When Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the Australian Constitution on 9 July 1900 making it law, the Australian nation was born. Each year, the National Archives celebrates Constitution Day on 9 July.
Why celebrate the Australian Constitution?
The Australian Constitution is the single most important document in Australia’s history. It outlines the powers of Australia’s federal and state governments, the court system, the frequency of elections, who can vote and stand for Parliament, and many other things affecting the day-to-day lives of Australians.
Its creation was a remarkably inclusive and democratic process. It was drafted in the 1890s by the six then self-governing colonies of Great Britain that came together to form a nation: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
The colonial people subsequently voted to ratify it, and the British Parliament passed an Act to legislate it.
A living document
The Constitution is a living document. It took some 10 years to write and involved heated arguments, compromise and much redrafting.
Throughout its history, it has continued to be discussed, debated, referred to the people 44 times for vote on amendments and changed eight times.
It continues to underpin our democracy and empower the citizens of our evolving nation.
Have your say
This blog features articles on the Constitution by leading Australians. Read their views, and have your say!
The 2011 forum, held in Darwin, included the Hon Jane Aagaard MLA, Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and Chair of the NT Constitutional Convention Committee; Professor Mick Dodson AM, member of the Yawuru people, and Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies and Professor of Law at the Australian National University; Marshall Perron, Northern Territory Chief Minister 1988–95; and Ken Parish, legal academic at Charles Darwin University and former Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1991–94.
Audio files of the National Archives’ Constitution Speakers Forum, are available on the ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas website.
- 2011 – A Constitution for all Australians: the Top End experience – recorded at Northern Territory Parliament House in Darwin on 30 June 2011
- 2010 – A Constitution for all Australians – recorded at Parliament House in Canberra on 1 July 2010
©National Archives of Australia 2010
July 8, 2011 at 5:31 am |
Watch a movie presentation of the Australian Constitution, other constitutional documents and other relative documents of our nation FOR FREE at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ozconstitution#grid/user/8A25C4B9C7F58B55
July 9, 2011 at 9:19 pm |
The Australian Constitution is a breathing document shrouded by smog. Attempts to clear the air have been thwarted and almost always by the same side of politics, the conservatives who seem to have an inability to understand why constitutional amendments are worthy of deeper consideration.
Yet they have opposed the inclusion of local government, prime minister, and many other accepted aspects of Australian society simply for the sake of opposing reform and progress.
The time has come for the people of Australia to start to consider why we need such reforms and how they would benefit them
July 10, 2011 at 2:58 am |
As there only “two sides of politics” in this country – a denial of the diversity in Australian society federally due to the electoral laws enacted on 1918 and 1924 in particular – Ango T. Kenos’ comment
is relevant. The conservative side of politics has undoubtedly been the most obstructive of the two-party tyranny when it comes to amending and updating the Australian Constitution. But on the ALP side basically only Gough Whitlam has been the driving force for change regrettably culminating in the rejection of the still modest reforms recommended in the four referendum questions of 1988. Comments like the Constitution being a “living document” and “underpinning our democracy” are therefore very unhelpful.They are almost laughable. One only has to think of the unlimited power of a P. M. to commit the country to war, without any kind of consultation. Yet, the two major parties have a no strategic plan for serious constitutional change. They are stuck in the past but the Constitution really has to be re-written in its entirety and the public will have to be involved in this in a big way. Such a push will have to come from a quite different force. Conceivably, the Indigenous people may well play a significant role in this process. It is therefore of interest that Mick Goodna’s address in Darwin proposes amendments to the current archaic document. He talked about removing Sections 25 and 51 xxvi, in addition inserting a new clause or preamble recognising the Indigenous people constitutionally, all long overdue of course. A referendum to be held before the next election could focus the public’s attention on the urgent need to re-write the Constitution. It could also highlight the plain fact that Australia’s two-party system has been a huge barrier standing in the way of effective constitutional amendment in Australia. As Mick rightly pointed out, support by both major parties would be needed for a referendum, proposed by the group he represents, to pass. The real long-term solution here is electoral system reform of course, something the major parties don’t want to know about either. I have published about this in several places and refer the reader to a recent article in the National Times which briefly explain this.
http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/proportional-representation-must-be-the-way-forward-for-australian-politics-20110429-1dzr6.html