The differece between the The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act and the The Constitution (1901), is that The Constitution itself can be changed by referendum. But the section which lays down the requirement (section 128) does not appear to apply to the rest of the Act. In 1900, when the Act was passed, it would certainly not have been intended that the covering clauses could be altered in Australia, by referendum or any other method. On the other hand, it is now equally clear that the British Parliament can no longer make laws for Australia, because the Australia Acts 1986 expressly say so. Two possible ways of altering the preamble and the covering clauses have been suggested. The first requires joint legislation of the Commonwealth and the all State Parliaments, using section 15 (1) of the Australia Acts. The second would need a referendum to change the Constitution to confer power to alter the covering clauses and the preamble. Given the fact that the Australian people usually are involved in constitutional change, the second way seems preferable in principle. But whatever the answer, there can be no doubt that, one way or another, the preamble and the covering clauses can now be altered by Australians, within Australia. A Republic has a legal right of passage to become the visible symbol of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 08:11:19 +0000
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