[WikiEN-l] Re: Queen Elizabeth II

Tue Mar 8 12:54:20 UTC 2005

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> Interesting. However, all laws must pass through the governor general 
> who is the Queen's representative. 
> 
> Also, a republic is a "a form of government whose head of state is not a 
> monarch; "the head of state in a republic is usually a president". 
> Despite what you've said, our head of state is the Queen. 
> 
> See http://www.republic.org.au/ARM-2001/q&a/qa_hos.htm - they ARM say that: 
> 
> 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). 
> 
> If the ARM can't get this right, then I don't know who can. 
> 
> TBSDY 

Your citation of the constitution only lends credence to Austrailia as a republic, the true "head of state" is the constitution.  All purported human heads are subject to the limitations of the constitution.  

Now if the queen or governer general could invalidate the constitution, you might have an argument that Austrailia was not a republic or true constitutional monarchy.  The fact that the constitution gives these positions their limited roles, makes Austrialia a type of republic, more correctly referred to as a constitutional monarchy, because that is more specific.

                        -- Silverback