Foundation for National Renewal
The "Model
Constitution" ActivityFederal Election October
2004:
Which Candidates Trust the People?
| Foundation for National Renewal The "Model
Constitution" Activity |
Federal Election October
2004: |
FOUNDATION FOR NATIONAL RENEWAL
Crafting a Model Constitution
TASK 32 - Monarchy or Republic?
Introduction
1. We now arrive at the question that is fundamental to our cause. Should our Model Constitution be framed to establish a Republic or a Monarchy? This is a question the whole meaning of which has been eroded over the last few years by the sometimes-divisive nature of the republican debate.
2. There are of course many options, but in absolute terms it seems we should choose between a constitutional monarchy and a constitutional republic. If we were to do what some have suggested, and replace the monarchy by some form of Crown Council whether elected or appointed, we would still be a republic.
3. Some Australians question the value of this entire debate by referring to our country as a crowned republic, and this is also a designation that could equally be applied to the United Kingdom, at least since 1688 when the Parliament of the UK gained ascendancy over the Crown. So crowned republic is really just another name for constitutional monarchy.
Who is our current Head of State?
4. The last few years have seen a rather futile debate between the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) and Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM) over the identity of our Head of State. The ARM has based its campaign largely on the proposition that we should have an Australian as our Head of State, and the ACM has replied that we already have one - the Governor-General.
5. Both sides have good arguments in their favour, but most of the official information tells it like it is - the Queen is our Head of State, but the Governor-General normally carries out the duties of the Head of State.
6. But what if we accept the argument that the Governor-General is our Head of State? Then our country has a Head of State who is subservient to another countrys Head of State, and who is required to swear allegiance to her before assuming office - hardly an ideal situation. In fact, it is probably worse than if we were to simply accept that the monarch of the UK is our Head of State.
Back to Basics
7. In all the tasks of our Model Constitution, we have tried to take a step back from the current situation and ask what we would do if we were drafting our Constitution from scratch. We should do the same with this task. We should approach this task uninhibited by the current situation or by the confusing debate that has raged since the lead up to the centenary of Federation in 2001. The basic questions are:
Do we need both a Head of State and a Prime Minister?
If we do need both, should we have a foreigner or an Australian as our Head
of State?
If we do need both, how should the Head of State be chosen?
If we do need both, what role should the Head of State perform?
If we need only one, should the leader of the Australian Nation be named the
President?
If we need only one, how should we choose the leader of the Australian
Nation?
8. In Tasks 11, 22, 24 and 29 we looked at the structure of government, at the role and powers of a Governor General and at the selection of a Head of Government or President in the case of Australia becoming a Republic. A suggested system of government that found favour with many members would result in a much more enhanced separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches of government than we currently have under the Westminster system. A majority also accepted that an elected President could perform all the roles currently performed by the Head of State and the Prime Minister. So we do have a generally agreed system of choosing a National Leader if we decide Australia should become a republic.
9. However, we are still to solicit your specific response to the question, Monarchy or Republic?
10. Monarchy: Some of the Options
Option 1. Retain the British monarchy as at present.
That is, the United Kingdom Laws of Succession determine who is to be the Australian Head of State and we have a Head of State who we share with 15 other countries. Most people recognise the need for someone in Australia - currently the Governor-General - to carry out the day-to-day tasks of Head of State. However, it has been suggested that today, with the Governor-General essentially being a creature of the Prime Minister, and with the Prime Minister increasingly trespassing on the Governor-Generals turf in ceremonial matters, we could simply do without the Governor-General while remaining a monarchy. While theoretically possible, the likelihood of this type of constitutional change occurring with our present system of government must be considered remote.
Option 2. We could create an Australian monarchy.
This could be achieved by importing a member of the British royal family and Australianising that person. Though probably not an option that most Australians can take seriously, this is very similar to what was done by Norway in 1905, when the Norwegian Parliament invited a Prince from Denmark to become the King of Norway. In view of recent interest in the Danish royal family, perhaps there would be public support for importing a Dane.
Alternatively, according to some constitutional authorities, a peculiarly Australian monarchy could theoretically come about without any action on Australias part. Since the passage of the Australia Act in 1986, if the UK Parliament were to amend the laws of succession, this amendment would not apply to Australia, as the UK Parliament cannot now legislate for Australia (except in very limited circumstances with the approval of all states). Therefore Australia and the UK would have different laws of succession and could end up with different monarchs.
Other constitutional lawyers scoff at such a suggestion, and maintain that whatever the letter of the law might now be, the entire thrust of our legal and constitutional tradition is that our monarch is whoever happens to be monarch of the UK. In their eyes, Queen (or King) of Australia equals Queen (or King) of the UK, and a genuinely Australian monarchy could only be created through conscious constitutional amendment by referendum.Option 3. We could create a rotating or elected monarchy.
In Malaysia, the Sultans, (the hereditary constitutional monarchs of the nine Malay states) choose a new monarch every five years. Some reference material speaks of the Malaysian king being elected by the Sultans, but in fact the kingship is rotated among the Sultans in a pre-defined order, that can only be altered in exceptional circumstances if the Sultans vote to disqualify the one whose turn has come.
Perhaps this time-limitation system would have some attraction to Australians, with our dislike of tall poppies. The problem is: where do we find the Australian equivalent of the Malay sultans? We could look to our indigenous people, but unlike the Maori in New Zealand, they have little tradition of hereditary rule. If we threw out the hereditary principle and looked to, for example, past captains of the national cricket team - or maybe only the successful ones - we would be creating a republic, not a monarchy. The closest republican equivalent to Malaysia is probably Switzerland; see republic option 4 below.
11. Republic: Some of the Options
Option 1. Non-executive Head of State in addition to Head of Government.
This represents little change from our existing system, and therefore forms the basis of most mainstream republican models. Five of the six models publicised by the Australian Republican Movement fall into this category:
Ψ
Prime Minister appoints the President
Ψ People nominate, Parliament appoints the President (the model rejected in the 1999 referendum)
Ψ Presidential Assembly (that is, an electoral college) appoints the President
Ψ People elect the President
Ψ People elect from Parliaments ListRegardless of the selection mechanism, these models all give the same type of Head of State: one whose role approximates that of the Queen and Governor-General in our current system, and who wields no real power in the normal processes of government.
Option 2. Two-headed Head of State.
It has been suggested that the Queen could be replaced by an Australian republican monarch who does very little, while we also keep the Governor-General as de facto Head of State, and the Prime Minister as Head of Government. It has even been suggested that the monarch could be selected at random from the population. The concept may be attractive to the ultra-minimalists who would like to see the smallest possible change to our existing Constitution. Those who favour a more adventurous approach to constitutional change, and are more conscious of the failings of the current system, might ask why we would bother to have three people sitting at the top, when one could do the job. It is also possible that this simplest change to our existing system could actually produce a more complex and unstable system than some other options, with interpersonal dynamics and media popularity-rankings playing too large a role.
Option 3. Executive President fills both roles.
The separation of the executive and legislative branches of government as we discussed in Task 11, facilitates an executive President type model. The Australian Republican Movements sixth model features a US-style elected President, but there are other options.
In Tasks 22 and 24, members gave strong support to the concept of a Head of Government who would operate essentially as an executive President, heading a government in which public service departmental heads would fulfil the role currently undertaken by Ministers. There was also considerable support for this Head of Government to be directly elected by the People and to fulfil both roles. The Government would be responsible to the Parliament.Option 4. Collective Presidency or rotating Presidency.
Switzerland is the best example. The Swiss Parliament elects a seven-member Federal Council, corresponding to the Ministry in our system (except that members of the Federal Council cannot be members of Parliament). Every year, the Federal Council elects one member of the Federal Council to be the Swiss President. The President is the Head of Government as well as Head of State. The Swiss system stands on its own, separate from both the Westminster system and the US system of full separation of powers. Those Australians who put great store in the intricacies of the reserve powers of the Governor-General, and the delicate balance of power under our Constitution, probably cannot understand how the Swiss system of government works so well. The key, no doubt, is the countrys deeply embedded culture of direct democracy, featuring citizen initiated referendums on many legislative as well as constitutional issues.
12. These options give some idea of the range of possibilities, beyond those normally canvassed by the media.
Task 32
Monarchy or Republic?
13. Your answer to the following questions will determine the underpinning of our Model Constitution.
Questions:
Q1. Should Australia be a Monarchy or a Republic? ..
Q2. Do we need both a Head of State and a Prime Minister? .
Q3. If we do need both, should we have a foreigner or an Australian as our Head of State?
Q4. If we do need both, how should the Head of State be chosen?
a. Nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Queen as at present? .
b. Nominated by the People and appointed by Parliament? (If yes, please elaborate on how you see the Peoples nominations being collected.)
c. Appointed by an electoral college? (If yes, please elaborate on how you see the Electoral College being chosen.) .
d. People elect from a list prepared by Parliament? .
e. Direct election by the People? (Please elaborate if your preferred method of nomination and election differs greatly from your response to Task 29.)
..
Q5. If we need both a Prime Minister and a Head of State, what roles should the Head of State perform?
Q6. Which of the options explored in paragraphs 10 & 11 above is closest to your vision of our future Head of State? (Please circle one.)
Monarchy: OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3
Republic: OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4
Feel free to expand on your preferences, or lay out an additional option, below.
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Last updated: 3 May 2006