2. The Foundation is an independent, non-partisan organisation and is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as a non-profit organisation.

3. We are concerned that the Constitution, which should be the foundation stone of our society, is no longer a living, vital part of our everyday lives as it should be. Our Constitution is in fact part of a 1900 British act of Parliament, is obscure, littered with spent and redundant passages and is becoming increasingly out-dated.

5. We believe all this to be a dangerous deficiency in the basic fabric of our society: A deficiency that endangers the very heart of our democracy.

6. Our Constitution, brilliantly successful one hundred years ago in achieving Federation, in bringing six separate and independent Colonial Governments to give up some of their powers to a newly created central government for the good of the Australian People as a whole, is now more divisive than it is unifying.

7. We believe that a constitution is the instrument with which the members of a society establish the way in which they wish to be governed. As such, a constitution should be written by the People for the People and should be updated by the People as they see the need.

8. Our founding fathers included Section 128 in our Constitution to allow for changes to be made as times and the needs of our society changed. With great perception, Section 128 was drafted to ensure that our Constitution could be amended only by the People voting at a referendum. Unfortunately, our Constitution does not allow for the People to initiate any changes to be put to referendum. Consequently, when it comes to constitutional reform, we are in the hands of politicians who are unlikely to initiate the sort of referenda that will give power back to the People where it belongs.

9. Because of perceived difficulties with changing the Constitution, legislative and judicial processes are currently being employed to alter our system of government. We view these developments with grave disquiet. They are a piecemeal approach and are occurring without the consent of the people.

10. The Foundation currently has one, and only one, firm, specific policy with regard to constitutional reform: Section 128 should be amended to allow citizens to initiate referenda to change the constitution.

11. However, the Foundation takes the view that many of the ills of modern Australian society can be addressed only through fundamental constitutional change. These problems include;

1. Failure of Governments at various levels to address pressing issues due to the confusion of responsibilities between Federal, State and Local Governments.
2. Federal versus State funding.
3. Lack of uniformity of laws across our Country.
4. Competition rather than co-operation between ten separate Governments each vying for the upper hand.
5. Lack of definition in our laws. (The "Reserve Powers", common law, the rights and freedoms of Citizens, land tenure, the place of Aborigines in our society, ‘cross-vesting’ to name just a few.)
6. The perception, held by a large proportion of our population, of powerlessness and alienation from our democratic institutions.

How will we operate?

12.  We plan to have a branch in every village and suburb across the Nation.  Each branch will have a maximum of ten members to ensure all voices are heard.

13.  In conjunction with our role of stimulating education and debate on constitutional issues, we propose to commence the process of crafting a “Model Constitution” for Australia.  The aim is to craft a constitution that will articulate exactly the sort of society Australians would aspire to if we could ‘start from scratch’.  To do this, we will need to involve Australians from all walks of life including those from NES and ATSI backgrounds.  Our society is no longer the mono-cultural society our current Constitution was drafted to serve.

14.  The purpose of this ‘Model Constitution’ is to provide a focus and a context for future debate on amendment or replacement of the existing Constitution.

15.  As each item of the ‘Model Constitution’  comes up for discussion during the crafting process, the Foundation will arm each branch with as much information as is possible.  This information will include:

1.  What our current Constitution says on each  subject and a plain language explanation of what it means.

2.  Several views on what deficiencies, if any, are perceived.

3.  What a number of other constitutions say on the matter.

4.  Perhaps some suggestions as to what a ‘Model Constitution’ might say.

16.  It is envisaged that email will be used wherever possible for communication between elements of the organisation.  The general public and the media will be kept informed via the Foundation’s website.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to and become part of the constitutional history of Australia.  The activities will be a rewarding experience and the Foundation for National Renewal invites you to participate.  If you would like to be part of this exciting new development, simply complete and forward an Application for Membership, or contact the Foundation by email at constitution@national-renewal.org.au