Skyring writes:
Ummm, that merely gives the definition of republic
you've already
quoted. I wasn't disputing that. What''s your definitive source for
saying the Queen is the head of state?
Well, as a committed republican I am actually interested in this
debate. So I put "Australia constitution" in Google, and went to the
Parliament of Australia's web-page, where I found something called
"Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act." Now I am no expert on
Australia so if this thing -- I mean Parliament or the Act -- have no
official standing, please tell me!
Anyway, I learned that the Act was itself enacted by HRH
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most
Excellent Majesty, by and with
the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:--
I then went to chapter 1, which is about the legistlative branch, and read
this:
1. The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be
vested in a Federal
Parliament, which shall consist of the Queen, a Senate, and a House of
Representatives, and which is herein-after called "The Parliament," or
"The Parliament of the Commonwealth. "
2. A Governor-General appointed by the Queen shall be Her Majesty's
representative in the Commonwealth, and shall have and may exercise in the
Commonwealth during the Queen's pleasure, but subject to this
Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be
pleased to assign to him.
I then went to chapter 2 which is about the Executive branch and it starts
like this:
61. The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested
in the Queen and is
exercisable by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative, and
extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and of the
laws of the Commonwealth.
I also learned that there is a republican movement in Australia (which
suggests to me that at least some Australians do not think they live in a
republic, yet). Well, this movement has a web-page that has a FAQ
section. The answer to the question, "Who is Australia's Head of State"
is:
Elizabeth II, the Queen of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, is
Australia's Head of State because:
The Constitution of Australia defines the Parliament as "the Queen, a
Senate, and a House of Representatives" and vests the Federal legislative
(law-making) power in the Parliament (section 1, Constitution).
The executive power (the governing and administrative power) of the
Commonwealth of Australia is vested in the Queen (section 61, Constitution).
The Queen has the power to disallow any law within one year of it being
made even after the Governor-General has given his assent (section 59,
Constitution).
The Governor-General only holds office "during the Queen's pleasure" which
means that the he can be dismissed by the Queen at any time (section 2,
Constitution).
Lastly, but probably most importantly in a symbolic sense, is the Schedule
to the Constitution that requires all Federal Parliamentarians to swear an
oath or declare an affirmation of allegiance to the Queen. This oath of
allegiance can only be changed by alteration of the Constitution unlike
the Citizenship Oath, which can be changed by an Act of Parliament, or the
Ministerial Oath which can be changed by Proclamation.
The "Australian Monarchist League" (motto: protecting Australia's
constitution) also seems to think Australia is not a republic. Their
web-page has an article by Sir David Smith (I'm not exactly sure what "Sir"
means in this context since I happen to live in a republic -- is this "sir"
like "Sir Lancelot?"), which begins:
Under our Constitution we have two Heads of State - a
symbolic Head of
State in the Sovereign, and a constitutional Head of State in the
Governor-General.
So look, I am not a constitutional lawyer. But these few quotes give me
the impression that the Queen has some role in that polity called
Australia. I am not sure that the Queen is head of state, maybe the
Governor-General is the head of state -- but it seems pretty clear that
s/he derives this status from the Queen.
Soooo ... can someone explain to me why there seems to be some controversy
over this matter?
Curiously yours,
Steve
Steven L. Rubenstein
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Bentley Annex
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701