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The first proposes an amendment to the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections of the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
The second is designed to write into the Constitution the principle that a casual Senate vacancy should be filled by a member of the same political party as the one the former senator belonged to and for the balance of the term of that senator. [More…]
The third proposes to amend the Constitution so as to provide for a maximum retirement age for justices of the High Court and of other Federal courts. [More…]
All these proposals stem from the Hobart meeting of the Australian Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The proceedings at Hobart have given the Government some basis upon which to determine what proposals for constitutional reform have a real likelihood of being approved by the electors. [More…]
The purpose of the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill is to alter the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
This Bill accordingly provides for the Constitution to be amended so as to ensure that the elections for the 2 Houses will be brought together. [More…]
This Will, of course, be subject to any earlier double dissolution of both Houses that may take place under section 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
An incidental matter to which I draw attention is that it is proposed that section 9 of the Constitution be amended to empower this Parliament, rather than the State parliaments, to make laws determining the times and places of electing of senators. [More…]
This doubt will be removed by the present proposal because under the new provisions a senator’s term of service will commence on the day of his election, rather than on the first day of July after the election as is at present provided in section 13 of the Constitution. [More…]
The present Bill contains a provision rendering ineffective provisions in it relating to casual vacancies if the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Bill is passed. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to write into the Constitution the principle that a casual Senate vacancy should be filled by a member of the same political party as the former senator belonged to. [More…]
The filling of casual Senate vacancies is governed by section IS of the Constitution, which provides for the new senator to be chosen by the Parliament of the State for which the former senator was chosen. [More…]
In choosing the person to replace Senator Murphy the New South Wales Parliament quite clearly acted within the strict terms of the Constitution. [More…]
That this Convention affirms the principle that a casual vacancy in the Senate which occurs by reason of the death of a Senator or the disqualification or resignation of a Senator caused by bona fide illness or incapacity, should, in order to maintain the principle of proportional representation and the wishes of the people of the State at the relevant Senate election, be filled by a member of the same political party as the Senator whose vacancy is to be filled, but in reaffirming this principle the Convention recommends that the Constitution be amended to provide that the person elected by the Houses of Parliament of the State should hold office for the balance of the term of the Senator whose place he is taking. [More…]
The Government has concluded that the appropriate course is to invite the people of Australia to write provisions into the Constitution which will make clear and certain the manner in which Senate casual vacancies are to be fined. [More…]
Doubt was expressed in the 1959 report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Review and in a report of Standing Committee D of the Australian Constitutional Convention whether the concept of a political party is sufficiently certain in its meaning to be written into a provision in the Constitution. [More…]
It is practicable therefore to insert the provision in the Constitution rather than leave the matter to be governed by a convention which would be uncertain and lead inevitably to debates of the kind that have already taken place. [More…]
One question that was debated at the Hobart meeting was whether any amendment of the Constitution or a convention governing the manner of filling Senate casual vacancies should apply to all vacancies no matter how they arose, or whether they should be applicable only in the case of vacancies caused by death, disqualification or resignation cause by bona fide illness or incapacity. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Constitution so as to provide for a maximum retirement age for justices of the High Court and of other Federal courts. [More…]
Section 72 of the Constitution provides for justices of the High Court and of other courts created by the Parliament to be appointed by the Governor-General in Council and it provides that they are not to be removed, except by the Governor-General in Council, on an address from both Houses of the Parliament in the same session praying for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. [More…]
The amendment provided for in this Bill is in accordance with recommendations made in October last year by the Senate Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and by the Hobart meeting of the Australian Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The Committee considered that the Constitution itself should provide that High Court justices be required to retire on reaching the age of 70 years and that Parliament should be empowered to fix the maximum retirement ages of other Federal judges subject to a constitutional limit of 70 years. [More…]
The Constitutional Convention, by an overwhelming majority, adopted the Senate Committee’s recommendation in its own resolution. [More…]
In observing this distinction the amendment contained in this BUI recognises the special position of the High Court as the Federal Supreme Court created by the Constitution and vested with the power to interpret the Constitution and, one hopes, soon with ultimate appellate power in this country. [More…]
The third safeguard is that the existing provision in the Constitution that federal judges cannot be removed from office except on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity wil be preserved subject only to the provisions relating to retirement. [More…]
As I have indicated, the Senate Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and the Hobart meeting of the Australian Constitutional Convention have recommended this proposal. [More…]
Territory the right to vote in referendums for the alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
At present a proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution must be submitted in each State for the approval of the electors qualified to vote for the House of Representatives. [More…]
The amendment provided for in the Bill will require a proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution to be submitted to all electors qualified to vote for the House of Representatives. [More…]
The proposed amendment will not, however, affect the second majority requirement I have mentioned, that is the requirement that a proposal for amendment of the Constitution must be passed by a majority vote in a majority of States. [More…]
It may come as a surprise to many Australians that electors who are resident in the Territories are not at present entitled to vote in constitutional referendums. [More…]
The reason for this is to be found in the fact that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory did not exist when the Constitution was framed. [More…]
But now that these Territories are rapidly growing communities with representation in both Houses of the Federal Parliament there is no sound reason to exclude them from participating in the process of constitutional reform. [More…]
They, like other Australians, are affected by changes to the Constitution and it is anomalous that they do not, at present, have the right to participate in referendums. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that a proposal to give Territory electors referendum voting rights was included in the Constitution Alteration (Mode of Altering the Constitution) Bill that failed at a referendum in 1974. [More…]
It was then, however, linked with a proposal that section 128 of the Constitution should be amended to allow changes to the Constitution if a majority of voters in only 3 States agreed to the alteration instead of a majority of voters in a majority of States, as the Constitution now provides. [More…]
The Government cannot afford to offend the people who keep it on the treasury benches; the men who bankroll its attacks upon the Constitution; the men whom it must repay. [More…]
-Last night the Attorney-General stated that the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) Bill recognises the special position of the High Court of Australia as the federal supreme court created by the Constitution and vested with the power to interpret the Constitution and, one hopes, soon with ultimate appellate power in this country. [More…]
The first Bill proposes an amendment to the Constitution to provide for simultaneous elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
This recommendation was made to the Parliament by the Constitutional Review Committee in 1958 and again in 1959. [More…]
The Constitution provides that the writs for a Senate election in each State shall be issued by the Governor of that State. [More…]
The Constitution says that elections for the Senate can be held at any time within 12 months before the elected senators take office. [More…]
To take the current situation, under the Constitution Senate elections could be held on any Saturday this July or at any time up to the end of June next year. [More…]
A State government may even feel that its party’s candidates may not secure a majority at any election before the time when the terms of retiring senators expire and may therefore not issue the writs at all and thus, as the Constitution permits, leave the positions vacant. [More…]
These 3 situations which I have stated are all possible as the Constitution stands at present. [More…]
The second Bill, the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Bill, is designed to write into the Constitution the principle that a casual Senate vacancy should be filled by a member of the same political party as the one to which the former senator belonged at the time of his election and for the balance of the term of the former senator. [More…]
The third referendum Bill proposes to amend the Constitution to provide a maximum retirement age for justices of the High Court and of other Federal courts. [More…]
These statistics might be notable but would not be regarded as necessarily justifying amendment of the Constitution. [More…]
High Court and Federal judges hold office for life because of a decision given in 1918 that because at the time our Constitution was drawn up judges in England held office for life, therefore, judges mentioned in our Constitution, which is a British Act of Parliament, held office for life. [More…]
Perhaps the second point is that this may not be the last amendment of the Constitution which will bear upon the Territories. [More…]
I have mentioned the desirability of amending the Constitution to permit this Parliament to set a retirement age for future federal judges, other than the justices of the High Court, and to make constitutional provision for retirement at 70 years of age for justices of that court. [More…]
There is a necessity to amend the Constitution to deal with the other 3 situations where the Constitution is explicit or convention has been dishonoured. [More…]
There is no way that the High Court can interpret the present Constitution to permit the changes sought by these other 3 Bills. [More…]
There are, of course, in the electorate at large a good many divided views about the character and the manner of the Australian Constitution, in terms both of its relationship to individuals and of the necessity for change. [More…]
Emotions are very easily generated when we speak of altering the Australian Constitution. [More…]
Those of us on this side of the House certainly believe that the Constitution was the basis behind which the survival of democracy was achieved after 1975. [More…]
There are still many people who look apprehensively at the Constitution, believing that the inherent rights that our forebears, who in some way they believe were more wise than those of us who succeeded, wrote down so many years ago should inevitably survive without modification. [More…]
I am quite sure it was never in the minds of those who wrote the original Constitution that that should be so. [More…]
The very inclusion of section 128 of the Constitution indicates that there was an intention to provide for change and for circumstances of change which it was expected would follow perhaps much the same consultative course as the original Constitution conventions or, if not in that way, then in the submission of questions specifically to the people. [More…]
It is essential that the Australian people accept that there are legitimate occasions when they should be entitled to cast their views on suggested change, particularly change to the Constitution, which written as it is prescribes so much of the terms and conditions within which our Federal Government can operate. [More…]
These 4 questions emerged not just as a product of a decision by this Government, not because two of them have been before the people before, but because the Australian Constitutional Convention on three successive occasions led towards an acceptance of these 4 resolutions, which was achieved finally at the Wrest Point convention. [More…]
In that sense there needs to be a recognition by those who might question these referenda that throughout the country there seems to be a universal accord that this type of deliberation on the Constitution is worth while; that if there is to be constitutional change it should not be just for the fulfilment of the political aspirations, desires or objectives of the Government for the time being in Canberra but it should be something that has evolved from the consultation at the Constitutional Conventions. [More…]
The first is the question of alteration of the Constitution so as to provide for a retiring age forjudges of Federal courts. [More…]
While there might be some question as to the age that is to be provided for, the age decided on is again a direct product of the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
The second question which I think is equally likely to be accepted without criticism, although I know that there were some people at the Constitutional Convention in Hobart who offered some views upon it, is the question of altering the Constitution so as to allow electors in Territories as well as electors in the States to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
However, it also needs to be recognised that when last submitted there was another condition added, and that was that the present requirement, to which reference was made in the second reading speech of the Attorney-General, that there be not only a majority of electors but also a majority of electors in a majority of States before the Constitution be changed, would also be modified. [More…]
Certainly the question of altering the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections has been before the Australian people. [More…]
In 1974 the Australian Labor Party Government submitted that question along with 3 others- the mode of altering the Constitution to which I referred a moment ago, democratic elections and local government questionsto the people at the same time. [More…]
At that time supporters of the present Government parties opposed the constitutional change for several reasons. [More…]
I think it important that in looking at the package as it was then submitted- the precipitate way in which it emerged before consideration by the Convention, without the ratification or the backing of the Convention- we realise the questions were put as matters which it was felt by us and, I suspect, by many Australians, for the vote indicated that that was so, were designed to change the Constitution to the advantage of the then Government. [More…]
I believe that, according to the Constitutions of each of the States, they must be able to set their own terms and conditions for exercising their proper functions. [More…]
One of their functions under the existing Constitution is to nominate through the State Governor the person who is to fill a casual vacancy. [More…]
This question will ensure that there is not just a verbal convention, an unwritten convention, but that within the Constitution the circumstances in which casual vacancies will be filled in the future are set down. [More…]
I believe it is necessary when filling casual vacancies that we recognise that there will be a prescribed procedure which will enable the State governments to determine the manner by which they will select persons to fill casual vacancies, and which will ensure that the rights of the States are preserved, as it shall be certified by the Governor of the State and not by the GovernorGeneral, and that Governor of the State will then be able to submit the name and the person will be appointed in accordance with a constitutional requirement which I believe will validly set out a fit and proper procedure. [More…]
Without such a government there cannot be any effective change to the Constitution, and the rules are thrown overboard in the process if a Labor Party government dares to say that it wants to have change and it wants to have adherence to a convention. [More…]
I want to applaud the actions of the Citizens for Democracy in urging that meetings be held throughout Australia with a view to having a new constitution- a constitution approved by the people in the first instance and submitted to this Parliament just for mere technical legal ratification. [More…]
It has been said quite effectively and quite intelligently that it was really never intended when the Constitution was drawn up in 1 900 that judges would not be expected to retire. [More…]
The judges of the High Court have a great responsibility in safeguarding the Constitution as worn out and as outmoded as it is. [More…]
They have to interpret the Constitution in accordance with modern times and changes in conditions. [More…]
But I am anxious to make the point that perhaps this could have been done by the High Court itself by having another look at Alexander’s case which seemed to have the doubtful distinction of having been decided by people who in fact had written the Constitution themselves and that often involves some personal motive in respect of what they think would be best for themselves. [More…]
There should be no mistique about a constitution. [More…]
The expressions in section 92 of the Constitution are classic English exercises which nobody understands. [More…]
It is quite clear that the founders of the Constitution did not want to have customs barriers on every State boundary. [More…]
We may well find ourselves in the Pacific still arguing the merits of the Constitution when the whole world has changed or when Great Britain itself has probably entered a federation of Europe and is part and parcel of a federal system with a complete new concept. [More…]
A constitution is a way to do this. [More…]
The Constitution, the law and Parliamentary practice each Prime Minister to have a House of Representatives election on the same day as any Senate election. [More…]
One could manipulate the Constitution to show how silly this proposition is. [More…]
I believe that these four Bills are significant and historic legislative proposals which will lead to the people of Australia being given an early opportunity to amend and update the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
Firstly and most importantly, this gives the Australian people an opportunity to pass a referendum which will have the effect of updating and contemporising the Australian Constitution consistent with the needs of Australia in 1977. [More…]
First and foremost is the proposition to amend the Constitution to give the electors of the Territories of Australia a right to vote. [More…]
When you can get Tiger Brennan, Ren DeGaris, Jim Killen and all those other people agreeing, as in fact they did by unanimous resolution- we recommended that the Constitution be altered to provide that residents of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should be granted the right to vote at referendums, and we went on to draw attention to the situation with respect to residents of Norfolk Island- I suggest it should indicate to all fair thinking men, regardless of their political background, the weight and merit of it. [More…]
I sought leave of the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith (Mr Lionel Bowen) to incorporate in Hansard a section of page 8 of the report of the Australian Constitutional Convention Standing Committee B which was published in August 1974. [More…]
No doubt this is a matter which will engage the careful thought of all who are concerned about the continuation of the federal system and of the position of the Constitution in contemporary 1977. [More…]
I believe the amendment contemporises the Constitution. [More…]
I believe genuinely that the reason this proposal failed was that the people did not trust the then Government as it presented a package of constitutional referendum proposals. [More…]
I firmly believe that one of the major reasons this proposal was knocked back in 1974 was that the people did not trust the Whitlam Government and were not prepared to give it one inch on any constitutional referendum proposal. [More…]
The honourable member for Kingsford-Smith (Mr Lionel Bowen) paid this Government an enormous compliment when he said that as a prerequisite to constitutional amendment there had to be a Liberal-National Country Party Government in office. [More…]
I think the reason is very simple: We do have a good reputation, we can be trusted, we will not abuse the constitutional process. [More…]
Simultaneous elections were recommended by a constitutional joint party committee back in 1958 and 1959. [More…]
1 suggest that the referendum in 1974 failed for political and not constitutional reasons. [More…]
It had the support of a large number of delegates from both sides of the chamber- State and Federal; Liberal and Labor- at the Australian Constitutional Convention in Hobart last year. [More…]
I urge support for the Attorney-General’s request that the people weigh up this matter and pass this referendum proposal because I believe it will lead to better government in this country, a modern constitution, stability of government and a considerable saving of cost. [More…]
It prostituted the Constitution and debased the Conventions. [More…]
It is rather pleasing to know that at last we have the chance for constitutional reform. [More…]
We will again give the people the opportunity to face up to their constitutional responsibilities rather than do what governments and people of this country in fact have done since federation, that is, to rely upon the High Court for any meaningful constitutional change by way of High Court interpretation rather than changing the Constitution by way of referendum. [More…]
But obviously one can be very cynical- I am, for oneabout the motives of this Government, particularly when one canvasses its record over the past half decade on either national or constitutional issues. [More…]
I have spoken twice in this House on the Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) Bill 1976. [More…]
We are not dealing with a matter of constitutional law. [More…]
But the question whether the Houses of Parliament in New South Wales had acted properly or within the spirit of the Constitution as opposed to legally or according to the letter of the Constitution was strongly disputed. [More…]
For an individual or a small group of people to use as they did, the powers conferred by section 15 of the Constitution as a means of distorting the balance of political power in the Senate is to debase our political system and to bring that system into utter contempt. [More…]
I support the 4 Bills which propose amendments to the Constitution. [More…]
He referred to that part of the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Bill which states that a senator who is appointed to fill a vacancy should be a member of the Party of the senator who is deceased or has been appointed elsewhere. [More…]
I appreciate the reasons for his saying that, but I point out that later in the same Bill there is a provision that if the new senator, before taking his seat, ceases to be a member of that Party, he shall be deemed not to have been so chosen or appointed, and the vacancy shall again be notified in accordance with section 21 of the Constitution. [More…]
Of course, residents of the Territories will not be counted in terms of the requirement for a majority of the States to pass a measure but it is surely appropriate that they be counted on matters concerning the government of Australia as a whole- the structure of government which our Constitution provides. [More…]
In respect of the filling of vacancies, the Government is acting in the way it is now acting for the sole purpose of trying to prevent the election of Senator Brown at the next half Senate election because, as the Constitution now stands, it would be necessary for Victoria to elect 6 senators instead of five. [More…]
This proposal means that the Government will be able effectively to prevent the Labor Party from having other than an outside chance of winning a third seat in Victoria because it will alter the Constitution so that the Senator who was appointed by the Victorian Parliament to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Greenwood will now continue to hold office until the expiration of the normal term for which Senator Greenwood would have been entitled to hold office. [More…]
Is the proposed alteration to the Constitution quite clear as to who would fill that position? [More…]
Would the Parliament be deemed to be exercising powers incidental to the Constitution if it brought in an Act so defining these fine points that have already been raised and which over the passage of years to come will emerge in new forms? [More…]
I know that under the Constitution statehood can have attached to it whatever conditions the Parliament decides. [More…]
-That was done under the same section of the Constitution. [More…]
I hope that regular constitutional conventions will be held and that parties will be sensible enough to reach agreement on the need for changes to the present Constitution, because unless this is done the parliamentary system will not survive. [More…]
-The 4 Constitution alteration Bills are extremely important measures. [More…]
The Government is to be congratulated for putting this legislation before the people following the Constitutional Convention. [More…]
Eventually I believe we in this country are going to have to consider fully and deeply all aspects of the Constitution and we may need further referenda on important aspects. [More…]
So to that extent there will be some assistance to the overall constitutional position by the introduction of this proposal. [More…]
The Australian Constitutional Convention has looked into the matter in considerable detail. [More…]
However, the writing into the Constitution of reference to political parties is contrary to many traditions and contrary to an established attitude within our traditional British system that we do not refer in constitutions to political parties. [More…]
If they ran out of reserves the ordinary provisions of the Constitution would apply. [More…]
The tendency to devalue personalities in favour of Party political matter within the Constitution is to some extent regrettable because the Senate is still primarily, as well as a States House, a House of review. [More…]
It is no excuse to hide behind the Constitution. [More…]
If we limited the legislation of the Federal Parliament and the administration of the Federal Government to things which are listed in the Constitution as subjects upon which the Federal Parliament can pass laws, half the legislation we pass would never be introduced, half the responsibilities of Federal departments would cease and, in the process, all the valuable initiatives which have een taken in Australia since the Second World War also would cease. [More…]
-The 4 constitutional Bills represent a package which is derived from the determinations of the Constitutional Convention at Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne. [More…]
In general, with the exception of the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) Bill, the other 3 Bills deal largely with this Parliament and the manner in which it is elected. [More…]
I will deal firstly with the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) Bill. [More…]
At the time when the Constitution was written it was not usual for people to retire but I think that at this stage in history people are not expected to hold office beyond the age of 70 years. [More…]
It depends too on the manner in which they approach the duties with which they are charged under Acts of parliament and the constitution of the country. [More…]
It is ludicrous and quite fallacious to argue that if we leave the Constitution as it is and by accident or design of a Prime Minister’s choosing separate elections on occasions are held for the Senate, the status of the Senate will be increased. [More…]
That is one of my arguments against the section of the Constitution that allows the blocking of Supply. [More…]
In fact I would advance the argument that our Constitution should be changed radically. [More…]
The best representation would come about- this is a personal view- if those sections of the Constitution which provide for 2 Houses were removed and proportionally elected members sat in this House with members elected under the House of Representatives procedures. [More…]
This judgment highlighted a situation which was not generally understood by a lot of people in the Commonwealth at large but it was very well understood by the people in the Territories, particularly the people m Canberra, because we have always been very conscious of the fact that as far as the Constitution is concerned we are regarded as something less than full citizens. [More…]
I think it is inappropriate that such a large number of people should be ignored in the Constitution or should be regarded in any way as something less than full citizens. [More…]
Whenever we are debating Constitutional matters there is always a temptation to quote our founding fathers. [More…]
It is appropriate in considering matters affecting the Constitution. [More…]
I suggest that the Federal Government is using its powers wisely in recommending to the people of Australia that they accept these 4 alterations to the Constitution. [More…]
Obviously the Constitution was intended to be amended. [More…]
We provided for these contingencies and we are now exercising those rights as laid down under the Constitution to make the amendments by way of referendum. [More…]
Therefore, I shall say at the outset that I completely support the Bill to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections. [More…]
I support the Bill which requires the alteration of the Constitution so as to provide for retiring ages for judges of Federal courts. [More…]
I support the Bill to alter the Constitution so as to ensure, so far as practical, that a casual vacancy in the Senate is filled by a person of the same political party as the senator chosen by the people for the balance of his term. [More…]
The purpose of the fourth Bill is to alter the Constitution to allow electors in Territories as well as electors in the States to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
I am a Party man, and my Party has decided that it is in the interests of the nation that we all support this proposed change to the Constitution. [More…]
An Act to facilitate alterations to the Constitution and to allow electors in Territories, as well as electors in the States, to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution. [More…]
The only reason the Australian Capital Territory exists is that section 125 of the Constitution requires that at least 100 square miles of land be set aside for the purpose of the creation of a capital territory. [More…]
I propose that in this referendum we should add a proposition that section 125 of the Constitution, which specifies that the territory for the Australian capital city comprise at least 100 square miles, be amended to read something like 10 square miles’ so that we can draw the capital city back to the parliamentary triangle- bring it around Lake Burley Griffin- and count all those people who live on the outskirts as part of New South Wales. [More…]
I wish only for the success of the proposals contained in these Bills and suggest that the proposition be put that section 125 of the Constitution be altered to reduce the Australian Capital Territory from 100 square miles to 10 square miles. [More…]
I am one who believes that we really should tear up this present Constitution and write a new one. [More…]
It has been said by many people in the country that the present Constitution, if taken literally- many want to take it literally and choose to take it literally when it suits them-is one of the most undemocratic documents possible. [More…]
He does an excellent job on this Constitution when he takes it literally and points out the absurdity of the powers of the Governor-General, who in fact would be an absolute monarch if the Constitution were taken literally. [More…]
I cannot remember the exact words he used, but, as an example, he indicated that under the Constitution the Governor-General is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. [More…]
But if we cannot have a new Constitution, the least we can do is to change the most obvious sections where there is agreement between the major parties that is required. [More…]
These proposals for constitutional change are contained within 4 Bills, relating to simultaneous elections, the filling of Senate casual vacancies by a representative of a political party of the same colour as that of the previous senator, the retirement of judges at the age of 70 years and the right of Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory electors to vote in referenda. [More…]
Already fallacious arguments are being thrown about by those who see the opportunity to do a bit of grandstanding or those who are such constitutional fundamentalists that they are opposed to any change. [More…]
I am always fascinated by those who argue that the Constitution should not be changed simply because it is the Constitution. [More…]
I think it probably could be saidperhaps some people may argue with me- that at the time of the writing of the American Constitution there were some particularly eminent philosophers, the likes of whom probably have not been seen at the time of the writing of the constitutions of most countries. [More…]
There may be some form of reverence towards the American Constitution, but they at least do make considerable changes to it. [More…]
Having read the Constitution thoroughly and having read a lot of constitutional debates, I do not believe that our founding fathers were a particularly brilliant group of men. [More…]
I think they were an exceptionally competent group, but I believe that if we had to write a Constitution tomorrow we could do as good a job with the people who are in this House today as did the Deakins, the Bartons, the Kingstons and the various other people who are now referred to as the founding fathers. [More…]
I am not one of those who believe that there is any need to revere the Constitution in the way* that some of those who are now opposing change do. [More…]
I think the most fallacious of the arguments against change is that we should not change the Constitution simply because it is the Constitution and because the founding fathers said so. [More…]
It is as if the Constitution were handed down from the Mount- as if it were a bible or something like that; as if a flash of light in 1 89 1 , 1897 and 1898 passed on some greatness to these people and they wrote this magnificent document that cannot be changed. [More…]
They say: ‘Do not change the Constitution because it is the Constitution- it is revered, it is holy’. [More…]
It just eludes me how anybody can possibly argue that case with regard to changing the Constitution. [More…]
I support the comments of my friend, the honourable member for Robertson (Mr Cohen) about the sanctity of the document- the Constitution. [More…]
The time has come for the community at large to take a deep interest in the Constitution, to study it, to be informed about it and to change it. [More…]
There is no doubt in my mind that the major error tha we have committed in the past is failure to educate the community about the Constitution, failure to get them to understand its principles and to understand what it is all about. [More…]
I believe that there ought to be a bureau for constitutional consideration and change, a small unit somewhere in the Government, whose job it is to continually inform people what the Constitution is about. [More…]
It is a pity that such a thing has to be written into the Constitution by referendum. [More…]
We live under the most undemocratic constitutional document probably in existence. [More…]
It is hard to imagine any other constitutional document which would confer upon one person, an appointed official, the powers which now lie with the Governor-General. [More…]
I believe that our Constitution is the most undemocratic constitutional document. [More…]
I say emphatically that the most important thing-I suggest the Attorney-General (Mr Ellicott) give thought to this- is the establishment of some machinery for a continuing campaign and information about the Constitution to the people of Australia. [More…]
As my friend from Robertson said, I was an active participant in the campaign to change the Constitution and the powers of this Parliament in relation to Aboriginal people. [More…]
Under the Constitution a period of 2 months must elapse before there can be a referendum. [More…]
He was concerned with the introduction of the concept of political parties into the Constitution and he asked whether laws could be passed by the Parliament to define them. [More…]
I wish to inform the House that notwithstanding that the Bill has been passed on the third reading on the voices, because it is a Bill to amend the Constitution it requires to be passed by an absolute majority. [More…]
-As 108 members have agreed to the third reading I declare that the third reading has been agreed to by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
-As this is a Bill to amend the Constitution, the provisions of section 128 of the Constitution must be observed. [More…]
-As 1 12 honourable members have agreed to the third reading I declare that the third reading has been agreed to by an absolute majority as required by the Constitution. [More…]
When the voting on the Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Bill 1976 took place last Thursday night, you will remember, the division bells were not rung but the doors were locked. [More…]
I want to touch also on the very essence and spirit of the Act because I think it is important for everybody to get into perspective the reason why the Labor Government enforced the powers of this Parliament under the section of the Constitution which is the basis for trade practices legislation. [More…]
The Government seems to be drawing its powers from placitum (xx) section S 1 of the Constitution which states: . [More…]
The Government cannot identify his organisation- the trade union- as a corporation because it does not fit in with the definition contained in the Constitution yet it is quite prepared to hit the union for a bill of $50,000 a day. [More…]
Honourable members opposite will be forced to the ballot box because just as Kerr was able to force us to the ballot box by the use of the Constitution, or the misuse of the Constitution, there is a power that is greater than Kerr- the power of organised labour. [More…]
The High Court held invalid and of no effect the 1964 amendment which introduced the ‘any remainder’ formula as it did not comply with the requirements of section 24 of the Constitution relating to the nexus between the House of Representatives and the Senate and the proportional representation of the several States in the House of Representatives. [More…]
The Court held that the pre- 1964 provisions which reflected the constitutional position were the operative ones. [More…]
The Constitution, particularly as now emphasised by the High Court decision, virtually made, despite what other people have said here, a one vote one value proposition in that the population of the Commonwealththat is, a count of the heads of people- is to be the yardstick upon which we determine the quota for the States. [More…]
The Constitution meant us to divide the 120 into population. [More…]
I emphasise the point that the Constitution was founded on the basis of population. [More…]
We can see that the Constitution says that that consideration does not matter, that we must work on a population basis. [More…]
We are talking about fairness of representation and fairness under the Constitution. [More…]
The concept of the Constitution was that people really counted, and that is what we should adhere to. [More…]
The Constitution set the principle. [More…]
The Parliament exists to serve people, and if one looks at the Constitution, it provides that this House, the House of Representatives, is to represent people, not simply electors. [More…]
But it also made it clear that a distribution could proceed on the basis of the provisions in the Constitution. [More…]
The provisions of the Representation Act exceeded the limits permitted by the Constitution. [More…]
One of the pieces of exquisite irony is that in McKellar’s case this month the Chief Justice joined in declaring unconstitutional the amendments which, as Attorney-General, he had endorsed when they were put forward by an earlier Coalition Government in February 1964. [More…]
The Constitution can apply, and the court made it plain that by executive act a distribution could take place, without any of the amendments which were proposed by the 3 Bills introduced last night and passed by the Senate earlier that evening. [More…]
It is not only not required by the Constitution or by the High Court, it in fact is seeking, as far as a government dares now in the light of these 2 recent High Court judgments on the Representation Act, to bypass or defer a proper form of distribution. [More…]
It is true that in this Bill we can no longer saythe High Court has made it plain that we cannot say- that there should be at the end of a full Parliament an election for a number of divisions which is not sanctioned by the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
That is, in the ordinary life of a Parliament there has to be a distribution of a State where the Constitution shows that that State is entitled to more or fewer divisions than it had at the time that Parliament was elected. [More…]
It says that as long as the number of divisions in a State is still the number required by the Constitution then there should not be in the normal case another distribution for 7 years. [More…]
As I read the Constitution, that is my understanding of what it intends. [More…]
Therefore I do not believe we do the institution of Parliament very much good if we endeavour to prostitute the Constitution by making some electorates smaller in number than others. [More…]
When honourable members cast a vote in this place they ought to be representing as nearly as practicable, to use the words of the Constitution, the same number of people. [More…]
It was not Labor Premiers who sat around the table and drafted that document called the Constitution; it was conservative Premiers. [More…]
It was anticipated by those who drafted the Constitution that that would happen for a variety of reasons. [More…]
-I do wish the honourable member would read the Constitution. [More…]
So I do wish that the honourable member would read the Constitution. [More…]
I would support very strongly any move to utilise part of the High Court as an electoral commission to have exclusive responsibility for the setting of boundaries and for the determining, in line with our Constitution, such matters as are covered in the very clause which we are debating now, that is, clause 7, relating to the above and below quota variation. [More…]
Seats should be decided by the law of one vote, one value, as they are decided by the Constitution, and whatever boundaries are drawn up by the Electoral Office, whether it be at three or five or seven-year intervals, should be the ones that apply. [More…]
In the 2 High Court decisions to which I have referred, and after consideration of section 24 of the Constitution, the Court expressed the view that the words ‘whenever necessary’ which appear in section 24 mean that the number of members to be chosen in the several States must be determined in time for each ordinary general election and that such election must be held in accordance with the entitlements so determined. [More…]
I want to say from the outset that anybody who has studied the Bills or the Constitution will readily appreciate that it is unlikely for a very long period of time that these provisions will have any direct effect on the State of Tasmania. [More…]
The 2 decisions of the High Court that have necessitated the amendments now proposed by the Government both concern the interpretation of section 24 of the Constitution. [More…]
In the first of the two recently decided cases, Western Australia against the Commonwealth- it is known as McKinlay’s case and was decided in December in 1975- the High Court held that section 24 of the Constitution intended the calculations used for ascertaining the number of members must be made before each general election and therefore held that this required the latest statistics of the Commonwealth to be used. [More…]
He held that section 24 of the Constitution required the implementation of the principle of one vote one value, as nearly as practicable. [More…]
Secondly, the Constitution provides for an original State to have a certain number of members and thereby the Constitution denies electoral justice. [More…]
Another point I would like to make about the honourable member for Calare is that he said there is no possibility of direct electoral justice under the present Constitution. [More…]
We recognise the fact that we are cornered inside the Constitution and can only, as near as practicable, make redistributions democratic inside each State. [More…]
That decision has made it quite clear that there is a need to amend the existing relevant legislation in order to bring it into accord with the Constitution as it was interpreted in the 2 High Court decisions. [More…]
For instance, although the High Court said that it was enough just to rely on section 24 of the Constitution, there is a need to do something about section 10 of the Representation Act and the amending legislation in fact does that. [More…]
I want to demonstrate as quickly as I can, first of all, that you cannot apply the principle, that the Constitution does not require it, and that the Labor Party has never adhered to it. [More…]
For instance, the Constitution itself belies the principle of one vote one value. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution provides a method of dividing States in proportion to the respective populations and it allows the quota system. [More…]
If the founding fathers had intended that one vote one value be written into the Constitution, they would hardly have left it in that form. [More…]
The reference in section 24 of the Constitution is to the people of the Commonwealth, not the electors of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Therefore in that sense the Constitution does not espouse the principle of one vote one value. [More…]
They proposed an amendment to section 29 of the Constitution in these terms: [More…]
Nothing is dictated by the Constitution in relation to this but, at the same time, by the time an election is held after a redistribution it may well be found that the precise numbers upon which electorates have been divided up have changed because of population changes. [More…]
If it does occur in the meantime, it would seem that under the Constitution such an election would have to be held in a way which added up to the description ‘members directly chosen by the people of the Commonwealth’, as contained in section 24 of the Act. [More…]
) This claim appears to have been based on the situation that gifts to the Australian Conservation Foundation Incorporated are specifically tax deductible under section 78(l)(a)(xliv) and that the Foundation’s constitution enables it to provide assistance to, or co-operate with, other bodies concerned with or interested in conservation. [More…]
That, in the opinion of this House, the proper adviser of the Governor-General in relation to the discharge of his duties under section 56 of the Constitution, insofar as they relate to appropriation of revenue of moneys for the service of this House, is not a Minister but Mr Speaker. [More…]
It is against not the monarchy but the fact that we are saddled with an outmoded Constitution. [More…]
Some reference was made to the tinkering with the Constitution in which we are about to indulge. [More…]
It is hoped that the Australian people will pass some referendums in May next, but they will allow only very minor adjustment to a greatly outmoded Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution is undemocratic. [More…]
It is contrary to democratic principles on which a country such as Australia should be able to say its Constitution rests. [More…]
Yet in our own country we have a Constitution over which we as a national Parliament have very little power. [More…]
It is apparent to those who attend Constitutional Convention debates that those who represent State governments feel that we should not have even the power we have. [More…]
This talk of secession is caused by the dreadful confrontation that can take place within the ambit of the Constitution. [More…]
As I have mentioned before, they clearly provided in section 87 of the Constitution that threequarters of the revenue collected by the Commonwealth Government should go back to the States and that out of the remaining quarter of the revenue, which was very limited in those days because it came only from customs and excise duties, the Commonwealth was to provide also section 96 grants. [More…]
Tinkering with the Constitution is likely to lead to further delay in drafting a new Constitution. [More…]
It is about time we had a new Constitution. [More…]
A new Constitution has to be drawn up. [More…]
It is very significant that the majority of those under the age of 30 years favour a new Constitution. [More…]
I am not talking about a Constitution that says that we have to get rid of the monarchy. [More…]
A new Constitution should clearly state that the powers of the people are vested in the House of Representatives, that this House is responsible to the people and that all legislation passed by both Houses can be accepted as being passed in an intelligent way. [More…]
Personally my own view is that those rights ought to be spelled out in the Constitution itself, but it is important for them to be incor- porated in legislation and to be enforceable in legislation. [More…]
It is worth while reading the implications of section 5 of the Constitution. [More…]
Unless we change the power base in the Constitution there is no point in calling it anything at all. [More…]
The first is to alter the Constitution so as to provide that Ministers shall have the confidence of the House of Representatives. [More…]
I do not think we need to alter the Constitution to do that. [More…]
Subsequently a Joint Committee of Constitutional Review was appointed. [More…]
I believe it is important and urgent that we take the steps necessary to change those features of the Constitution. [More…]
I briefly remind honourable members of the democratic threats that lie within the Constitution. [More…]
For instance, under section 5 of the Constitution the Governor-General may decide upon the times for holding the sessions of the Parliament, by proclamation or otherwise. [More…]
What we decide upon here and what the Constitution dictates flow on for decade after decade. [More…]
It is now 77 years since the Constitution came into operation. [More…]
Whilst we might say that certain things will not happen, let us presume that the Governor-General decided to run the country on his own; that he decided to suspend the sittings of the Parliament tonight and to reconvene the Parliament in 12 months’ time for a few hours to comply with the Constitution. [More…]
One thing which absolutely fascinates me in this debate on republicanism is that I have yet to read in the Press and I have yet to hear a speaker point out that before Australia can become a republic referendums wm have to be passed to amend the Constitution. [More…]
I have received quite a number of submissions from different organisations suggesting that it was perhaps from the present powers, structure and constitution of the Board that some of the disabilities in meat marketing flowed. [More…]
The Government, a Liberal-Country Party Government with 61 members of the House, was unable to attract one-third of the members, which is the requirement for a quorum in terms of section 39 of the Constitution. [More…]
Features of their Federal systems- amendments of the Constitution in Canada’s case and gubernatorial appointments and Privy Council appeals in Austrafia *s - still involve the British Government and the British Parliament. [More…]
However, as to gubernatorial appointments, I think that it is in that that the principal differences on the Australian Constitution and its future relevance lies between our side of the House and the Opposition. [More…]
‘We need a new Constitution’, he says, and ‘Do away with the Senate’. [More…]
The wages policy of this Government is restricted very considerably because in our Constitution there is a provision for dispersal of power. [More…]
The Procurator’s Office of the U.S.S.R., which under the Soviet Constitution exercises supreme supervision over the observance of Soviet laws in this country, could not overlook these practices. [More…]
The republicans seem to be confusing arguments against the Constitution because of the events of November 1975 with arguments against the monarchial system. [More…]
There are very good arguments for changes to the Constitution but I believe there is one vital principle which must be preserved. [More…]
The disgraceful conduct of the Government over the loans affair follows a long record of scandals involving relations of Ministers, political appointments and attempts to evade the Constitution itself. [More…]
He was the legal secretary to the Constitution Review Committee of the Parliament from 1 956 to 1 959. [More…]
Labor tried to change the Constitution when it was recently in office to make electorates comprise equal numbers of people instead of equal numbers of voters. [More…]
No respectable democratic theorist has ever put the sort of proposition that led the recent Labor Government to seek to change the Constitution to bring about that result. [More…]
As in so many things, the Labor Party when in office sought to destroy the federal nature of our Constitution. [More…]
Labor would have sought to change the Constitution in respect of all matters under the Australian sun. [More…]
That is how this matter becomes relevant for this Parliament If those constitutional provisions had prevailed the sort of abuse, the sort of corruption, the sort of fraud and rigging which we see so constantly at the State level, would have been prevented from occurring in Australia. [More…]
The propositions for democratic elections in that 1974 Constitution alteration proposal were very simple. [More…]
The Constitution explicitly refers to the role of people in establishing the number of electorates in Australia. [More…]
Young people have to be counted as much as any other group in the community when electorates are being determined, according to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
The arguments which were put forward against the Constitution alteration proposals in 1974 were very simple. [More…]
The corporations power is to be found in section 5 1 of the Constitution, and also we have power by virtue of the section relating to interstate trade. [More…]
When considering the monarchy and our constitution, it is appropriate that we compare it at work in the country which gave birth to the Westminster system. [More…]
This is essential to the success and continuity of the monarchy and the Constitution. [More…]
But just as George V was forced on at least 2 occasions to intervene in the politics of the nation, so is the Queen’s representative in Australia, by the very essence and the framework of our Constitution, forced to intervene at critical times in the affairs of our nation. [More…]
I believe our Governor-General could well have been praying during October and early November 1975 that the political and constitutional crisis which existed in this country would resolve itself at Parliament House so that he could avoid involvement in controversy, but when it did not, he was bound to act. [More…]
It was our Constitution which forced the Governor-General to take the decision he took- to allow every free man and woman of sane mind an opportunity to decide that issue by way of a democratic election. [More…]
How one can say in one breath,’ Well may we say God save the Queen’ and in the next, ‘because nothing will save the Governor-General’ is beyond my comprehension as they are indivisible in a constitutional sense. [More…]
This is a matter relating to the spirit of our Constitution and not to the powers of the Governor-General. [More…]
I regard those who have seized the happenings of 1 1 November 1975 as the base for their campaign for a republic, as being unscrupulous, intellectually dishonest and unfair because with our Constitution, the republicans would have found that a scrupulous President would have had no other course to follow than that followed by the GovernorGeneral. [More…]
There is always the chance that the Monarch, through the Governor-General may be called upon one day to fulfill his constitutional role beyond simply giving royal assent to Bills. [More…]
A Governor-General, King, Queen or even a non-political President scrupulously carrying out duties defined by a Constitution should not, and must not, be confronted by political and public demonstrations. [More…]
The alternative to a constitutional Monarchy is a republic, oligarchy, anarchy or dictatorship. [More…]
Donald Home is one of the very few people who commands a massive audience wherever he goes throughout Australia speaking on the subject of the future Constitution of this country. [More…]
It was apparent to the Committee from the evidence given that both Mr Bryant and Mr Dexter had similar views on their powers and responsibilities under section 64 of the Constitution and section 25 (2) of the Public Service Act respectively. [More…]
On 9 March I informed the House that, concurrent with the Referendums to be held on 2 1 May 1977 in respect of the 4 proposed laws to alter the Constitution which were passed by this House on 17 February 1977 and by the Senate on 25 February, the Government intends that a poll be conducted to assist it in choosing the tune for a national song. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill, which is a simple machinery measure, is to ensure that there is no legal objection to using for this poll, the same ballot-boxes and polling booths as will be used for the Constitutional Referendums. [More…]
He considered that the combined effect of section 64 of the Constitution and section 25 of the Public Service Act was that a Department of State consisted of a Minister and a Permanent Head. [More…]
Those of us who sat in the Senate to attend the opening of Parliament by Her Majesty the Queen have gained a most unique experience and privilege because we have witnessed the fulfilment of the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
The Constitution states that the Parliament of the Commonwealth is comprised of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
On that day we witnessed the living meaning of the words of the Constitution. [More…]
Although there is some vagueness regarding the relationship between the Minister and Permanent Head it is generally accepted that section 64 of the Constitution, under which Ministers administer departments, is subject to limitation only by the specific granting of powers under Acts of this Parliament directly to the Permanent Head or the Public Service Board and its delegates. [More…]
This view was expressed in 1944 in an opinion of the then Attorney-General and former High Court Justice, Dr Evatt, when he stated that section 25 (2)- a section under which Permanent Heads derive their responsibilitiesmust be read subject to fundamental and overriding principles that the constitutional head of a department of the executive government of the Commonwealth is the Minister of State. [More…]
The statement quoted appears to have been made on the basis that gifts to the Australian Conservation Foundation Incorporated are specifically tax deductible and that the Foundation’s constitution enables it to provide assistance to, or co-operate with, other bodies concerned with or interested in conservation. [More…]
Also, I think the Government certainly had in mind that there is a very genuine desire among many people in the Australian community for a modernisation of the Constitution where it can clearly be shown that reforms would be beneficial to the Australian people. [More…]
Therefore we would want the process of constitutional reform to be successful and to go ahead on a smooth basis. [More…]
One or two people have sought to oppose this proposal on the ground that it would write political parties into the Constitution. [More…]
The Opposition does not oppose the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Modification Bill 1977 which has already been introduced in the Senate and has been passed by that august chamber. [More…]
However, I suppose I ought to refer to the Constitution and try to find that part which gives us the right to pass legislation in relation to Australians abroad. [More…]
Section 5 1 of the Constitution reads: [More…]
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: [More…]
In trying to find anywhere in the Constitution that gives this Parliament the right to pass legislation in relation to Australians living in another country, I eventually came upon section 51, placitum (xxix) which reads: [More…]
That the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia provides (inter alia) in Section 45 (ii) that if a member of the House of Representatives takes the benefit, whether by assignment, composition or otherwise, of any law relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors his place shall thereupon become vacant. [More…]
The House therefore resolves that the question whether the place of the Honourable Member for Macarthur has become vacant pursuant to the provisions of Section 45 (ii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia be referred for determination to the Court of Disputed Returns pursuant to section 203 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. [More…]
Will the Attorney-General inform the House whether the proposal that section 125 of the Constitution be altered by referendum to allow the placement of all but, say, 15 to 20 square kilometres, which could be described as the parliamentary triangle of the Australian Capital Territory, into New South Wales is a viable proposition? [More…]
At the moment the Constitution provides that the Territory shall consist of an area of at least 100 square miles. [More…]
Nevertheless he has expressed views as to what he thinks the Constitution means when it relates to representation of the Territories in this House and in the Senate. [More…]
They of course were those who made the majority decision- appears to me to be a serious departure from the federal nature of the Constitution, becomes entrenched in constitutional practice by the mere passage of time. [More…]
If the High Court in May were to determine that within the meaning of the Constitution, representation for the Territories does not mean representation in the full sense of the word but means perhaps only the right for a territorial representative to appear in a Parliament and speak when invited, and does not mean the right to take part in any debate and certainly not the right to vote, territorial representatives would be mere mummies from the point of view of effective representation of the Territories. [More…]
It is being said that it is the view of the Chief Justice on his interpretation of the Constitution that representation for the Territories is to be something less than representation for the States. [More…]
We are spending millions of dollars putting a proposition to the people saying to them that we have an act of Parliament that will interpose the words ‘and the Territories’ after the word ‘State’ in section 128 of the Constitution so that under that section people in the territories will have the same rights to vote as people in the States have for House of Representatives elections. [More…]
It will still be necessary for the people of four of the 6 States as well as a majority of all voters to vote in favour of an amendment before the Constitution can be changed. [More…]
The opponents to this right fail to see the point that what we propose in the referendum is to alter the Constitution to provide a basic right. [More…]
The fact that the Constitution does not give this basic right at the moment is no argument for saying that we should not have it. [More…]
The Constitution was formed many years ago at a time when our founding fathers probably did not conceive the Territory being something of the size and order of importance and with a population as the honourable member for Griffith envisages. [More…]
The answer to that is, I think, that all Australians are concerned with constitutional powers, State or Commonwealth. [More…]
People have heard section 122 of the Constitution repeated ad nauseum. [More…]
What I contend is based on a plain reading of the Constitution. [More…]
Most of the debate about the Constitution these days is about State rights or about federalism. [More…]
If our Constitution does not protect the people in their basic rights it is time we had a Bill of Rights which did protect them. [More…]
I think we have to start interpreting the Constitution more in terms of the rights of the individual and if it is deficient it is time that we wrote something into it or adopted a Bill of Rights which would cover these things. [More…]
That deputation pointed out that that is what the Constitution had intended. [More…]
Has the honourable gentleman seen a report that a law lecturer in Western Australia is of the opinion that the complement of the New South Wales and South Australian members to this House was unconstitutionally elected at the general election and that he is proposing to ask the High Court to declare those members’ election void and to order new elections in those States in elections to be held at large? [More…]
In view of the high constitutional importance of this issue and the need for the Parliament to be structured in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, will he be willing to meet the costs of the plaintiff if the action proves unsuccessful? [More…]
Section 92 of the Constitution guarantees protection of trade and commerce between the States. [More…]
Most of the States at the time were prepared to consider the proposal seriously, but regrettably the then Government, taking the view, as it always did, that all power has to reside in Canberra, decided to seek a change to the Constitution and bring to the Commonwealth Parliament power over wages and prices. [More…]
The statement to which the honourable gentleman refers appears to have been made on the basis that gifts made to the Australian Conservation Foundation are specifically tax deductible and that the Foundation’s constitution enables it to provide assistance to or to co-operate with other bodies concerned with or interested in conservation. [More…]
They have argued that the uniform taxation system was bad and that in conjunction with the growing use of grants under section 96 of the Constitution the truly sovereign nature of State parliaments would be destroyed. [More…]
It ties in neatly with the Government’s plans to coerce the trade union movement through the Industrial Relations Bureau, through the restricted trade practices legislation and through the use of the corporations power in the Constitution. [More…]
A judgment of outlook may also reflect an imminent change, such as the expected adoption of a meaningful new constitution. [More…]
From that examination it is not clear whether intrastate operations by the Australian National Line in Queensland would, in the absence of a reference of power from the State, be authorised by the Constitution. [More…]
In my opinion the proposed Corporation will be able to take action in some of the areas from which unfortunately the Australian Meat Board has been precluded because of its constitution. [More…]
I referred to an amendment to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act which will among other things set up an industrial relations bureau, an amendment to the Trade Practices Act, and a reference by the Attorney-General (Mr Ellicott) to the Government’s use of the corporations power under the Constitution. [More…]
With regard to the Tertiary Education Commission Bill, I remind the House that it provides for the constitution of a Commission which will have a chairman and 8 other members. [More…]
What a farcical situation it is that section 92 of the Constitution guarantees free trade, commerce and intercourse between the States. [More…]
The Government has now concluded its discussions on the reconstitution of the Australian Meat Board and messages have been sent to each of the State Ministers for Agriculture so that details of their reactions and the position of the respective State governments concerning the reconstitution can be received. [More…]
The constitution is proposed to consist of an independent chairman, a government member, 4 producer representatives, one exporters’ representative and 2 members with special qualifications. [More…]
It is also anticipated that it should be possible with the constitution of this new body to overcome some of the general marketing difficulties which have certainly plagued producers and returns to producers over the course of the last few years. [More…]
It has a legal- in fact, a constitutional- responsibility for immigration and the welfare of migrants and their families. [More…]
Under the Constitutionfrom the outset- the Federal Government has been able to make laws on immigration and also to make laws for the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws. [More…]
The Fraser Government cannot wriggle away from the responsibility always reposed by the Constitution on the Federal Government. [More…]
It is another example of the real meaning of Fraser federalism- ducking responsibility even in areas where the Constitution itself permits and in fact requires the Federal Government to act. [More…]
Even if it was found that they had acted in breach of the Constitution or of the statutory or common law- and no government, State or Federal, has asserted that- no government would take criminal proceedings against them. [More…]
There were no criminal proceedings, for instance, against the judges of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration when the High Court in the boilermakers case decided that they had acted unconstitutionally. [More…]
The Executive Council is the third arm of government under the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
In Australia we have a written Constitution which is treated with a great deal of reverence. [More…]
Parliament cannot legislate, of course, to remove the powers of judicial review given to the High Court by the Constitution- section 75 (iii). [More…]
How farcical it is that section 92 of the Constitution has guaranteed us that freedom for 77 years and we have not until now- I think the Minister will correct me if I am wrong-had to put something on the statute books to give section 92 teeth. [More…]
There have been reports over the weekend- I think there could be some truth in them- that if the Government is unsuccessful in its referendum proposal seeking a change in the constitution to provide for simultaneous elections it might rush into an election and defer the Budget, in effect putting its finger in the water. [More…]
These proposals simply are seeking sensible reform of the Constitution. [More…]
They have been considered by the Constitutional Convention where people from this Parliament, State parliaments and local government bodies gave overwhelming support to the principles of the proposals. [More…]
They will make the Constitution work better. [More…]
I should have thought that the constitutional position of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission is very clear. [More…]
It is established under the Constitution by laws of this Parliament. [More…]
No government acting within the bounds of the laws of this Parliament and the Constitution can get away from that fact. [More…]
That the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia provides (inter alia) in Section 43 (ii) that if a member of the House of Representatives takes the benefit, whether by assignment, composition or otherwise, of any law relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors his place shall thereupon become vacant. [More…]
The House therefore resolves that the question whether the place of the Honourable Member for Macarthur has become vacant pursuant to the provisions of Section 45 (ii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia be referred for determination of the Court of Disputed Returns pursuant to section 203 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. [More…]
Its attention is being drawn to section 45 (ii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, which provides among other things, that if a member of the House of Representatives takes the benefit, whether by assignment, composition or otherwise, of any law relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors his place shall thereupon become vacant. [More…]
It is to this very type of arrangement that section 45(2) of the Constitution refers. [More…]
The issue is not one of personality; it is one of the Constitution and the obligations of members of this Parliament. [More…]
The Constitution provides that a bankrupt cannot be chosen as a member of Parliament. [More…]
The issue is whether the twelfth member, that is, the honourable member for Macarthur, is a bankrupt within the meaning of the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution does state that any member who takes the benefit, whether by assignment, composition or otherwise, of any law relating to bankruptcy or insolvency shall forfeit his seat. [More…]
While a person might be able to avoid the stigma of bankruptcy, he cannot avoid the ramifications of the Constitution of this nation, which provides that if a person has entered into that sort of arrangement he is liable to have his seat declared vacant. [More…]
He could well have entered into the deed of arrangement and, of course, would still fall within the ambit of section 45 of the Constitution in that he has taken advantage of a composition of arrangement, which he has done. [More…]
I find that when we look at all the facts, sym- pathetic as we may be to any honourable memer of this Parliament who has financial liabilitiesthat could happen to any one of us- the issue is the Constitution itself and the problems in that Consitution for members of Parliament. [More…]
This question is basically one of interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
It is a question of whether the Constitution catches up the position of the honourable member for Macarthur (Mr Baume) in such a way as to cause his seat to be declared vacant. [More…]
Section 47 of the Constitution states: [More…]
One thing that is important to understand is this: Section 44 of the Constitution, in dealing with people who shall be incapable of being chosen- that is chosen or elected to this Houserefers in the relevant part to a person who is an undischarged bankrupt or who is insolvent. [More…]
Section 45 (ii) of the Constitution is the relevant provision. [More…]
Having referred to section 233 and indicated its relevance, I now return to section 45 of the Constitution. [More…]
As I said at the beginning, this is basically a question of interpretation and the application of the Constitution to those facts. [More…]
Instead of the Tribunal having a constitution that requires that there be a presidential member and 2 non-presidential members this Bill proposes that the opportunity be given for the Tribunal to be constituted in any number of 4 ways. [More…]
The supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court of Australia under section 75 (v) of the Constitution would, of course, remain unaffected. [More…]
When it drew a cheque for the purchase against an appropriation that had not been approved by the Parliament for that purpose, the Department knowingly contravened a very important principle embodied in section 83 of the Constitution which states: [More…]
-Of the 4 referendum questions put to the people last Saturday the most important one- the one for simultaneous elections for this House and the Senate- was lost, despite being unanimously endorsed by this House and, incidentally, endorsed at the Hobart Constitutional Convention by the Premiers of the 3 States which rejected it last Saturday. [More…]
But last Saturday is history now and we have to accept the result, whatever we think of the referendum as a method of modernising the Constitution. [More…]
Perhaps even more serious is the fact that, under the Constitution as it stands, the Senate by blocking Supply can force this House into an election without itself facing the electors, unless the Senate has separately given grounds for a double dissolution. [More…]
All that is needed is to have a constitutional provision that if a government cannot be formed in the House there should be an election. [More…]
The constitutional amendment could also conveniently cover another problem; it could provide for a double dissolution also if the Senate rejected Supply. [More…]
The Constitution could simply provide that if a government cannot get Supply out of Parliament- that is both Housesthe remedy is a double dissolution. [More…]
I commend this suggestion to the delegates to the Constitutional Convention to be held in Perth later this year. [More…]
The powers of the marketing boards do not extend to barley traded inter-State as provided for by section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
The constitution of the AUS specifically defines these objectives. [More…]
I shall be referring to the Advisory Committee and its constitution at a later stage. [More…]
He brings to the attention of the House a very notable event, that is, the tenth anniversary of the 1967 referendum which gave to the Commonwealth, through an amendment to the Constitution, the power to make special laws with regard to Aboriginal citizens of Australia and also to treat Aborigines as full citizens by including them in the census. [More…]
It is important to bear in mind that, under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and almost certainly under the constitutional power, awards of compulsory unionism cannot be made; only awards of preference can be made. [More…]
In fact on almost any test these amendments would appear to go beyond the constitutional power. [More…]
It cannot be said, or at least it is extremely doubtful, that they deal with industrial organisations in such a way as to be incidental to section 5 1 (xxxv) of the Constitution. [More…]
There is no way under the Constitution or law of contract that a government is required to keep on a man after the position to which he was appointed has been abolished. [More…]
I make the point that if this is done it will certainly meet a constitutional challenge because we cannot possibly have a clause like clause 26 and say that it is within the ambit of the Constitution. [More…]
It is a limited power which has to be directly related to the Constitution. [More…]
Our responsibilities under the Federal rules of the Australian Labor Party are to take such action at all times as may be possible to implement the Party’s platform and Conference decisions and, for the record, I seek leave to incorporate the full text of rule 5 (d) of the Federal Rules and Constitution of the Australian Labor Party in Hansard. [More…]
During the consultations of 1 1 May which led up to the statement of the Australian Council of Trade Unions on that date, the ACSPA representatives at the consultations indicated that, although their constitution did not allow them to bind their organisation to acceptance of the ACTU proposals, they had broad support for the proposals. [More…]
There has been great controversy over its constitution. [More…]
The new Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Les Johnson, took the view that there was no need for the constitution to go before Cabinet. [More…]
That is not my constitution to which I am referring; it is the constitution as proposed by the NACC. [More…]
As far as he was concerned, it was up to the NACC to determine its own constitution and, for that matter, its own name. [More…]
Mr Evans expressed his strong agreement with the Minister’s view that the constitution need not go to Cabinet. [More…]
The matter of the constitution (or constitutions) appeared at last to be at an end. [More…]
What has happened now is that the Minister has torn up the constitution as prepared by the Aboriginal people and instead we have this new charter. [More…]
The honourable member for Oxley, who is an undisguised centralist, will, I believe, at least have sufficient credit to acknowledge the fact that I quoted in my maiden speech in this House the words of a great South Australian, Sir John Cockburn, who said that the tendency for power is always to draw to the centre- the vortex- and all the buttresses and ties in the Constitution must be against that tendency. [More…]
any application made by a State for the grant, under section 96 of the Constitution, of special assistance to the State; [More…]
The Minister reinforced this notion of attempting to move quickly when on 2 1 October in a statement dealing with the re-constitution of the Australian Meat Board, he said: [More…]
The operation and interpretation of section 92 of the Constitution effectively prevents the existing operations in the Australian market from domination by the Corporation. [More…]
Unfortunately within clause 43 it is not possible to lay down the clear definition of what the constitution of these bodies will be. [More…]
Because of the operation of section 109 of the Constitution, a Federal Bill of this kind would have the effect of introducing an entrenched Bill of Rights for the States although not, I should add, for the Commonwealth. [More…]
We are talking about clause 5 which deals with the constitution of the Commission. [More…]
I therefore look to the Attorney-General’s response to the amendment moved by the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith (Mr Lionel Bo wen) and in particular his response to the suggestion of the Opposition that there has been no consideration in the constitution of the Commission of the interests of client groups, particularly as recommended by the Sackville report. [More…]
In addition, I seek his response that in relation to the constitution of the Commission and those nominations from the State AttorneysGeneral, he will have regard to persons resident in the Territories. [More…]
I think honourable members would have to concede- the Attorney-General was half-obliged to concede it- that this matter is not sufficiently addressed in the present constitution of this Commission. [More…]
-The honourable member knows very little about the Constitution. [More…]
He does know about the Constitution and he knows about taking briefs from the Crown. [More…]
The decision to vary the constitution of the boards or, in order words, rotate the membership of them must serve in the better interests of the working of those members. [More…]
The question whether, notwithstanding the abolition of the court to which he was appointed, a federal Judge is entitled under the Constitution to continue to hold his commission for life, subject only to the provision for removal from office contained in the Constitution, involves a legal opinion on the interpretation of the Constitution. [More…]
It has fought Syria and Kuwait suspended its constitution because that country was being subverted. [More…]
I do not agree with the Chairman’s comments and I regret his remarks, which no doubt he espouses under section 51, placitum (xxvi), of the Constitution. [More…]
The 1967 referendum altered that part of the Constitution to provide that the Commonwealth had the power to makelaws in respect of people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws. [More…]
For that reason, he always said that it does not matter that the Australian Constitution prevents the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange. [More…]
He said that we have to set an objective for the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, hold on to it fast and educate and agitate for it to the point where the people of Australia will be prepared to alter the Constitution to permit the socialist objective to be implemented. [More…]
He said that if we as a party were to throw that objective away we would also throw away any intention of wanting the Constitution altered. [More…]
We are dramatically changing the constitution of the Australian Meat Board to that effect. [More…]
Under the proposals which have been discussed and which are not finalised at this stage the Victorian industry is likely to suffer and to be penalised if it seeks to utilise those sections of the Constitution which would appear to, but do not in fact, guarantee freedom of trade. [More…]
The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: (1)1 understand that, until the end of the last year, it was customary, when a Bill was presented to the GovernorGeneral for assent, for the Governor-General to ask the Attorney-General whether, in the opinion of the AttorneyGeneral, the Governor-General should recommend any amendments to be made and also whether, in the opinion of the Attorney-General, the Constitution required the Bill to be reserved for the Queen’s pleasure. [More…]
As requested by Your Excellency, I have carefully perused the Bill, and I cannot suggest any amendments that, in my opinion, Your Excellency should recommend, and I am also of opinion that the Constitution does not require Your Excellency to reserve the Bill for Her Majesty’s pleasure to be made known’. [More…]
He wishes to be advised whether, in accordance with section 58 of the Constitution, he should recommend any amendments, and whether he should reserve a Bill for the Queen’s pleasure. [More…]
On occasions Bills are reserved for royal assent for reasons other than those specifically referred to in the Constitution. [More…]
Facts now before the public indicate a deliberate devious attempt to avoid by a subterfuge the constraints of the Constitution and to defraud the States. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s involvement began when, on 13 December, he signed an Executive Council minute which was an evasion of the Constitution, a conspiracy to defraud the Loan Council. [More…]
You expressed the view on 9 July 1975 on the basis of documents and facts then known to you that the action on which these proceedings are based was ‘illegal and unconstitutional’. [More…]
His advice was, we are advised, recorded by the Secretary to the Treasury on 13 December 1974 in a Minute to the effect that the Solicitor-General invoked the use of section 61 of the Constitution and advised that an opinion given the Treasury in writing four days before in regard to Mainline Corporation could be applied to the current proposals. [More…]
Even if it was found that they had acted in breach of the Constitution or of the statutory or common law- and no government, State or Federal, has asserted that- no government would take criminal proceedings against them. [More…]
There were no criminal proceedings, for instance, against the judges of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration when the High Court in the boilermakers case decided that they had acted unconstitutionally. [More…]
In the past three years we have seen the Prime Minister manipulate the Constitution and the Parliament against his class enemies. [More…]
Honourable members will be well aware that one of the alterations to the Constitution that was approved by the referendum in May this year, and has since become law, introduced a maximum retiring age forjudges of the High Court and other Federal courts. [More…]
The effect of this Constitution alteration is that any future appointee to the High Court or any other Federal court will have to retire by the age of 70 years. [More…]
In the case of Federal courts other than the High Court, the Constitution alteration also enables the Parliament to prescribe by law a maximum retiring age for judges that is less than 70 years. [More…]
This Bill seeks to exercise that newly acquired constitutional authority to prescribe a maximum retiring age for judges of the Family Court of Australia of 65 years. [More…]
Honourable members will recognise that this requirement, having been approved by both Houses of the Parliament, provides a compelling reason for prescribing an identical retiring age forjudges of the Family Court of Australia, now that the Constitution alteration has made this possible. [More…]
Further, the report of the Senate Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs on a retiring age for Federal judges, which led to the Constitution alteration, specifically recommended 65 years as an appropriate age for judges of the Family Court. [More…]
After the proposal to amend the Constitution to provide for the retirement of Federal judges was raised, and before the referendum on the Constitution alteration in May, the former AttorneyGeneral made known his preference for a retirement age of 65 years for judges of the Family Court of Australia. [More…]
The vote in the referendum on the Constitution alteration should therefore be seen against the background of his publicly stated preference for a retirement age of 65 years for judges of this particular Federal court. [More…]
It is true that the Constitution alteration prescribes 70 years as the maximum retiring age for judges of the High Court, and forjudges of other Federal courts unless and until the Parliament otherwise provides. [More…]
The Constitution alteration relating to judges’ retiring ages provides that the maximum retiring age applies only to judges appointed after the alteration became law. [More…]
One is a formal amendment consequential on the passing of the Constitution alteration. [More…]
-I want to take a few moments to record a view about the impact of section 24 of the Constitution upon both the way in which we run this Paliament and the future of the Parliament. [More…]
Section 24 of the Constitution states: [More…]
I do not support the theory that people will not vote for constitutional change. [More…]
I thought the referendums this year were a pretty good demonstration of the fact that people are starting to think about the Constitution. [More…]
I think that while people are thinking about referendum issues and constitutional matters and have the memory of the recent referendums clearly in their minds it is a good time to run another referendum. [More…]
If we do not alter section 24 of the Constitution, the next thing we will have on our hands will be another 60 senators- perish the thought. [More…]
As the honourable member will know, the Government actively supported the four Constitution alteration proposals arising out of the Hobart meeting of the Constitutional Convention last year, and provided the referendum machinery which resulted in 3 of the 4 proposals passing into law earlier this year- that is, the Senate casual vacancies, territorial voting in referendums and retiring age for Federal judges proposals. [More…]
Even though it was a direct grant under section 96 of the Constitution, the people themselves were able to tell us what they needed and then we set about providing what they wanted. [More…]
Consider the situation now in relation to this so-called fair Constitution and how it is being interpreted against these very same people in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Constitution allows for it but he is a member of the National Country Party and a government of that persuasion is challenging the right of people in the Territories to have representation. [More…]
The Constitution of this nation has to lead to one nation and one people. [More…]
Surely from the Australian experience we would say that anything to do with constitutions and the relationships between the various levels of government will never be settled. [More…]
It is surely a lesson to all Austalians that a written Constitution, with the great difficulty of changing it, is poison to progress. [More…]
Mr Speaker, on looking at the Constitution I find that section 125 refers to the establishment of a capital territory no closer than 100 miles from Sydney. [More…]
Previously in this House I have proposed the concept of changing section 125 of the Constitution in order that the Australian Capital Territory might be placed back in New South Wales. [More…]
The payments will be made pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution as non-repayable interest free advances to the State governments. [More…]
This amending Bill follows the constitutional amendment that we were able to achieve earlier this year when a number of amendments to the Constitution were approved by the Australian people. [More…]
The founding fathers formed a Constitution and expressed their ideas in written words. [More…]
The Constitution was formed on the basis that judges would not be removed from office. [More…]
Section 72 of the Constitution talks about justices of the High Court and of the other courts created by the Parliament. [More…]
Surely we could read into that that if the national Parliament had the power to create other courts it would have the power also to determine retiring ages and, if so, that would apply to justices of the High Court as well because they are referred to in the same section of the Constitution. [More…]
Mr Justice Higgins drew a parallel with section 103 of the Constitution which provides for members of the Inter-State Commission to hold office for seven years. [More…]
So what we are saying in relation to this amendment to the Constitution is that perhaps all this should have happened in 1900. [More…]
After all, nobody in his right mind would expect Prime Ministers or other leaders in this country to be in their 80s, as has happened with many justices of the High Court as a result of the interpretation of section 72 of the Constitution. [More…]
That step had to be taken at that stage because there was then no constitutional amendment of the type I have just outlined. [More…]
This leads me to this question: Now that we have this constitutional amendment and an ability to fix a retiring age, which has been fixed at 65 years, there is really no need to put so much emphasis, if any emphasis at all, on State courts. [More…]
It is important that we now enter this field appropriately as we are entitled to do under the Constitution and have a federal family court. [More…]
It is clear that under the Constitution if we could get States to refer to the Federal Parliament powers in those areas of property, maintenance, custody and what have you, we would not have any difficulty in dealing with the problems of the family. [More…]
Surely it is a fiction to think that under the Constitution we have the power to deal with marriage- as we have- with divorce, matrimonial causes and parental rights and that those powers have to be interpreted, as the High Court has legally said, but those matters are limited to the aspects of the family which I have mentioned. [More…]
The only way to solve this situation where there is this conflict of laws is to go to the High Court under section 109 of the Constitution and ask it to work out which law is to prevail. [More…]
If we could put another constitutional amendment and ask the people whether the family law court should have the ability to deal with all matters relating to the family, virtually unanimously all people in Australia would say yes. [More…]
The difficulty is that we cannot get that constitutional amendment so readily. [More…]
This is one of the problems of the Constitution. [More…]
The proposals were supported at the Constitutional Convention and the legislation to alter the Constitution was introduced into Parliament by this Government. [More…]
The Lands Acquisition Act provides that all acquisitions carried out by the Commonwealth shall be on just terms, in line with the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
But if that were suggested with some other institutions, such as those which the great majority of young Australians attend, we would be in breach of that sacred document, the Constitution. [More…]
Those are the two matters I wished to raise- the question of the clandestine action and the question of the constitution of the National Assessments Board. [More…]
I have not viewed its constitution, but from the report that has been conveyed to me by one of its founders it would seem that the three practitioners have the same ideas as the ones I have expressed. [More…]
It would have to be a separate foundation with its own constitution and with adequate government representation. [More…]
I would remind him that there is a constitutional obligation on the Commonwealth, when it does step in and acquire land, that it do so on just terms not merely for the taxpayer but also for the owner of the property concerned. [More…]
As we know, the obligation for just terms compensation is written into our Constitution, and that principle likewise should apply in Australia’s external Territories. [More…]
The Constitution of which this resolution forms part provides that every State is entitled only to the representation which its population gives it. [More…]
If we accept a constitution on the basis that States are to have representation in accordance with population it should follow, should it not, that the electoral boundaries within a State should, as far as practical, be equal? [More…]
It was a Liberal government which proposed the alteration to the Constitution in 1967. [More…]
Establishment and constitution of the special broadcasting service; and [More…]
I do not think he is challenging the particular determination the subject of the legislation before the House because under the Constitution that can be fixed only by the Parliament- that is, the salaries of judges. [More…]
Bureau of Mineral Resources Library- The BMR Library is located in the BMR Building (Anzac Park East Building), corner of Anzac Parade and Constitution Avenue, Parkes, Australian Capital Territory, and has branches in the BMR office, Darwin; and the BMR Geophysical Observatory at Mundaring, Western Australia. [More…]
Under the second paragraph of section 13 of the Constitution an election to fill vacant Senate places may be held within one year before the places become vacant. [More…]
However, section 28 of the Constitution enables the House of Representatives to be dissolved before then. [More…]
However, the requirements of section 64 of the Constitution and of the Public Service Act are such that it was necessary to formally create a Department of the Special Trade Negotiator and a position of Secretary to that Department. [More…]
-The honourable member says that it is in the Constitution, but if the principle is so great, why do honourable members opposite not work towards constitutional change? [More…]
He went on to say on the same occasion that the principles enunciated in the Electoral Act should be ‘preserved and enshrined in the Constitution’. [More…]
So what we have is the Leader of the Opposition saying, when he speaks impartially and without party political bias, that the 20 per cent tolerance is perfectly reasonable and should be preserved- in fact, should be enshrined in the Constitution. [More…]
Now we have been warned: He wants to alter the Constitution of Australia to provide that Tasmania shall have only the number of electorates to which its population would entitle it; that is, he wants Tasmania to lose two divisions in the House of Representatives. [More…]
He wants to take out of the Constitution the safeguard which says that original States, of which Tasmania is one, shall always have at least five representatives in this chamber. [More…]
The Labor Government tried to amend the Constitution at a referendum in May 1974 to provide that, as nearly as practicable, there should be the same number of people in every electorate on the mainland. [More…]
That, of course, is what the Constitution already ensures in deciding the number of members there shall be between the States on the mainland. [More…]
The Labor Government wanted to alter the Constitution to provide that the number of people in the various electorates on the mainland within each State should be based directly on population also. [More…]
That is the sort of provision we ought to have in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution defines the grounds for disfranchisement. [More…]
The honourable member for Port Adelaide (Mr Young) had the temerity to suggest that this situation was written into the Constitution. [More…]
-In answer to some of the points made by the honourable member for Riverina (Mr Sullivan) one must point out that the relationship of the Tasmanian membership of this Parliament to the actual total number is established in the Constitution. [More…]
If the honourable member would give us a guarantee that he would work for an amendment of the Constitution and change it in some way, it would be helpful but he has not done that Let me say that I am sympathetic to some of the points made by the honourable member about representative government. [More…]
I think there should be greater accessibility but the facts of life as we face them here today are conditioned by the failure of the people pf Australia in 1967 to amend the Constitution with regard to the relationship between the Senate and the House of Representatives so far as numbers go. [More…]
My own view is that we should amend the Constitution in some way or other. [More…]
I think it is important to look at the office of Governor-General in relation to the Constitution. [More…]
It is significant that the Constitution itself, as far back as the original Bill of 1900 did provide for a salary; but it took some 74 years before that salary was adjusted, and it is being adjusted again now within a space of three years. [More…]
But we must look at the matter in the light of what is happening in Australia today, on a constitutional basis. [More…]
The Opposition is firmly of the view that the people of Australia should judge very quickly whether they are prepared to accept the Constitution as it now exists or whether there should be a new Constitution. [More…]
It is more important to submit to the Australian people a convention as to the type of Constitution they may want. [More…]
Unfortunately, in Australia the rules of the Constitution allow for an intrusion. [More…]
We are saying that the constitutional conventions in Australia at present are not in our opinion representative of the wishes of the people. [More…]
It will be announced in the forthcoming election campaignit is most important- that we want to encourage a people’s convention, which would be held we think in 1978 or 1979, to determine a new constitution for Australia. [More…]
One can see the problems we have in Australia at present when one looks at the Constitution and sees in it provisions, for example, that a law can be withheld for the Monarch’s consent. [More…]
The Constitution also provides that the office of GovernorGeneral can intrude and suggest amendments to any Bill. [More…]
It is a severe negation of a democratic constitution for Australia. [More…]
If we have powers outside the powers of the Parliament it reduces our Constitution to an absurdity as it is at present. [More…]
We can reduce the Constitution as it now applies to a modern concept in which every aspect of democracy is put to the people and they agree on it. [More…]
People all over Australia are meeting and wanting to know when they will be able to take part in conventions to determine what sort of constitution they ought to have. [More…]
As honourable members know, our Constitution makes no provision for Cabinets and Prime Ministers. [More…]
We are still in the ridiculous situation whereby the British Parliament could rescind our Constitution tomorrow and we could do nothing about it. [More…]
For those reasons it is very urgent and essential that the Australian people address their minds to the need for a new constitution. [More…]
Even Britain, with an unwritten constitution, has been able to reach that position by continually reducing the powers of the monarch. [More…]
I might add that at the forthcoming election the Australian Labor Party will be proposing a people’s convention to draw a new Constitution. [More…]
The present Governor-General is one who has understood the importance of the Australian Constitution, something that cannot be said for a great many members of the Labor Party in this country and this Parliament. [More…]
The Constitution which we in Australia have accepted over a period of 76 years involves the Queen, her representative in Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives in legislative acts on behalf of the people generally. [More…]
The present Governor-General protected that Constitution and, as a result, was subjected to more derision than probably any other individual has suffered in the history of this country. [More…]
The Governor-General had exercised great judgment in an extremely difficult situation, one which had been exacerbated by a Prime Minister prepared to ride roughshod over a Constitution that had been accorded due respect for 76 years. [More…]
I respect the right of the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith, and of other Australians, to promote discussion on the form the Australian Constitution might take in future years. [More…]
It is worth mentioning that the Governor-General has himself encouraged discussion of the role of his office and its relationship to the Constitution. [More…]
All I would like to say at this stage about that proposition is that if we ever accept and adopt another Constitution in this nation, I hope sincerely that that Constitution will provide a similar system of checks and balance to control the likes of Prime Minister Whitlam who may foist themselves upon parliaments and the people of Australia at some future date. [More…]
The fact is that a Prime Minister, who is supposed to hold a responsible position on behalf of Australians, who takes an oath of office, who sits in this Parliament on behalf of Australians, was prepared to reject the Constitution, to ride roughshod over that Constitution for his own short term political gains. [More…]
The fact that a Prime Minister was prepared not to accept the situation which is in the Constitution, and was prepared to exercise every means that he could find available to him to govern without Supply, to find any situation to perpetuate his own time in office, proves that the Constitution of Australia is still a very workable document for all Australians. [More…]
All Australians will remember, and if a new Constitution is ever being contemplated, as has been suggested by the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith (Mr Lionel Bowen) and others, I would hope sincerely that similar checks and balances will operate in that Constitution, as operate in the present Constitution. [More…]
The lessons of October and November 1975, when a Prime Minister was prepared to flout the Constitution and throw the Constitution out the window for his own ends must never be allowed to happen again in this country. [More…]
I am concerned with the role that Sir John Kerr played in preserving the Australian Constitution as it exists now and as it existed in late 1 975. [More…]
Section 38 of the Constitution is the section which deals with the question of a vacancy caused by non-attendance, and I draw the attention of the honourable member for Bendigo to that section. [More…]
In Australia we have free trade between the States under section 92 of the Constitution and we have a single currency. [More…]
I think it is unprecedented for any Act of Parliament to provide for consultation with a council which has no constitution and no existence in law or in fact. [More…]
It is contrary to the principles of the Constitution itself. [More…]
If honourable members look at the Hansard for 1958 they will see an urgency debate on education being ruled out of order because it was not within the ambit of the Constitution. [More…]
But I should like to say to the honourable member that I rather envy the easy way in which he sets the Constitution on one side on the ground that it is out of date. [More…]
Will the Minister ensure that when the Electoral Act is amended, it is so amended that we extend the principle embodied in the alteration to the Constitution last May in relation to casual Senate vacancies when political parties were recognised for the first time and thus prevent, by law, candidates indulging in delusions of grandeur or just plain false pretences? [More…]
The Conference adopted a new constitution for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association which changes the arrangements with regard to the Executive General Council and other matters. [More…]
Amended copies of the Constitution are not yet available. [More…]
However, a reprint of the Constitution incorporating the 1977 amendments, which were assented to on 29 July, as wei as up-to-date notes and an index, is in course of preparation. [More…]
With that trust and the leadership necessary to honour it rests the very faith of this nation in its politicians, in the democratic Westminster style of government, in the Constitution and in the essential nature of our present decision-making process. [More…]
The legislation that presently governs the position starts with the Constitution and works down through the various regulations. [More…]
The Australian Government has constitutional power to enact a Bill of Rights to give the Australian citizens judicial protection. [More…]
What we need is constitutional reform to enact a Bill of Rights in the Constitution itself. [More…]
We need that guarantee that it should be written into the Constitution that no government can repudiate it. [More…]
That Executive Council minute was made on the basis of section 6 1 of the Constitution that the Prime Minister himself determined by Executive Council meeting that such steps were to be taken. [More…]
It did nothing to maintain the law and order of the Constitution we so earnestly espouse. [More…]
The implication is that the Government acted under section 1 1 9 of the Constitution. [More…]
What happened last week tends to suggest that the Government can mobilise forces under section 6 1 of the Constitution, the general executive power of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Finally, in relation to his comments about Mr Wran, I repeat that section 119 of the Constitution was not invoked. [More…]
The decision to dissolve Parliament in midterm is one of the matters which the Constitution leaves to the Governor-General to decide on his own. [More…]
A government was illegally, illicitly and improperly subverting the Constitution and seeking to get the trading banks to finance the operations of government. [More…]
It is made quite clear in the Governor-General’s Speech that no energy is to be devoted by this Government to reforming the nation’s Constitution so that it does ensure the basic political equality of all Australians. [More…]
In 1974 they threatened to breach constitutional convention in their grab for power. [More…]
In 1975, by a gross perversion of the practice and custom of the Constitution, they compelled a double dissolution. [More…]
The problems of Parliament also arise from its inherent division; not only is it divided by the federal Constitution into two nominally powerful, and often conflicting, Houses: Each constituent House accommodates competing factionseach of which is usually divided between leaders and led. [More…]
The Constitution bars the imposition of taxes on the Commonwealth by the Australian States. [More…]
The scheme will operate by means of grants made by the Commonwealth to the States pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The scheme will operate by means of grants made by the Commonwealth to the States pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
He was a member of the Federal convention appointed to draft the Commonwealth Constitution and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1901 as the member for the seat of Indi, which is now held by my colleague, Mr Ewen Cameron, who will be its member for a long time. [More…]
The referendum in 1967, which gave this Parliament the power to pass laws regarding Aboriginal affairs, was passed by an unprecedented majority, a far bigger majority than that which passed the original Constitution on which Sir Edmund Barton relied in 1901 to overrule his conservative colleagues in Queensland. [More…]
In 1 967 a referendum was overwhelmingly passed to amend the Constitution. [More…]
The appropriate section of the Constitution states: [More…]
The people of Australia passed the appropriate amendment to the Constitution. [More…]
For that reason these reserves virtually come under the control of the Minister who has the power under the Constitution and the Act to take control. [More…]
There are many powers which the Government has under the Constitution but the Opposition often adopts a different attitude to the exercise of power by governments even in situations which demand it, such as in relation to security matters involving the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. [More…]
It marks the completion of a major step forward in the creation of a unified, efficient railway service, an objective that the founding fathers had in mind when they formulated section 51 placita (xxxiii) and (xxxiv) of our Constitution. [More…]
Section 5 1 of the Constitution states: [More…]
At its Federal Conference in Perth last year the Australian Labor Party reaffirmed its commitment to the development of a national railway service when it endorsed as policy the undertaking of a future national Labor government to build and/or operate any railways, ports, air routes, shipping services or pipelines as provided by the Constitution or transferred to it by a State. [More…]
The next Labor Government will continue the program as outlined in the Constitution of developing Australia’s national rail system in the national interest as a matter of high priority. [More…]
First of all there is the 1967 amendment to the Constitution which removed the disabilities imposed upon the Government in making laws for the Aboriginal people of Australia. [More…]
to section 5 1 of the Constitution of Australia which gives the Government the power to acquire the property of a State or of a person on just terms or anything for which the Commonwealth may make laws. [More…]
Now that the United States has withdrawn from the Organisation, has consideration been given to amending the Constitution of the Organisation to make it easier for federal States to ratify conventions by federal action. [More…]
The scheme, because of constitutional requirements, will operate by means of grants made by the Commonwealth to the States pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The program is to operate by means of grants made by the Commonwealth to the State governments pursuant to section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
I draw your attention in particular to sections 49 and 50 of the Constitution and the practices and privileges of the House of Commons which flow therefrom. [More…]
As is mentioned in this history, part of the Constitution empowered the Commonwealth to legislate on insurance, and the matter was discussed in this House many years ago. [More…]
I think this point ought to be made because we all know that we are the subject of a written Constitution. [More…]
That Constitution provides that if the Commonwealth acquires land in one form or another it has to acquire the land from the party concerned on just terms and pay just compensation. [More…]
What would happen if all the money that would otherwise be appropriated for programs for the Aboriginal people- housing, health or educationwere set aside to accept a constitutional obligation of providing on just terms for the acquisition of all those lands in Queensland to which one could effectively give control by legislation of this sort? [More…]
First, it is clear that he had powers under the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution gives the Minister power to make laws for the Aboriginal people. [More…]
The Constitution has been changed. [More…]
Eleven years ago, in 1967, the people of the Commonwealth of Australia by an overwhelming majority voted in favour of amending the Constitution so that the Commonwealth could provide for Aborigines throughout the nation. [More…]
Legally and constitutionally it has no right at all. [More…]
1 ) A provision of the Judiciary Act 1903 by which a court of a State is invested with jurisdiction with respect to offences against the laws of the Commonwealth has effect, in relation to offences against this Act, as if that jurisdiction were so invested without limitation as to locality other than the limitation imposed by section 80 of the Constitution. [More…]
Subject to section 80 of the Constitution, where a person has committed an offence against this Act outside a Territory and is found in, or brought into, the Territory, a court of the Territory has the same jurisdiction in respect of the offence as it would have if the offence had been committed in the Territory. [More…]
A call out at the request of a State must observe the procedure set out in section SI of the Defence Act which implements section 1 19 of the Constitution. [More…]
Is it not a fact that, under Commonwealth legislation and the Constitution, the Commonwealth has rights to protect human and civil rights in Australia? [More…]
Can the trade and commerce powers given to the Commonwealth under section 5 l(i) of the Constitution be used as the authority for legislation to protect exports? [More…]
But what is very clear is that the Government has a responsibility under the Constitution to ensure that the normal processes of exporting take place in this country. [More…]
The Privileges Committee is properly advised by the Clerk of the House on the question before it and is also properly advised of what actions it can take within the framework of privilege as it exists under the Constitution of this Commonwealth. [More…]
The Standing Orders, until altered by this Parliament, are virtually a part of the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution provides that the Standing Orders of the House of Commons shall continue to operate in this Parliament until such time as the Parliament itself determines to alter them. [More…]
In addition, there has been a deal of discussion around the memorandum and articles which are necessary for the constitution of the Bank in accordance with the legislative framework introduced into this House by my colleague some months ago. [More…]
Quite often they are not able to do that either because they do not have the authority to do so, as is the case with this Parliament- the Constitution limits authority- or because the sorts of problems which exist have to date defied solution by the best minds in the world. [More…]
Therefore, the sooner we establish our rights granted and guaranteed to us in the Constitution, the better will be our relations with the media and the better will be our relations with the public outside. [More…]
The Constitution lays down that privilege, belong to and shall be enjoyed by both Houses. [More…]
Has the Executive Government of a State ever made application under section 1 19 of the Constitution for the Commonwealth to protect the State against domestic violence. [More…]
Since that answer was given, the Commonwealth has not received an application by a State under section 1 1 9 of the Constitution for protection by the Commonwealth against domestic violence. [More…]
On what provision or provisions of the Australian Constitution did the Government rely to call out the troops following the Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing. [More…]
In calling out the Defence Force the Commonwealth acted in pursuance of its responsibilities under the Constitution, in particular, the defence and external affairs powers (section 5 1 ( vi) and (xxix) ) and the executive power (section 61). [More…]
Now that the United States, whose record in ratifying International Labor Organisation conventions was worse than that of any of the 138 Members of the Organisation other than Bahrain, El Salvador, Kampuchea, Laos, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Swaziland and the United Arab Emirates, has withdrawn from the Organisation and only Australia and Canada can continue to plead that their federal systems make it difficult for them to ratify the convention, what steps have been or are being taken for Australia and Canada to consult on amendments to the federal clause in the ILO Constitution. [More…]
Under the provisions of Article 7 of the ILO Constitution the governing body determines the ten states ‘as occasion requires’. [More…]
Under what authority did the Minister make the announcement which makes an alteration to Australia’s boundaries, despite what appear to be the provisions of the Constitution? [More…]
Its establishment under the defence power of the Constitution reflected the close relationship of the defence and civil nuclear programs. [More…]
We must make it very clear that the proposed new section 38(5) is a meaningless sop to the States because it would be overridden by section 109 of the Constitution. [More…]
Because the Commonwealth has under the Constitution responsibility for the maintenance of overseas trade, it is essential that the Commonwealth be the responsible authority for the government of the industry. [More…]
ls the Committee considering the implications and relevance of the power in placitum 51 (xxxviii) of the Constitution; if so, what action has been taken. [More…]
3) 1976, my colleague the Attorney-General (Senator Durack) foreshadowed the Government’s desire to modify the provision for the constitution of the Industrial Division of the Federal Court, and in relation to appeals, and indicated that such changes would be made subject to consultations with the peak employer and employee councils. [More…]
The Government believes that the present requirements relating to the constitution of benches under the Act are in need of revision in relation to their adequacy in providing for the most efficient use of judicial resources and their influence on the cost of judicial administration. [More…]
This would also bring the constitution of the Federal Court in its Industrial Division generally into line with that of the General Division of the Court. [More…]
It appears to be a clear exercise of the use of section 122 of the Constitution. [More…]
7 of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Development which stated, amongst other things, that the Australian Parliament should not legislate in respect of those functions, the executive responsibility for which has been transferred to the Territory Executive. [More…]
In particular, Article 9 of the Constitution of the United States of America forbids it. [More…]
If we were in the United States of America, this situation would not be happening because section 9 of the United States Constitution states bluntly: [More…]
In the view of the Commission’s legal advisers, the legality of such a meeting would be determined on the provision of the Act, regulations, constitution or other rules under which the organisation concerned is established and which deal with the holding of meetings. [More…]
The fact of the matter is that we live in a country which has a written Constitution, in which there are States and in which there is a Commonwealth Government. [More…]
Whilst the Constitution makes specific provisions for the welfare and benefit of Aboriginals to be the responsibility of the Commonwealth there are many matters of a constitutional nature which have not been determined and there are many aspects of this matter which, if pursued to the final point of confrontation, would end with us in litigation in the High Court of Australia from which there would be no solution and no worthwhile result for the Aboriginal people involved. [More…]
Our Constitution lays down that if we are to acquire for the benefit of Aboriginals, Aboriginal land in Queensland, the only basis upon which that may be done is that of just terms. [More…]
In the federalism policy statement that was issued in September 1975- at that time one could not have foreseen the eventuality of 1 1 November 1975- we said to the people of Australia that in our federalism policy we would lay down a structure, a program, whereby it would restore true federalism to Australia and give back to the States and give to local government their proper right and entitlement to perform in accordance with the original functions that were designed for them at the time of the implementation of the Constitution. [More…]
Therefore, no question will arise as regards section 123 of the Constitution. [More…]
The executive power of the Commonwealth, as contained in section 6 1 of the Constitution, together with the external affairs power give the Government complete power to negotiate a treaty of the type outlined by the Foreign Minister. [More…]
although the Commonwealth Parliament has legal power under Section 122 of the Constitution to impose taxes or other imposts on the people of Norfolk Island for whatever purpose it thinks fit, to do so could well be in breach of a well-entrenched constitutional convention. [More…]
Because of the requirements of the Constitution, those political rights were removed in 1910 when the Territory was transferred from South Australia and accorded the status of a Commonwealth Territory. [More…]
In a very real sense, the constitutional history of the Northern Territory since that date reflects the endeavours of the people of the Territory to regain the rights which they lost in 1910. [More…]
However, there can be little doubt that, whilst not conferring statehood, the Bill now before the House will, when enacted, represent the most significant advance to date in the constitutional development of the Northern Territory. [More…]
The basis of that Act is the Australian Constitution itself. [More…]
Section 5 1 (x) of the Constitution states in specific terms that the Commonwealth has power to legislate with respect to fisheries into Australian waters beyond territorial limits. [More…]
At the age of 72, when most professional scholars have put down their pens, he made a distinguished contribution as scholarinresidence at the University of Virginia, where he lectured on the Australian Constitution with all the authority, clarity and wit we knew so well. [More…]
He was not defending the monarchy because of any personalities, but as a lawyer and as a person who understood the Constitution of Australia. [More…]
First, I must stress that he changed the outlook of the Commonwealth Parliament to the Constitution. [More…]
Some amendments had already been made through placitum (xxiiiA) of section 51 of the Constitution, the Evatt amendment which dealt with social welfare and health services. [More…]
One of the great constitution changes, therefore, was that over a wide range of activities Sir Robert took action which I believe involved and ensured development and growth in Australia and, through that, set us on the road to achieving a unity that otherwise could never have been achieved or achieved so quickly. [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution the National Government is responsible for the conduct of Australia’s foreign relations including negotiations of any settlement with the Government of Papua New Guinea in regard to the boundary separating our two countries. [More…]
Under the Australian Constitution the National Government is responsible for the conduct of Australia’s foreign relations including negotiations of any settlement with the Government of Papua New Guinea in regard to the boundary separating our two countries. [More…]
To that extent it does not impinge at all upon the Australian Government’s constitutional responsibility, it does not contravene Queensland’s constitutional entitlement under the Constitution or under the Queensland Coastal Islands Act. [More…]
1 ) That the House of Representatives agrees that the Commonwealth Parliament participate with the Parliaments of the States in the continuing work of the Constitutional Convention established to review the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution and accordingly resolves: [More…]
The Government ‘s view is that it is desirable that at least one more plenary session of the Constitutional Convention is held so that the continuing work of the Convention in reviewing the operation of the Australian Constitution may proceed further. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that the original impetus for the Constitutional Convention came from Sir Henry Bolte ‘s Liberal Government in Victoria; and, particularly at the Hobart session in 1976, valuable work has already been performed by the Convention. [More…]
I think it incontestable, following the report of the 1 958 Joint Committee on Constitutional Review, that there are serious, and extensively serious, deficiencies in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I do not regard, although it is not unimportant, the imposition of a retiring age forjudges as important as many other matters which need attention, if there is to be effective reconstruction of the Australian Constitution and if it is to become a neutral document which does not impede but in fact facilitates the social, economic and cultural development of this country. [More…]
I regret that in the view of so many people in Australia today the Constitution in fact is not seen as neutral; rather it is seen as a device for frustration, one that causes deceptive practices. [More…]
The need to clarify the powers within the Constitution worries the Opposition. [More…]
The only way in which I can see that being done is for a clear definition of the authority of the office of the head of state and its limitations being written into the Constitution. [More…]
Relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia are: [More…]
Section 5 1 -The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: [More…]
Where governments are dominated by such a rental philosophy and no interest is evinced by including provisions in legislation of this kind, while the Government does not avail itself of the provisions of section 96 of the Constitution to make grants available on conditional terms, on terms of high principle, then we are going to find a degeneration of those great ideals that characterised the last housing agreement. [More…]
Of course, the Constitution provides in the case of a conflict between a State and the Commonwealth that the law of the Commonwealth prevails. [More…]
We retain the power and authority that we had under the Constitution. [More…]
I ask the honourable member to read section 5 1 of the Constitution and all the placita in section 51 of the Constitution and study it. [More…]
What they say indicates really an ignorance of the Constitution and the power that the Commonwealth has. [More…]
However, I do not need to do much more than remind him that the Constitution was drawn up before there were many issues which are now regarded as contemporary, every-day matters in evidence. [More…]
In my electorate the Hargraves were experimenting with aircraft well before the Constitution was drawn up. [More…]
The growth of nuclear physics making possible the application of nuclear energy for practical purposes is a phenomenon of the present century and, alone, this would explain the absence of any reference to it in the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
There was no reference to this whole question of nuclear energy in the Commonwealth Constitution. [More…]
At clause 1 1 8 of the report of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review, brought up and ordered to be printed on 1 October 1958, the Committee said: [More…]
The Constitution does not matter as long as the American exploiters can make their money out of uranium. [More…]
The Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Groom) said, in answering a previous question- and I assume he will use exactly the same argument here- that under the Constitution extra powers are available. [More…]
This is very interesting, so I went to the Library and took out the Australian Labor Party’s Platform, Constitution and Rules. [More…]
I thought it would be worth while to compare the rules and the constitution of the Labor Party with the exercise being conducted in New South Wales. [More…]
These specific purpose grants by the Federal Government come under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
It is true that technically and legally this Parliament under section 122 of the Constitution can withdraw the powers that are being conferred by this Bill. [More…]
Let us look at the Australian Constitution to see how this situation comes about. [More…]
It is true that under section 122 of the Constitution the Commonwealth can confer only the powers that it is authorised to delegate. [More…]
The powers which this Parliament is able to confer on the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly are limited by the Constitution. [More…]
For example, it cannot confer a power that would enable a breach of the full faith and credit provision of the Constitution. [More…]
But in relation to the powers to which I have referred section 1 15 of the Constitution states: [More…]
It should also say that in accordance with section 5 1 of the Constitution, if it exercises authority and passes a family law Act or a bankruptcy Act such Acts will have priority over any exercise of legislative power by the Territory. [More…]
I therefore urge upon the Minister as strongly as I can that he go back to his advisers and ask that they be explicit in this legislation and give the Territory plenary powers to the extent that the States have such powers, but make it subject in all other respects to the Constitution of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Without such an office one of the essential checks in the Constitution would be missing. [More…]
This is the whole point of the Commonwealth itself having constitutional power in respect of a Territory- which it has under section 122 of the Constitution- to legislate in a fashion to enable a Territory to be able to govern itself. [More…]
Let me talk about the constitution and the membership of the Assembly. [More…]
I want to say something later about the Constitution which does not give any rights. [More…]
This is really the same as section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
This piece of legislation has simply copied the Constitution. [More…]
There have been a number of reviews of the Constitution going back many years. [More…]
The first words of section 92 of the Constitution state: [More…]
The power that the Territory will have will only be given pursuant to section 122 of the Constitution, and the powers will be limited to what is contained in this legislation. [More…]
Whilst section 1 18 of the Constitution, which relates to full faith and credit being given to the judicial proceedings of every State, will apply in the Territories, the provisions will not apply to the laws of the Territories in the States. [More…]
Constitution to apply to laws of the Territory. [More…]
This would be valid under section 122 of the Constitution which states that laws of the Territory may have extra-territorial effect. [More…]
It is a sort of unofficial constitution. [More…]
4 provides for disqualification from membership of the Legislative Assembly in precise conformity with section 38 of the Constitution. [More…]
Because of the limitations imposed under section 5 1 (iii) of the Constitution, any adjustments to a factory’s pro rata allocation must be made on a uniform basis and the Bill includes a special uniformity clause to cover this aspect. [More…]
Particularly there needs to be recognition that the Constitution inhibits the extent to which the Federal Government, on its own initiative and within its legislative capacity, can undertake procedures and practices across the board in any agricultural industry. [More…]
We have had to accept that because, as with so much legislation of similar nature, under the Constitution it is imperative that the States agree or enter into the spirit of the legislation in order for it to work across Australia. [More…]
Everyone has, the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. [More…]
Referring to the provisions of Chapter V of the Constitution of Kenya relating to the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens and particularly Article 83 thereof which sets limits to derogations which may be brought into operation under the Preservation of Public Security Act; Section 3 of the Kenya National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act; the provisions of Articles 2(1) and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Kenya on 1 May 1972), and the provisions of Articles 9, 11(1) and 1 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, [More…]
A judgment of outlook may also reflect an imminent change, such as the expected adoption of a meaningful new constitution. [More…]
Indeed, it is paradoxical that the ruler of a country, with Islam constitutionally declared as its State religion, enabling the Muslims to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Islam as set out in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah as its declared objective, and guaranteeing to the citizens their life and liberty, should play with the valuable life of a citizen so whimsically and tyrannically. [More…]
The constitutional provisions presuppose that before a person ventures to seek election to the office of the Chief Executive of the Federation, he would order his own life in accordance with the law, injunctions and teachings of Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. [More…]
A person who considers the Constitution and the law as the handmaid of his polity is neither qualified to be elected to the high office of the Prime Minister nor can ever be true to his oath. [More…]
This Bill seeks appropriations of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 1978-79 for expenditure on the construction of public works and buildings, the acquisition of sites and buildings, advances and loans, plant and equipment, grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution, and new policies not previously authorised by special legislation. [More…]
Because of the limits of time I cannot go into the whole history of this business but, as the Government pointed out in April and May, it has power under the Constitution to take over this land. [More…]
The Opposition said that there is one answer to that, that is, the immediate acquisition by the Commonwealth of the land that the Aborigines are occupying in order that we may assert what all of us would acknowledge is in fact a responsibility that we have and perhaps a privilege that we have under the Constitution. [More…]
I believe this action to be unconstitutional under section 5 1 (ii) of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
They are from a party that sent 5 10 young Australians to their death in Vietnam; a party that perpetrated violence on the Australian Constitution in 1975. [More…]
Australia was not invited to participate in the peace discussions even though we had committed our troops to fight in Vietnam, but I would have thought that at that stage any Australian, irrespective of his political persuasions, would have said that ‘full, free and democratic elections’ meant that everybody over a certain age had the right to vote; that they would have some identity with the geographic area in which they lived; that the elected representatives would meet in an assembly; that a constitution would be drawn up providing for elections on a set basis; and that the representatives would select the leader. [More…]
To what sort of constitution will they subscribe? [More…]
I think that the Minister himself, through his Department, could at least indicate what is meant by democratic elections, the basis upon which they should be conducted, what effect they will have from the point of view of the Constitution, what sort of people will be controlling the country following the elections and how the transition is to be evolved. [More…]
Until recently, it has been generally accepted that the Commonwealth constitutional power to legislate in respect of trade marks did not extend to marks used in relation to services. [More…]
The Government, however, has recently been informed by its legal advisers that that conclusion is not consistent with interpretations of the Constitution by the High Court of Australia subsequent to the Union Label case and that the trade marks provision of section 51 (xviii) of the Constitution does, in fact, empower the Commonwealth to legislate in respect of marks used to identify and distinguish services. [More…]
I noted in paragraph 55 of the report that the Crown Solicitor had advised that the original defence acquisition was in 1915 and in 1917 was a lawful acquisition for a public purpose and that therefore there does not appear to be any constitutional or legal reason why the Commonwealth should not use the land for any purpose within its competence under the Constitution. [More…]
It says that there does not appear to be any constitutional or legal reason. [More…]
When the Constitution was drawn up a guarantee was written into it that trade between the States would be absolutely free. [More…]
1 8 of the Constitution of the National Youth Council of Australia states that upon assuming office to the National Executive, all persons shall cease to act as representatives of any member organisations. [More…]
I am informed that clauses 6.0 and 7.0 of the National Youth Council of Australia ‘s Constitution specify that: [More…]
There is a need to foster in young people a reasonable understanding of the Constitution and the institutions of the country. [More…]
By many it is regarded as a plaything of politicians of doubtful worth, and its importance as the constitutional, democratic instrument of the people themselves is not well enough understood. [More…]
May I now move from the matter of my concern about the maintenance of consitutional law as established in the courts, by traditions and by a Constitution, to another matter relating to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. [More…]
Also, until recently it had generally been accepted that constitutional power to legislate in respect of trade marks did not extend to services. [More…]
The Government’s legal advisers recently have advised, however, that this conclusion is not consistent with subsequent High Court decisions in this area; that the provisions of section 5 1 (xviii) of the Constitution empower the Commonwealth to legislate in respect of trade marks concerning services. [More…]
Two years and 10 months ago the Liberal and National Country Parties- and the honourable member belongs to the Liberal Party- outraged our Constitution. [More…]
-It is true that as a result of the High Court decision the stabilisation arrangements introduced long since by this Parliament have been held to be constitutionally valid. [More…]
In that they are supplemented by complementary legislation of each of the States they are not capable of being avoided by the application of section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
I believe that it is time the Government got down to producing legislation that is as easily read as our Constitution, which has stood the test of time for over 77 years. [More…]
Before outlining the constitution of the new Commission, I would like to record the Government’s appreciation of the work of the retiring commissioners. [More…]
The Federal constitution of the Liberal Party of Australia, agreed at the foundation of the Party in 1945 and still in force, includes this objective: [More…]
It is fundamental to our own Constitution that no person shall be subjected to penalties or to any form of discrimination based on his religious beliefs. [More…]
I find that disgraceful, a breach of the spirit of our Constitution, and totally against the basic freedoms that we in Australia applaud. [More…]
The action is being taken on the basis that section 1 16 of the Constitution prohibits such payment. [More…]
calls for the appointment of an International Constitutional Commission to re-write the paralysed and worn out Lebanese constitution to ensure that Lebanon becomes a confederate neutral state like Switzerland, and [More…]
That leads us to say that the Minister’s statement does not deal with two basic political issues which are, firstly, the constitutional future of Lebanon and, secondly, the relationship of the Lebanese problem to the wider Arab problems. [More…]
As regards the Lebanese Constitution, the Minister’s statement is contradictory. [More…]
In my discussions with leaders of the Lebanese community I obtained the view that there was no alternative to the basic framework of the present Constitution. [More…]
I therefore suggest that any comment on the situation in Lebanon should confront the reality that very strong action to restore the Constitution is required if the country is not to be torn apart. [More…]
The constitution of the Lebanon is so old fashioned and worn out that it is virtually unworkable. [More…]
Therefore, surely the very best thing that the United Nations could achieve would be to ask on all sides that there be a ceasefire until a new Lebanese constitution can be written in an up to date form. [More…]
There is no way out of it other than for the United Nations Security Council to meet and to decide that the present fighting in Lebanon must stop and that a major United Nations security force must take over while the new constitution is being written. [More…]
We know that originally he was appointed to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and the relationship of that body to the Constitution in terms of the courtesy title of ‘judge’ is not as direct as it is in other areas of the law. [More…]
-That is $1.5 billion, in round figures, for expenditure on the construction of public works and buildings, the acquisition of sites and buildings, advances and loans, plant and equipment and grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
A strong point that I would bring out is the fact that of this $1.6 billion almost $700m is for payments to the States under section 96 of the Constitution or as specific purpose grants. [More…]
Our founding fathers when drafting the Australian Constitution went to great lengths to ensure that this sort of thing would not happen, and I will cite five sections of the Constitution in which they endeavoured to make sure that it was not possible either to penalise one section of Australia, or to hand out benefits to one section, at the expense of the rest. [More…]
Unfortunately, the founding fathers placed section 96 in the Constitution, which allowed all those principles so carefully enshrined to be cast away. [More…]
The Australian Constitution provides the Commonwealth with powers to make laws with respect to weights and measures under Section 51 (xv). [More…]
Clauses 6 to 8 provide a revised structure for the Commission, update its constitution and method of operation and specify procedural matters not presently covered in the Act. [More…]
We all know that the provision of Commonwealth Government loans to the States through the Loan Council arose out of changes to the Constitution in 1928. [More…]
It is remarkable that nine Bills should be necessary to introduce such a change, but unfortunately Australia suffers from a Constitution, not physical but political, that was worked out in the horse and buggy days of 1901. [More…]
The separation is necessary in order to meet the constitutional requirement that an Act which imposes taxation shall deal with only one subject thereof. [More…]
Of course, the constitutional position of the Commonwealth here is that only in certain specified areas within the Constitution has the Commonwealth power to make laws which by virtue of section 109 of the Constitution prevail over any competing State laws. [More…]
Generally speaking, the Commonwealth does not have constitutional power in the area of freedom of speech or freedom of assembly over any such laws that are passed by the States. [More…]
At page 14 of the Australian Labor Party Platform Constitution and Rules as approved by the 32nd National Conference in Perth in 1977, under the heading ‘Taxation ‘ the following is stated: adjust the personal income tax schedule and tax rebates for changes in the Consumer Price Index; [More…]
It had absolutely nothing to do with the land deals, it had to do with matters that were relevant to the Liberal Party, as they would be to the Australian Labor Party- questions of loyalty, adherence to policy, platform and constitution, and denigration of a party. [More…]
That makes the matter a particularly serious one for the consideration of this Parliament because under the Constitution a person is not eligible to contest nor to hold a seat in this Parliament if convicted of a crime involving imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more. [More…]
The Constitution also determined that this House should decide matters of privilege for itself and that nobody else should do so. [More…]
I consider that under the Constitution any judicial interpretation on what are our rights belong to this House alone and to no other body. [More…]
When early in 1977 I announced the membership of the Board for its ensuing three-year term I foreshadowed a review of the Board’s constitution and functions, to be undertaken in consultation with the national industry organisation, the Australian Dried Fruits Association. [More…]
In respect of its constitution, the Corporation is to have fewer members than the Board it replaces, namely, eight as against 11. [More…]
It covers all the matters affecting the rights of citizens, lt is an enormously important document, following upon the Constitution, in seeing that civil liberties are available- for example, the right to elect or not elect a party in this country. [More…]
A four-year parliament is one suggestion, but it would require an alteration of the Constitution. [More…]
We believe that the Australian Constitution is in desperate need of overhaul. [More…]
We do not see the Constitutional Convention as being an adequate vehicle by which to achieve the major constitutional tasks ahead. [More…]
No one can pretend that the Australian Constitution is an adequate vehicle by which to take us to the end of this century and beyond. [More…]
A proposition such as that contained in the fourth paragraph of this motion offers a solution to three serious and important constitutional questions. [More…]
The Australian people have demonstrated very clearly that they are not as negative about constitutional reform as is sometimes thought. [More…]
The motion involves the recasting of sections S3 and 57 of the Constitution. [More…]
As I have explained, this proposal provides solutions to three important constitutional questions. [More…]
Since 1901 the Constitution has not changed in size, yet that Constitution can still be understood quite thoroughly by anybody who reads it. [More…]
I do not think either that we need to debate tonight the recent High Court of Australia decision with respect to section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
On those occasions there was an Executive Council decision which almost certainly was illegal, almost certainly was unconstitutional. [More…]
It would have been justiciable and the authority, I believe, would have been struck down as being in defiance of the Constitution. [More…]
Under its constitution the Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party operates under a secret ballot system in respect of such matters and I can say - [More…]
The Prime Minister and his coalition collaborators mutilated the Constitution to ride into Government and they have sidestepped the Constitution ever since. [More…]
The House is aware of possible ramifications in respect of section 92 of the Constitution that have resulted from a recent court judgment. [More…]
Under the Constitution the Australian Government’s power in industrial matters lies in conciliation, not in thumping unions. [More…]
This assistance is intended to be provided by means of a repayable grant to New South Wales under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
It could perhaps be introduced via the appropriate sections of the Constitution which deal with Federal powers. [More…]
Yet under the Constitution it is the House of Representatives, not the Senate, which is given the primacy in financial matters- despite the diminution of that authority which occurred in 1975. [More…]
Clearly under the Constitution the chief financial prerogatives lie with the Representatives, not the Senate. [More…]
But certainly they will not see action from the Labor Party or from the honourable member for Shortland because, in the Labor Party’s policy, platform, constitution and rules, the word ‘aviation’ does not appear once. [More…]
As a result of challenges in the High Court of Australia, the 1924 Act was declared invalid as being contrary to the provisions of section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
Another major change in respect of the Constitution of the controlling authority is that it will have fewer members than the Board it replaces. [More…]
specific purpose grants provided under section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
The matter has been discussed recently at the Conference of Commonwealth and State Ministers for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs who generally saw a need for a uniform Commonwealth and State approach bearing in mind the confusion that could result through the operation of Section 41 of the Constitution if different approaches and timing were adopted in amending Commonwealth and State legislation. [More…]
If action is needed to change this Act, will the Australian Government consider the possibility of using the external affairs powers in sub-section 5 1 (xxix) of the Constitution. [More…]
In 1975, South Africa officially recognised the international status of the territory and decided to initiate its own discussions in Namibia towards a constitutional settlement. [More…]
The five Western members of the Security Council (United Kingdom, United States of America, France, West Germany, Canada) in 1977 advised South Africa that its constitutional proposals arising out of these consultations would not gain international approval. [More…]
The plan envisaged, in essence, free elections for Namibia, under United Nations supervision and control for the purpose of electing a constituent assembly to draw up and adopt a constitution for an independent Namibia. [More…]
We would like some reassurances about the firmness with which the Australian Government is to demand certain constitutional safeguards to protect the people of Namibia and its constitution from any erosion or any attempt to subvert it for commercial purposes by the country of South Africa. [More…]
It is a substantial and a generous increase, particularly so when one recalls that fact- and one should recall it- that urban public transport is not constitutionally a Commonwealth responsibility. [More…]
I make that point because I believe there is a tendency for people on both sides of the fence to overlook what is and what is not in the Constitution. [More…]
I simply say that constitutionally it is not a Commonwealth responsibility and therefore the commitment both by the previous Government to provide $190m from 1973 to 1978, and by the present Government to increase that commitment by over 50 per cent to $300m for the five-year period, is a very significant indication by the Commonwealth Government and Commonwealth governments of both political colours, of the importance of ensuring that Australia has a proper urban public transport system as we move out of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century with all the problems which we know are around the corner, not the least of which is the energy crisis. [More…]
The Executive power of the Commonwealth under Section 61 of the Constitution and the Administrative Arrangements Orders made from time to time by the GovernorGeneralinCouncil enables Ministers to enter into contracts for items that are within the respective responsibilities of Ministers. [More…]
As explained in my press release of 29 November 1978 there could be a requirement to seek an appropriate resolution of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament in accordance with Section 91 of the Constitution if the payments made by the Victorian Government, or by the Australian Dairy Corporation in its capacity as agent of the Victorian Government, amounted to a State bounty on production to which Section 9 1 of the Constitution applies. [More…]
One wonders how long they will put up with the type of government and constitution they have to live with. [More…]
probably more importantly, that the Commonwealth will not come in above them and exercise its power to pass laws which would as a result of section 109 of the Constitution over-ride the exercise of State laws. [More…]
In removing the original statutory jurisdiction of the High Court, the Bill does not, of course, purport to limit the jurisdiction conferred directly on the High Court by the Constitution. [More…]
Thus in some cases where a statute now confers a right to proceed against the Commonwealth in the High Court, repeal of the statutory provision would still leave intact the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court in matters in which the Commonwealth is suing or being sued. [More…]
Where the statutory right to proceed against the Commonwealth is moved to State or Territory courts, those courts would have a jurisdiction in those matters concurrent with the jurisdiction vested in the High Court by the Constitution. [More…]
Can he say whether notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations was called by the Executive Director, Mr Allan McCann, in breach of section 39 of the constitution of that organisation, as amended to April 1978, and therefore casts doubts on the legality of the existing Executive Committee ‘s functions. [More…]
I am informed that the meeting was called by Mr Allan McCann as an approved delegate of the Secretary/ Treasurer of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations in accordance with sections 39 and 45 (b) of the Constitution of that organisation, as amended to April 1 978. [More…]
Of course, this is authorised by the Constitution. [More…]
The legislation sets out to circumvent section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
We have heard an expose of the Government’s belated thinking on this question of securities and exchange legislation but it needs to be pointed out, as it was so ably by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Lionel Bowen), that the corporation power of the Constitution permits the Commonwealth to legislate for the establishment of a national securities and companies commission. [More…]
A large number of applications from within Australia and overseas were received, and the Attorney-General approved the constitution of an expert panel headed by the Chief Judge of the Family Court of Australia to interview applicants. [More…]
The article, by Mr Brian Chapman, a South Australian graduate student from the University of Oregon, points out that good health through physical culture is enshrined in the German Democratic Republic’s Constitution and is backed up by legislation through the Youth Act 1974. [More…]
I should like to deal briefly with the constitution of the Tribunal. [More…]
Much stronger emphasis would be placed on human rights if those rights were entrenched in the Constitution, which they should be. [More…]
I think every Australian would ask: Why do we not have the rights set out in the Constitution? [More…]
Because our Constitution is complex and outmoded it will be difficult to get any real and effective progress in the short term. [More…]
Acceptance of the Agreement on an International Energy Programme and decisions of the Government Board of the IEA is to the extent that these are compatible with Australia’s Federal constitution and our policies on foreign investment, the development, export and marketing of uranium, including our policies with regard to nuclear non-proliferation and our policies with regard to the export of other energy resources. [More…]
Commonwealth powers do not need to be exclusive, in view of the operation of section 109 of the Constitution. [More…]
This clause may also be open to constitutional challenge. [More…]
The question is whether the law falls within section 51 ( 1 ) of the constitution, taken with section 98, or, alternatively, the external affairs power under section 5 1 (xxix) The question comes down to whether the law is a law for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth. [More…]
It is submitted that upon the true construction of the Constitution Sections 71, 73 and 74, the Privy Council (Limitation of Appeals) Act 1968, and the Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act 1975, the prerogative to hear appeals from State Supreme Courts in any matter commenced in a Court on or after 8 July 1 97 5 has been taken away. [More…]
The High Court, as the pinnacle of the Australian judicial system, should be free to concentrate on its role as a constitutional court, a court for settling intergovernmental disputes and an appellate court in important cases. [More…]
Of course, the High Court of Australia also has original jurisdiction invested in it under the Constitution, namely, under section 75. [More…]
At the Constitutional Convention in Perth last year the entire Commonwealth delegation supported the idea of a unified system of courts to be created by agreement between the Commonwealth and the States. [More…]
Of course, the Constitution would have to be amended to give effect to those agreements. [More…]
However, such an amendment would provide a measure of ongoing flexibility which a fixed constitutional amendment based on some ultimate solution could not. [More…]
If we isolate the High Court and set it up as a legal Taj Mahal in Canberra we will limit its activities to technical points of law for the rich and we will have taken away from the people of Australia something which was guaranteed to them in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia- something which is theirs. [More…]
1 ) The detailed arrangements for the Commonwealth to provide a repayable grant under Section 96 of the Constitution to the State of New South Wales in respect of assistance to the Chrysotile Corporation of Australia have yet to be concluded in a formal agreement between the Commonwealth and New South Wales. [More…]
The Government believes that this is a correct course to take because the founders of the Constitution certainly did not mean the external affairs power to be used in that way. [More…]
In view of those statements and the statement of the Prime Minister today that the Commonwealth would not use the external affairs power under the Constitution to enact a Bill of rights which guarantees the provision of human rights by all States throughout Australia by the end of this year, will the Prime Minister guarantee that such rights will be brought into operation shortly rather than wait a further two years? [More…]
In this connection 1 mention that a working party of senior representatives of the industry- private and co-operative winemakers and grapegrowers- under the chairmanship of the Department of Primary Industry, is currently engaged in a review of the constitution and functions of the Board, the method of financing its operations and the range of products which might be covered by its charter. [More…]
I expect that legislation covering proposals for the Board’s reconstitution will come forward in the Budget session. [More…]
It is abhorrent to me to find that at this late stage of the debate people are talking about the fundamentals of abortion which, under our Constitution, are the prerogatives of the various State parliaments. [More…]
Section 51 (xxiiiA) of the Constitution states: [More…]
There is no doubt that this Parliament has the power to set the terms and conditions that it may wish to attach to the disbursement of the public funds for which it has constitutional responsibility. [More…]
What are we doing every time we legislate under section 96 of the Constitution? [More…]
The House must equally acknowledge that there is no constitutional right to medical benefits. [More…]
But this Government wants to use section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
He appears to be unaware that a constitutional problem exists. [More…]
Section 96 of the Constitution makes it difficult for a State preference to be given. [More…]
I think it will be of greater value to members of this Parliament when the general elections take place under a new constitution in June of this year. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware of the unique provisions of the Malaysian Constitution for the rotation of this office among the nine rulers of States within the Federation of Malaysia. [More…]
Under Part V of the constitution section S 1 (xxxv) talks about conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State’. [More…]
It is a nonsense to suggest that the Government has the public interest at heart when it denies the words of our Constitution. [More…]
It is appropriate, however, that the provisions for justices of the High Court be made in a separate Bill because of the special position occupied by that Court which is the court established under the Constitution whereas other federal courts are created by the Commonwealth Parliament. [More…]
It is a constitutional provision by which payment will be made- that is, section 96 of the Australian Constitution, or the ‘strings’ clause as some may know it- and, secondly, the form in which the payment will be made, that is, an interest bearing repayable grant. [More…]
This phrase grants the Commonwealth Government more latent power than perhaps any other section in the whole body of the Constitution. [More…]
It is all right for some people to hate commissions; but the fact of the matter is that the Constitution of this country makes provision for the setting up of an interstate transport commission. [More…]
In this regard, we would have to get the cooperation of the States; but, if they did not cooperate, the Constitution gives us the power and the facilities to get on with the job of carrying out such a proposal. [More…]
This is similar, but quite excessive to, the requirements of section 56 of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I defy anybody but a constitutional lawyer to explain what clause 18 (2) means. [More…]
Technically it is possible for the Parliament that confers that legislative capacity at any time in the future to withdraw that power, as it has been possible for the Parliament of Westminster to withdraw the legislative power conferred upon the provinces that became the States of the Commonwealth and as it has been possible for the Parliament of Westminster to withdraw the power conferred upon this Parliament by the Act that established the Australian Constitution. [More…]
But the States have self-government within their area of power under the Constitution and they can impose taxes. [More…]
I can understand the Opposition saying that sort of thing, but the fact is that this provision is designed to give expression to an ordinary constitutional practice. [More…]
My memory may be faulty, but I think that to some degree we have a similar provision in our own Constitution. [More…]
Section 59 of our own Constitution expresses the same idea. [More…]
Needless to say, because we have become a Commonwealth in terms of the Statute of Westminster, section 59 of the Constitution has fallen into disuse. [More…]
Therefore this is an essential part of the constitutional arrangements. [More…]
The Commissioner advises further that Article 32 of the Interpol constitution signifies that the co-operation between Interpol agencies should be extended through the National Central Bureaux and that no other official point of contact therefore exists within Australia. [More…]
In its dealings with ICPO- Interpol, Commonwealth Police abides by Article 3 of the ICPO- Interpol Constitution which states that the organisation’s field of activity is limited to crime prevention and law enforcement in connection with offences against general criminal law. [More…]
Further Article 3 of the constitution states that ‘It is strictly forbidden for the Organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character’. [More…]
This Government says that under no circumstances will it approve sweetheart agreements and that it will take any action it can within the framework of the Constitution to deal with any employer or union that comes to sweetheart arrangements. [More…]
I feel it is unconstitutional under section 5 1 (ii) of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
I think the Government has recognised by this decision the enormous damage which has been done to the Australian Constitution and to our relations with Britain by the outrageous action of Sir John Kerr in 1975. [More…]
I think that the honourable gentleman forgets that as Treasurer he deliberately sought to compel the trading banks of this nation to finance the affairs of his Government illegally, without power, against the Constitution and in a way which assuredly would have destroyed democracy in Australia. [More…]
It has been a long time in Australia’s history since we have had a government that has promised so much over a period and which has delivered so little, a government that has been prepared to go to the kinds of lengths to which Malcolm Fraser went in 1975- the blocking of Supply in the Senate, the raping of the Australian Constitution and conventions - [More…]
The Constitution provides that a government should legislate on matters of dispute in an atmosphere of conciliation and arbitration. [More…]
Where is the constitutional validity of legislation which provides for penalties, deregistration and gaol sentences? [More…]
The constitutional validity of its legislation is now under attack as it should be, by the metal trades in the High Court in an attempt to justify the punitive powers of the Industrial Relations Bureau. [More…]
How could the Government in making punitive provisions of this nature be acting in accordance with the Constitution by which it is duty bound to use conciliation and arbitration to settle disputes extending beyond the boundaries of any State? [More…]
Under the Commonwealth Constitution, Commonwealth Acts take precedence over State Acts. [More…]
Once this legislation goes on to the statute book, by virtue of the Constitution, it will take precedence over any other State Act. [More…]
I address my question to the Prime Minister and I refer to the Constitution and to the Commonwealth Electoral Act. [More…]
Is it in order in terms of the Constitution for a major political party to have an interim leader without making a public announcement that the person is only temporarily filling the job? [More…]
No person in Australia ought to take lightly the job of writing a new Constitution. [More…]
Six weeks later, through a perversion of the Constitution, the Labor Government was destroyed. [More…]
There were also the problems for Mr Harvey Bates concerning the constitution of the inquiry. [More…]
Much of it is unhelpful rhetoric about Sir Robert Mark’s perception of the role in society of the police or commentary on the Australian Constitution. [More…]
The Minister’s responsibility is a responsibility to administer the law for the Australian Constitution states in clause 6 1 : [More…]
Indeed, the possibilities of national achievement in the field of the police, and in many other fields, are being undermined in the late 20th century by an archaic Federal constitution. [More…]
“Sub-Division 4- Constitution and Powers of Tribunal “ 122. [More…]
In terms of our responsibilities to this Parliament and the nation we are all connected under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia is quite clear in relation to our eligibility to sit here. [More…]
It is quite clear that the private conduct of the Minister not only is a matter quite properly before the Parliament and for which the Minister should be answerable to the Parliament under his obligations which are defined and which cover all honourable members within the Constitution, but also it is a matter of great concern to the Prime Minister. [More…]
The Constitution is more flexible than we had been led to believe and offers full opportunity for effective majority government. [More…]
It is my personal belief that the Constitution gives proper and legitimate majority rule. [More…]
If one looks at the Constitution, one sees that there is a black majority in the Parliament. [More…]
So that members may be able to study the documents at first hand, I will put my copy of the Constitution, plus some documents including the party policies, into the Parliamentary Library. [More…]
The draft alleged that, by refusing to comply with World Health Assembly resolutions regarding the health conditions of the inhabitants of the occupied territories and because of certain of its actions in the occupied territories, Israel had ‘breached the provisons and spirit of the World Health Organisation’s Constitution’. [More…]
The Bill provides for proposed expenditure on the construction of public works and buildings, the acquisition of sites and buildings, advances and loans, items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure, grants to the States under section 96 of the Constitution and new policy initiatives not previously authorised by special legislation. [More…]
The Northern Territory Supreme Court Act 1961 now provides for the establishment and constitution of the Court. [More…]
This Bill will repeal that Act which will be replaced by Northern Territory legislation providing for the establishment and constitution of a new Territory Supreme Court. [More…]
Much more importantly, in her speech of 3 August, she recognised the validity of the criticisms made of the present constitution, of the blocking powers enjoyed by the white minority, and of the power vested in the various service commissions, which together make it impossible for the Government of Bishop Muzorewa to have adequate control over the country’s affairs. [More…]
So long as these criticisms could be made of the constitution one could not assert that genuine black majority rule existed in Rhodesia. [More…]
Such powers, which have not been included in any constitution resulting from a legal transference of power by Britain, deny government powers which are fundamental to a democracy or, indeed, to any responsible government. [More…]
While rejecting the validity of existing constitutional arrangements which allow a white minority to control the levers of power, he accepted that a democratic constitution was not incompatible with special provisions for the white minority in the form of reserves seats ‘even out of proportion to the numbers involved’, as he himself said. [More…]
Confirmed that they were wholly committed to genuine black majority rule for the people of Zimbabwe; recognised, in this context, that the internal settlement constitution is defective in certain important respects; fully accepted that it is the constitutional responsibility of the British Government to grant legal independence to Zimbabwe on the basis of majority rule; recognised that the search for a lasting settlement must involve all parties to the conflict; were deeply conscious of the urgent need to achieve such a settlement and bring peace to the people of Zimbabwe and their neighbours; accepted that independence on the basis of majority rule requires the adoption of a democratic constitution including appropriate safeguards for minorities; acknowledged that the government formed under such an independent constitution must be chosen through free and fair elections, properly supervised under British Government authority, and with Commonwealth observers; and welcomed the British Government’s indication that an appropriate procedure for advancing towards these objectives would be for it to call a constitutional conference to which all parties would be invited. [More…]
The only other matter I wish to raise is a matter related to section 1 1 8 of the Constitution. [More…]
In view of the constitutional position of the Northern Territory now, it would seem appropriate to insert a provision based on section 1 18 of the Constitution in the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act. [More…]
This would not be the only provision in that legislation based on a provision in the Australian Constitution. [More…]
There is also a provision based on section 92 of the Constitution which we would much rather was not there at all. [More…]
I hope that the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for the Capital Territory (Mr Ellicott) will take up the point that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Lionel Bowen) raised in connection with section 118 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition mentioned section 118 of the Constitution. [More…]
I noted the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s reluctance to embrace section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
It realises quite well that that is the section of the Constitution upon which private enterprise cannot be resumed by the state. [More…]
The balance of advantage between Parliament and Government in the day-to-day working of the Constitution is now weighted in favour of the Government to a degree which arouses widespread anxiety and is inimical to the proper working of our parliamentary democracy. [More…]
The matter that particularly concerns me concerns, and I am quite certain, my honourable friend from Denison (Mr Hodgman) and all the people of Tasmania, is the mechanism to change the Constitution. [More…]
What the Labor Party proposes is that constitutional changes will be effected by a simple majority of voters. [More…]
Its proposal would allow any moves to change the Constitution to be dominated by the larger and more populace States of Victoria and New South Wales. [More…]
If honourable gentlemen on the opposite side of the House, were for some reason unbeknown to me, given the opportunity of coming back into government, this is a resolution that they would putthat constitutional changes be effected by a simple majority of voters, which would leave the people of Tasmania with absolutely no protection under the Constitution. [More…]
This will enable it to set up a dictatorial hierarchy in this House and abolish all protection given to the smaller States and the people throughout Australia by the Constitution and the Senate. [More…]
They relate not only to the constitution but also, if there is agreement on it, to the difficult issues in relation to the transition arrangements and the disposition of the forces of different elements- different parties. [More…]
America was born a capitalist nation, was created a capitalist nation by the intent of the founding fathers and the Constitution and developed a culture and a civilisation that were capitalist to the core. [More…]
The Airlines Agreements Act on which the two-airline policy is based, has even been found to be in contravention of section 92 of the Constitution- that is the free interstate trade section- but support for the policy nevertheless keeps out even the threat of potential competition by prohibiting the importation of aircraft suitable for economic passenger operation on long interstate distances. [More…]
I would have thought that the honourable member for Cowper, being a member of this Parliament, would have made some study of the Constitution of this country. [More…]
I would like him, in his spare time, to have a look at the Constitution, particularly Part V, section 51 (xxxv), which says - [More…]
So this Government is acting against the Constitution, for a start. [More…]
As honourable members probably know, the words ‘peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth’ appear in the introduction to the various placita in section 5 1 of the Constitution. [More…]
However, this would not allow it to conduct surveillance of people because they might engage in rhetoric or have something in the constitution of their organisation to bring about an ultimate change in the nature of society. [More…]
By the same token, I would not be anxious to persuade others that people such as the honourable member for Lilley and the honourable member for Dundas (Mr Ruddock) would be appropriate intelligence officers to keep files on people whom they think would ultimately be the sorts of people to cause the violent overthrow of the Constitution. [More…]
I make the point that I believe in the need for a new Constitution for Australia. [More…]
I do not advocate a republican Constitution but it will not belong to a monarchy either. [More…]
What we are concerned about is violence, illegal acts and the possible overthrow of a constitutional government by force. [More…]
We have just been told that if a person advocates a new Constitution for this country or espouses in a peaceful way the establishment of a republic in Australia he will be in conflict with the definition of subversion in this clause. [More…]
Simply to advocate a new Constitution does not amount to subversion in terms of the three parts of this clause. [More…]
A person has to indulge in activities which will lead to the use of force, violence or other unlawful acts for the purpose of overthrowing a constitutional government. [More…]
The simple advocating of a new Constitution for Australia would not be subversive in terms of the definition in this clause. [More…]
They felt that they might be restricted in some way from going out to advocate, as a result of events that have taken place in this country, that there ought to be a different form of constitution. [More…]
For example, in the report of Mr Justice Hope the second definition of ‘subversion’ is given as overthrow by force and undermining by unlawful means and the definition of ‘subversive activity ‘ is given as overthrow of the Constitution by revolution or sabotage, overthrow by force or violence and destruction of Commonwealth property. [More…]
During our examination we learnt that the constitution of the Foundation provides that only current members of the Australian Labor Party National Executive are eligible to become members of the Foundation. [More…]
CONSTITUTION OF THE HERBERT VERE EVATT MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED [More…]
The Constitution states that the Federal Government has powers to legislate for a Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to settle disputes of an interstate nature. [More…]
The constitution therefore authorises Parliament to legislate for the establishment of a tribunal to which the parties to industrial disputes of the specified character are compelled to submit their differences and which, in the exercise of its arbitral functions, is bound to proceed, according to the principles of justice, to hear the parties and to determine the matters in dispute. [More…]
It would seem, therefore, that the process of conciliation and arbitration contemplated by the Constitution involves the application of the principles of natural justice. [More…]
He made the comment that some of the amendments proposed by this Bill could be brought under constitutional challenge. [More…]
What does section 5 1 of the Constitution provide? [More…]
The honourable member for Port Adelaide may be interested to read the Constitution because in that section the Government is given power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth - [More…]
Therefore, if the Constitution gives the Parliament power to make orders for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth, surely the statement that has been made by Sir Richard Kirby should be treated with a great deal of suspect. [More…]
The Government has received quite expert legal advice to the effect that the proposed amendments do comply with the provisions of the Constitution. [More…]
So the position is that some senior constitutional legal advisers to the Government say that these amendments are constitutional while one person, who cannot be regarded as an expert on constitutional matters, tells the Australian Labor Party that what this legislation proposes is unconstitutional. [More…]
In the ultimate, I think the Parliament should accept that advice of the constitutional experts. [More…]
In looking at the objects of the Act we have to keep in mind equally what the Constitution says we can do in relation to industrial laws. [More…]
The Parliament’s power to pass laws in relation to industrial matters derives from placitum (xxxv) of section 51 of the Australian Constitution. [More…]
But more than 170 cases have been determined by the High Court of Australia as to the meaning of those few words in the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution clearly gives the Government certain powers in respect of conciliation and arbitration, but the Government cannot conciliate and it cannot arbitrate. [More…]
That provision is fraught with the gravest of constitutional difficulties. [More…]
S I (xxxv) of the Constitution. [More…]
He questioned the constitutionality of what this clause aims to do. [More…]
I remind the Committee, as did the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, that the constitutional power given by section 51 placitum (xxxv.) [More…]
Judicial decisions in relation to the constitutional power are to the effect that the Commonwealth may not direct the Commission as to how it is to settle industrial disputes. [More…]
Although the propositions enunciated in that case have not subsequently been tested, it is significant that the High Court took the view that the legislature has power to make laws directing the Commission with respect to procedural matters- in that case, the constitution of the Commission in particular ways. [More…]
I emphasise what has been said before but needs to be said again, that is, that the Commonwealth’s legal advisers do not consider that the proposed amendments offend against the constitutional requirements. [More…]
not a law with respect to Conciliation and Arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes and is not authorised by the Section 51 (XXXV) of the Constitution. [More…]
But, if the Commission is to do its job as the Constitution lays down and as the Act interprets, how can the Government possibly justify drawing the teeth of the Commission and the ways in which it settles a dispute? [More…]
I again make the point that I think this clause goes beyond the constitutional power of this Government. [More…]
The Parliament itself has limitations under the Constitution. [More…]
It is vested by the Constitution in the Commonwealth only in that the Commonwealth can appoint another body to do the conciliating and arbitrating. [More…]
I say that it is ultra vires of the constitutional power of the Parliament. [More…]
This amounts to direct industrial legislation and not legislation within the meaning of the powers of the Parliament to make laws in respect of conciliation and arbitration in accordance with section 5 1 placitum (xxxv) of the Constitution. [More…]
Unfortunately, it is not possible constitutionally for the Government to legislate that there should be stand-down clauses in every award. [More…]
I do not think that is good, but we have to abide by the Constitution. [More…]
This Bill is proposing to do the very things which Sir Robert Menzies failed to do in 1951, when he sought to amend the Constitution by writing into it every single section of the Communist Party Dissolution Act. [More…]
Sir Robert Menzies tried unsuccessfully to find a way to achieve those ends constitutionally by means of an alteration to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. [More…]
He discovered ultimately that it could not be done constitutionally. [More…]
The States that are smaller in population believed that in a country as large as Australia they would need some protection against the capacity of those in New South Wales and Victoria to change the Constitution to suit themselves at the expense of those in South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. [More…]
Therefore the provision in the Constitution that one needs not only a majority of voters but also a majority of States is a very real safeguard and a very real protection for the less populous States. [More…]
I think it is worth noting that at the biennial conference of the Labor Party held in Adelaide every member of the Labor Party, Federal and State, including the Federal President of the Labor Party, Mr Batt, who I understand comes from Tasmania, was committed to a change in the constitutional procedures so that a simple majority alone would alter the Constitution. [More…]
It is significant to note that the President of the Australian Labor Party, a senior Minister in the Government of Tasmania, Mr Batt, was a principal architect of this kind of constitutional change. [More…]
It can so legislate, according to section 109 of the Constitution, which states that Commonwealth law supersedes State law. [More…]
The argument by which the Deputy Leader of the Opposition sought to invoke the provisions of section 109 of the Constitution is completely and utterly erroneous. [More…]
My reference was to the fact that they failed to refer to the Commonwealth powers in international law, not under section 109 of the Constitution, but under the external affairs power in accordance with the case of Burgess or the two-airlines case or the seas and submerged lands case. [More…]
The inquiry considered that the Commission should have available to it a wider range of management, technical and research advice, and therefore recommended that the provision relating to the constitution of the Commission be amended to enable the appointment of up to eight commissioners, in addition to the director. [More…]
Under the Constitution local government was solely the responsibility of the various States but, realising the financial plight of local government, the Federal Government has come to its rescue. [More…]
The proposal that the Labor Government put forward- namely, that the Constitution be amended to enable the Commonwealth to make general financial grants to local government- was defeated at a referendum. [More…]
of the Constitution. [More…]
I repeat that it is unconstitutional because under section 5 1 (xxxv) of the Constitution it is made clear that the Parliament has authority to pass laws in relation to the arbitration and conciliation of industrial disputes, but the Parliament does not have authority to tell the responsible body set up for that purpose what it should do in arbitration or conciliation procedures or what it must determine in certain circumstances. [More…]
I put it to honourable members that the relationship between the Government and the Commission is set up in the Constitution so there will be as little as possible political interference with its role. [More…]
It is depressing that the Australian Press has given no information whatever on the election results in Japan, one of the very few countries with a democratic constitution and democratic behaviour. [More…]
He pointed out to the Governor-General the section of the Constitution which gave him the right to sack any Minister. [More…]
There is no such thing in the Constitution as a Prime Minister. [More…]
Those amendments should mean that the Commission will work more cohesively as a body in the national interest discharging its responsibilities under the law and under the Constitution. [More…]
If I may refer to the Australian Labor Party Platform, Constitution and Rules booklet, which of course is frequently quoted by honourable members on the opposite side, it reads: [More…]
In fact, the most serious difficulty so far encountered arose last week over Lord Carrington’s understandable ruling that the parties had to accept the British constitutional proposal before going on to the second stage of the conference, to discuss arrangements for the interim period before independence. [More…]
Although it continued to have reservations- and stated them- about certain aspects of the constitution, it said that it accepted the British proposal, also subject to the satisfactory negotiation of interim arrangements, and it then rejoined the constitutional talks. [More…]
When we were talking about national companies and securities legislation, it should be remembered that the Australian Labor Party has always approached the subject on the basis that the Commonwealth should occupy the field of power which is given to it under the Constitution. [More…]
In this case the Commonwealth, under the Constitution, has a power to talk about the regulation and control of a securities industry and we have abdicated that power. [More…]
The main power which is relevant is the corporation’s power- section 51, placitum (xx) of the Constitution- which gives this Parliament power to legislate with respect to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. [More…]
It is clear from the powers given in the Constitution that this Government was created to meet national needs relating to foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations . [More…]
One of the arguments, based on the Constitution, used against a national companies law is that the words ‘formed within the limits of the Commonwealth ‘ mean that trading and financial corporations must be already formed under State law before the Australian Parliament has the power to make laws. [More…]
The constitutional base on which this legislation depends is not, therefore, section 51 (xx) of the Constitution, but rather section 122, which relates to the Territories power. [More…]
It is clear from the powers given in the Constitution that this Government was created to meet national needs relating to ‘foreign corporations or financial and trading corporations’ and interstate and overseas trade and commerce. [More…]
Section 51, placitum (xx), of the Constitution extends that power to the Australian Government. [More…]
If on the other hand the Commonwealth legislation were to be based on the Commonwealth’s corporations power under the Constitution and, as with the Labor Government’s Bill, made to apply to the whole Commonwealth, then it would not be so simple for a State to pass legislation different from that of the Commonwealth. [More…]
It is clear from the powers given in the Constitution that this Government was created to meet national needs relating to ‘foreign corporations or financial and trading corporations’ and interstate and overseas trade and commerce … [More…]
Certain permanent appropriations were made by the Constitution, such as the salary of the Governor-General. [More…]
These appropriations, therefore, do not form part of the ordinary annual services of the Government and are deemed to be Amendment Bills (subject always to the qualification that the Senate may not amend any proposed laws so as to increase any proposed charge or burden on the people- section S3 of the Constitution). [More…]
The High Court of Australia Bill and the associated amendments to the Judiciary Act and the Evidence Act together represent a legislative scheme for effecting the transfer to the seat of government of the third arm of government established under the Constitution. [More…]
Chapter III of the Constitution, which deals with the judicature, commences with section 71, which vests the judicial power of the Commonwealth in: a Federal Supreme Court, to be called the High Court of Australia, and in such other federal courts as Parliament creates, and in such other courts as it invests with federal jurisdiction. [More…]
Passage of this legislation will enable them to be joined by the High Court and so complete the plan envisaged by the framers of our Constitution. [More…]
The occasion for the transfer has been taken to accord to the High Court a measure of independence from departmental control that reflects the special position accorded the Court by the Constitution. [More…]
The Bill contains an important provision relating to the constitution of the Court that embodies an undertaking given by the Attorney-General. [More…]
By requiring the process to be undertaken whenever a vacancy on the High Court occurs, this provision should do much to ensure that the Court continues to be truly national in character and fully equipped to discharge its constitutional functions as a federal Supreme Court. [More…]
Incorporated in this Bill are all the provisions dealing with the constitution and seat of the Court and administrative matters relating to the Court now to be found in the Judiciary Act and the High Court Procedure Act. [More…]
As indicated in the observations I made in connection with the High Court of Australia Bill, the primary purpose of this Bill is to transfer from the Judiciary Act the existing provisions dealing with the constitution and seat of the Court, its registries, places of sitting and the like and to incorporate the procedural provisions formerly found in the High Court Procedure Act. [More…]
In recording our sadness at the manner of the late President’s death we also feel a need to observe that perhaps the new government might find it timely to initiate a program aimed at establishing broadly and comprehensively the democratic rights of the people ofKorea including the basic rights of the members of its National Assembly under a new constitution to reinforce the impressive material gains which have been made in its economy. [More…]
The procedures adopted by the Commission and the councils to require the appropriate authorities to account for the expenditure of funds appropriated by the Australian Parliament in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the appropriate State grants legislation, and the Audit Act, and to determine whether the conditions attached to grants are adequate; [More…]
As a result of our Federal-State Public Accounts Committee conference in June 1977, it was agreed that real advantages might be gained in conducting inquiries into subjects such as education where concurrent responsibilities existfor example sections 107 and 108 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
We have therefore invited the public accounts committees of State parliaments to consider holding complementary inquiries as State authorities have a constitutional responsibility for the administration of tertiary institutions, including accountability for the distribution of funds to those institutions. [More…]
The people of Australia by referendum amended the Constitution to say that the Australian Government has the responsibility to look after these people. [More…]
The States have constitutional rights and jurisdiction within their own territories. [More…]
The Commonwealth has been given by the Constitution certain jurisdiction, amongst which is a right to make laws with respect to the people of any race. [More…]
Under the terms of the Grants Commission Act and by virtue of section 96 of the Constitution, Queensland is a claimant State. [More…]
My colleague the Minister for Administrative Services advises that since 1971-72 the Queensland Government has made applications for, and received grants of special financial assistance from the Commonwealth under Section 96 of the Constitution. [More…]
Section 96 of the Constitution states that: [More…]
Preliminary discussions on the constitution of the expert advisory committee to advise on priorities for the use of the Cocos Island quarantine station have been undertaken within my Department and at the most recent meeting of the Standing Committee on Agriculture in Perth on which my Department is represented. [More…]
I would hope to be in a position to make an announcement on the committee’s constitution shortly. [More…]
) Yes, but as clearly indicated in my statement, within the limits provided for in the Constitution. [More…]
I did in fact criticise the Bill in the strongest terms as being outside the spirit and intention of the Constitution. [More…]
Did he state in Parliament on 21 April 1975 that the Opposition believes that the need exists for a body which will have power to regulate transport in Australia within the limitations provided for in the Constitution. [More…]
The widely proclaimed 1977 Soviet Constitution is at best an expression of hopes and desires, not an instrument whereby basic rights may be protected. [More…]
Indeed, within a few months of the proclamation of the new Constitution, a number of Soviet citizens underwent political trials which were not open to the general public. [More…]
In the conduct of these trials the Soviet Government ignored its commitments in the 1977 Constitution as well as natural justice. [More…]
The civil rights and freedoms of Soviet citizens are very much subordinate to the interests of the Soviet State; this is made clear in the Soviet Constitution. [More…]
In any case, Soviet citizens have no practical way of enforcing constitutional provisions. [More…]
There are no independent courts for the purpose of interpreting Soviet laws or for enforcing the Soviet Constitution. [More…]
This monopoly of power has been enshrined in the 1977 Constitution and the Communist Party’s influence is strongly felt at all levels of Soviet society. [More…]
Dissidents are imprisoned because of their political views and citizens cannot enforce those human rights enshrined in their Constitution. [More…]
Of course it would have been valuable for members of this Sub-Committee to have visited the USSR, to have visited the psychiatric institutions which hold many of the Soviet dissenters, to have attended the trials of the dissidents, to take evidence from former refusniks now in Vienna, and to have extensive interviews with the ProcuratorGeneral to test whether, in fact, that officer is capable of performing his responsibility as spelled out in the 1977 Constitution. [More…]
Article 70 of the 1977 Constitution provides: [More…]
In the application of the Russification policy, fine words in the Constitution referring to free selfdetermination of nations, voluntary association of equal Soviet Socialist Republics and the right to secede are forgotten. [More…]
He referred in particular to the Soviet Union being a super power which, because of the enunciation of the rights of Soviet citizens in the Constitution, wants the world to believe that those rights are enjoyed by every citizen in that country. [More…]
The latest High Court case, Uebergang and Others v. Australian Wheat Board, involves, amongst other issues, a challenge on the basis of Section 92 of the Constitution to the application of the Wheat Industry Stabilization Act 1974 of New South Wales to interstate transactions. [More…]
Whether further legislation or a constitutional amendment is desirable would depend upon the outcome of the challenge in the Uebergang case. [More…]
Other main features which remain unchanged are the seven year period for all except the pricing provisions of the Bill which continue to have a five season life, the constitution and general powers of the Wheat Board and the power of direction by the Minister. [More…]
The legislative scheme is to effect the transfer of the seat of the High Court, the judicial arm of power under our Constitution, to Canberra and to perfect its independence from departmenttal control. [More…]
This separation is a fundamental tenet of our Constitution. [More…]
Anson, in his The Law and Custom of the Constitution, states: [More…]
In the Australian Constitution, the provision in section 72 that a judge’s honorarium may not be diminished during his term of office may be seen as an additional protection of that independence of the judiciary. [More…]
Thus, the fact that under the Australian Constitution the High Court may be asked to determine the constitutional validity of legislation passed by Parliament does not mean that the High Court will be usurping the role of Parliament or that Parliament is less independent or separated from the judiciary. [More…]
Many eminent constitutionalists commented on such action disapprovingly. [More…]
I refer honourable members interested in the subject to Associate Professor Cooray’s recent work entitled ‘Conventions, the Australian Constitution and the Future’. [More…]
Chapter III, section 7 1 of the Australian Constitution states: [More…]
The operations of the High Court are more complex now than they were when the Australian Constitution was drawn up. [More…]
The purpose of the Bill now before the House is to provide the High Court with a measure of independence from departmental control that reflects the special position accorded the Court by the Australian Constitution. [More…]
To be a High Court justice under the Constitution, one does not need to be a lawyer. [More…]
The honourable member should read the Australian Constitution, not the Bill. [More…]
As my learned and honourable colleague, the honourable member for Dundas (Mr Ruddock), pointed out most effectively, the High Court of Australia is the judicial arm under which the Commonwealth Constitution operates. [More…]
Therefore, anything that is done with respect to the High Court will have a very substantial effect on the constitutional future of Australia and, in particular, the federal system which is guaranteed by that Constitution. [More…]
If the High Court decides that it will hibernate and that it will sit on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin and let everybody else come to it, it will be breaking faith not only with this Parliament but also with the Constitution. [More…]
But I believe that under our Federal system and our Constitution, where distinct lines of responsibility are drawn, the interests of the Australian people can best be accommodated by the Commonwealth and the States and, indeed, local government authorities, all working together. [More…]
I have been watching some of the cases before the High Court in respect of the Commonwealth’s interest in education and I have looked at the challenge to section 116 of the Constitution, which challenge I say is dripping with venom and bitterness. [More…]
We also have to take into account the current court proceedings regarding section 92 of the Constitution. [More…]
The Australian Labor Government attempted to create such a group in the form of the Inter-state Commission, as provided in the Constitution. [More…]
It is worth while remembering that in the Constitution, where reference is made to the Australian Parliament, we are told that the Parliament consists of two Houses- the Senate and the House of Representatives. [More…]
It was our policy, I believe correctly, that since the Northern Territory in particular is rapidly proceeding towards full independence- it has a new constitution and the same rights as other States of the Commonwealth- therefore it would not be proper for a committee of the Federal Parliament to involve itself in its activities. [More…]
That this House censures and condemns Australian Labor Party proposals to abolish State Governments, to abolish the Senate, and to establish a Socialist-Centralist Republic in Australia against the will of the people of Australia and in total contradiction of the basic principles of free enterprise federalism upon which the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia is clearly based. [More…]
At Question Time today the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony), when asked what his understanding of ministerial responsibility was, said to my colleague the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Lionel Bowen) that it consisted in a Minister discharging his duties according to the Constitution. [More…]
The Constitution makes a statement about that responsibility. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledges that under section 64 of the Constitution a Minister is constitutionally responsible for the administration of his department. [More…]
The purpose of the present Bill is to make some changes to the constitution of the Council and improvements to the functioning of the Tribunal. [More…]
They deal with the constitution of the Council itself, the powers of the Tribunal and the Federal Court of Australia in relation to stay orders, and machinery matters relating to time limits and staff of the Tribunal. [More…]
These cover an amendment to sub-section 21 (1a) relating to the Tribunal’s constitution when hearing certain preliminary matters, an extension to a maximum 28 days of the times within which a decision-maker must provide findings of fact and reasons for decisions, and a provision to cover staffing arrangements following Northern Territory selfgovernment. [More…]
The first phase resulted in agreement in principle on the constitution, and the second phase resulted in agreement on the transitional arrangements. [More…]
I have not yet had the opportunity to communicate with my counterpart, Lord Carrington, on the matter; but suffice to say that through the difficulties of the first and second phases, concerning both the constitution and the transitional arrangements, great credit has been due particularly to Lord Carrington and I suppose, also to all the participants. [More…]
The redistribution proposals are made necessary by the High Court’s interpretation of the Constitution in what are known as the McKinlay case and the McKellar case, which required a quota of members from each State to be ascertained whenever necessary. [More…]
Labor policy which seeks to amend the Constitution to provide for its alteration by a simple majority of the electorate; and [More…]
The internal elections this year, which resulted in the installation of Bishop Muzorewa as Prime Minister, were a step forward as far as the internal situation in Rhodesia was concerned, but they were held under an undemocratic Constitution, and they did not allow for the participation of all Rhodesian political elements. [More…]
Agreement has now been reached on an independence constitution, and on arrangements for the transitional period leading to the holding of free and fully democratic elections in Rhodesia. [More…]
It seems clear to the Government, however, that when all the Rhodesian parties concerned and the British Government have freely agreed to an independence Constitution, freely agreed on arrangements for the holding of elections and the implementation of that Constitution, and when British authority has been re-established in Rhodesia for the purpose of instituting those arrangements, then the objectives for which sanctions were originally imposed will have been achieved. [More…]
Did the body provided for by the Interstate Commission Act 1975 fail to conform to his perception of a Commission which would have power to regulate transport in Australia within the limitations of the Constitution; if so, why has he not amended the Act to provide a body compatible with that which he believed to be necessary in 1975; if not, why has he not proclaimed the Interstate Commission Act 1975 and established the Interstate Commission. [More…]
To ensure that if, in the event, an Interstate Commission were established, its powers and functions would be more in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution than those envisaged in the original Bill. [More…]