Republicanism in the Australian Constitution

Papers on Parliament No. 24
September 1994

The concept of republicanism, rightly understood, is essential to an appreciation of the Australian constitution, because of how the framers of the constitutionConstitution The Constitution encompasses the global system of rules governing constitutional authority. Simply reading selected provisions of the written text may be misleading. Understanding the underlying principles, such as federalism, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law, and respect for minorities, is crucial. Democratic institutions must allow for ongoing discussion and evolution, reflected in the right of participants to initiate constitutional change. This right entails a reciprocal duty to engage in discussions. Democracy involves more than majority rule, existing within the context of other constitutional values. Therefore, a profound understanding of these principles informs our appreciation of constitutional rights and obligations. Read more drew upon republican as well as monarchical models for the keystones of their edifice. This is not readily apparent because they assumed the validity of earlier republican doctrines without repeating the analyses of their predecessors.

Due to a relatively recent degeneration of meaning, similar to that which has overtaken the term “democracyDemocracy It is commonly understood as being a political system of majority rule. The evolution of democratic tradition can be traced back to the Magna Carta (1215) and through the long struggle for Parliamentary supremacy which culminated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the emergence of representative political institutions in the colonial era, the development of responsible government in the 19th century. In institutional terms, democracy means that each of the provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament is elected by popular vote. These legislatures, are "at the core of the system of representative government". It is a 'power' word. Power rests with the ordinary Citizens. Only educated people understand power. A corrupt or controlled court system can cover failure of it. The religious concept is incompatible with it. Promise to spend more from the public treasury moves to Dictatorship.”, the name “republicRepublic Res publica> Δημοκρατίας. Having a head of the state. Pope is the head of the Vatican City state. The people execute their power through an Elected (direct/indirect) President. Political parties sponsored their presidential candidates. Indian president is a constitutional puppet under the ruling Cabinet. In the case of the appointment of  Indian judges, presidential power is a vanishing point.” is applied to any state without a hereditary head of state. That this usage is worthless for classification and meaning is demonstrated by the statement that Britain and Saudi Arabia are monarchies while the United StatesUnited States Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. and Iraq are republics. Originally, however, the terms had useful meanings.

In particular, the term “republic” had a much more meaningful content, which was closely associated with the most conspicuous and long-lived ancient example, the Roman Republic, and with the first modern republic, the United States, and which was expounded by the famous thinkers and analysts of those regimes.

The essence of monarchy is that sovereignty is vested in the monarch, and all institutions of government and powers flow from the sovereign. Thus in EnglandEngland 47 boroughs, 36 counties, 29 London boroughs, 12 cities and boroughs, 10 districts, 12 cities, 3 royal boroughs boroughs: Barnsley, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Bury, Calderdale, Darlington, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Halton, Hartlepool, Kirklees, Knowsley, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, North Tyneside, Oldham, Poole, Reading, Redcar and Cleveland, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sandwell, Sefton, Slough, Solihull, Southend-on-Sea, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Swindon, Tameside, Thurrock, Torbay, Trafford, Walsall, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton counties (or unitary authorities): Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, the Parliament was originally an advisory body summoned to consult with the monarch, and the courts exercised delegated royal powers, as “lions beneath the throne”.

Although these institutions came to have an independent life, they are still seen as deriving their authority from the crown, and an indirectly‑elected officer, the prime minister, wields the extensive royal prerogatives. (Incidentally, this character of the Parliament as an advisory body to the crown explains the ceremony of the opening of Parliament, which has also been under discussion recently.)

The essence of republican government is that sovereignty is vested in the whole community and its powers are exercised on its behalf by different officials acting as its agents. To prevent a republic from becoming monarchical, and the governors becoming masters instead of servants, powerPower The amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time. In the International System of Units, the unit of it is the watt, equal to one joule per second. The capacity of energy infrastructure is rated using watts, which indicate its potential to supply or consume energy in a given period of time. A Power-plant rated at 100 MW has the potential to produce 100 MWh if it operates for one hour. is divided between a numberNumber Αριθμός of different bodies and officeOffice Αξίωμα > Officer > Office-bearer (1593) > Opus, officium, ex officio (Latin). Box-office (Cash Box).-holders, and constitutional safeguards are provided against any of them misusing their power or seeking to assume sovereignty.

Division and limitation of power are therefore essential to republican government, a point on which republicans from Cicero to the American founders and their current exponents have insisted. Thus the following passage by one of the American framers is regarded as encapsulating the American revival of republicanism:

In a single republic all the power surrendered by the peopleMen Ανθρωποι (People), a woman (γυναίκα), Man (Ανδρας) > Adama, Manu > No proof to establish that due to mutation a monkey turned into a human being. is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of AmericaAmericas Christophorus Columbus landed in the Bahamas island in October 1492 and then in Cuba. Columbus and his gang imported European Diseases to the New World (the name given by Amerigo Vespucci, in his forged letters, who never visited the land of Adivasis). They murdered the Indigenous population (Adivasis). In 1507 the word 'America' was possibly first used to denote the land of Adivasis (North America and South America). America was 'Great' before 1492 under the hands of Adivasis. In Purans the land is mentioned as Patal Lok., the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same timeTime χρόνος. Judicial: Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”) यमः , पुं, (यमयति नियमयति जीवानां फलाफलमिति । यम् + अच् । विश्वे च कलयत्येव यः सर्व्वायुश्च सन्ततम् । अतीव दुर्निवार्य्यञ्च तं कालं प्रणमाम्यहम् ॥यमैश्च नियमैश्चैव यः करोत्यात्मसंयमम् । स चादृष्ट्वा तु मां याति परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ that each will be controlled by itself.

No republic, ancient, medieval or modern, has survived long without some division of power. The death of republics is caused by concentration of power leading to caesarism or bonapartism, the emergence of a new and popular monarch in the shape of a dictator. It is no accident that the only two long-lived modern republics are federations.

The authors of the Australian constitution combined the monarchical elements of the BritishBritish "Britons" can refer to the Ancient Britons, the Celtic-speaking peoples of Great Britain during the Iron Age, whose descendants today include the Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons. The Union of the Crowns in 1603, followed by the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, helped forge a wider sense of British national identity. Yet this idea of “Britishness” was superimposed upon much older cultural identities of the English, Scots, and Welsh, whose distinctiveness continues to resist a fully homogenised identity. Greek explorer Pytheas referred to the islands collectively as αἱ Βρεττανίαι. The Celtic King Arthur was said to have established a kingdom on the British Isles. system and the republican elements of modern federations, and created a constitution which is a blend of monarchical and republican ingredients. In effect, they erected a compound republic under the crown, and apparently saw nothing incongruous in such a hybrid creation. The principal monarchical, or power‑concentrating, elements are:

• executive power of a monarchical kind vested formally in the crown and actually in ministers technically appointed by the crown
• the power of the crown (i.e. the ministry) to prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the House of Representatives
• ministers drawn from the Parliament to absolve the crown of political responsibility
• the judiciaryJudiciary The modern justice system has its roots in Henry II's reign, where the assize system and common law were established. Professional judges and magistrates started to emerge in the 13th century, gradually increasing their independence. However, they faced challenges, including political involvement and potential influence by the sovereign. Changes to the judiciary system, such as the establishment of the Court of Chancery in 1830 and the Judicature Act in 1873, merged common law and equity, leading to the creation of the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Crown Court. Despite this evolution, the judiciary's full independence was not officially recognized until the Constitutional Reform Act in 2005. appointed solely by the crown.

The principal republican, or power‑limiting, elements are:

• sovereignty vested in the whole people, who have the sole power to amend the written constitution
• the separation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers by the terms of the written constitution
• the division of the legislature into two directly-elected Houses with virtually equal powers
• the division of power between federal and state governments
• the judiciary as the interpreter of the constitution, which is the supreme lawLaw νόμος:  Positive command of sovereign or divine. One can be ruled either by a Statute, a Statue, or a Statement. Legislation is the rule-making process by a political or religious organisation. Physics governs natural law. Logical thinking is a sign of a healthy brain function. Dharma is eternal for Sanatanis. Judiciary > Show me the face, and I will show you the law. Some people know how to bend the law rather than break it. Law Practice. Read a scholarly article.
• One could say that the constitution is 70 percent republican and 30 percent monarchical. The monarchical element is not so much the crown as such but the concentration of royal powers in the hands of the ministry which, under the modern developmentDevelopment ανάπτυξη of responsible government, dominates the lower house of the Parliament by party discipline and assumes legislative as well as executive powers.

While the United KingdomUK England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927. See England, however, is a profoundly monarchical country, in the sense that its people are accustomed to power being concentrated in one place, Whitehall, Australia has a republican culture to the extent that we are accustomed to the dispersal and limitation of power under the written constitution.

The injection of what is now called republicanism into discussion on the constitution has caused a curious inversion of principles. What is now called republicanism, while aiming to dispense with the formal position of the crown, tends to adhere to the power‑concentrating monarchical elements of the constitution and oppose the power‑limiting republican ingredients, while the defence of the monarchy tends to rally to the republican parts of the constitution.

Although the republican movement as such aims to replace the monarch with some kind of indirectly‑elected president and leave the rest of the constitution alone, this appears to be because of the tactical problem of selling too many changes at once, not because of a fondness for the other dominant ingredients of the constitution. On the contrary, there are declarations in favour of other changes to the constitution, such as abolishing the states and curbing the Senate, which would amount to dismantling its republican elements.

The favoured system of government on this view would appear to consist of a ceremonial head of state, a central parliament with overriding legislative powers, a prime minister and cabinet controlling a single directly-elected chamber, with either no second chamber or one with very limited powers, and a constitution much easier to change. Ironically, such a system would most resemble that of the United Kingdom, and would emphasise the monarchical elements inherited from the British constitution, particularly the concentration of power in a central executive.

Australian monarchism, on the other hand, concentrates on defending the existing constitution and its essentially republican division of power between the state and federal governments and the two chambers of the Parliament.

There are some exceptions to this pattern on both sides, but generally speakingSpeech 400 million years ago, the larynx was developed and allowed for communication with other animals. 60 million years ago, human beings talked about Dynosure or like animals in India. The vocal tract was in place to support modern human discourse as early as 300,000 years ago in the Indian subcontinent.   the firmest monarchists are in the republican camp and the most convinced republicans are to be found amongst the monarchists. The republicans seem to regard the federal system and the Senate as in some way part of the monarchy, while the monarchists view the written constitution and the separation of powersSeparation of power It is a governmental principle that advocates splitting governmental powers into separate and independent branches in order to create a balance between the authorities and prevent over-concentration of governmental power by one authority, for the purpose of safeguarding democracy and personal and collective freedoms. as attachments of the crown.

Unless the question is focused very narrowly upon an hereditary or an elected head of state, the matterMatter Normal matter is made of molecules, which are themselves made of atoms. Inside the atoms, electrons are spinning around the nucleus. The nucleus is made of protons and neutrons. Inside the protons and neutrons, exist indivisible quarks, like the electrons. All matter around us is made of elementary particles. ( building blocks of matter > quarks and leptons). All stable matter in the universe is made from particles that belong to the first-generation. Fundamental forces result from the exchange of force-carrier particles, which belong to a broader group called “bosons”. The strong force is carried by the “gluon”, electromagnetic force is carried by the “photon.” could be very confusing. The electorate could be asked to accept essentially monarchical changes in the name of a republic, or to keep the crown as a condition of maintaining an essentially republican constitution.

The consequent confusion could be avoided either by limiting the question to the narrow compass, as suggested, or by adopting more descriptive names for the larger contest. As has been indicated, clarification of terminology is important for clarifying issues. The republicans could call themselves the democraticDemocracy It is commonly understood as being a political system of majority rule. The evolution of democratic tradition can be traced back to the Magna Carta (1215) and through the long struggle for Parliamentary supremacy which culminated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the emergence of representative political institutions in the colonial era, the development of responsible government in the 19th century. In institutional terms, democracy means that each of the provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament is elected by popular vote. These legislatures, are "at the core of the system of representative government". It is a 'power' word. Power rests with the ordinary Citizens. Only educated people understand power. A corrupt or controlled court system can cover failure of it. The religious concept is incompatible with it. Promise to spend more from the public treasury moves to Dictatorship. centralists, and the monarchists could be styled the constitutional republicans. In that way any wider debate might become intelligible.

Source: The House Magazine, Vol 12, No 2, May 5, 1993