DEVELOPMENT OF THE CROWN

by Dr Glen Sheil

The Crown has changed its role from representing total power of the Monarch to govern, to today, when Constitutional Monarchy means the Crown represents the denial of total power to govern, and returns the power to the subjects. In Australia, at the end of our period of Colonial Government, The British Crown gave us six Crowns for the use of our six original States. Originally the British Monarch appointed our State Governors, on the advice of British Ministers, and the State Governors operated under Letters Patent from the Monarch.

Gradually, and at our request, the benign hand of Britain was withdrawn as the States developed their own systems of government, with their own Crowns, Governors, Parliaments and Premiers; and the Monarch has still agreed to appoint, or remove the State Governors, on the advice of the democratically elected State Premiers. The States thus became sovereign and independent.

From the mid-1800s these Sovereign States debated the need for them to create a Federation. After a series of Conventions, the People decided by referendum that they wanted a Constitution enshrining Constitutional Monarchy as their form of Government. This was recommended to the British Government by the States. It was accepted and passed into legislation. Probably unnecessarily, but better than having something like the War of American Independence.

On 1st January 1901 Australia became a sovereign independent nation, with its own Crown, Governor-General, Parliament and Prime Minister. The Monarch was stripped of all the powers of the Crown in Australia, and these were passed to our Governor-General.

Nobody appeared to realise that this was what had actually happened, and the Monarch went on blithely appointing our Gs-G on the advice of British Ministers, and under Letters Patent from the Monarch. Gradually this was recognised as inappropriate, and once again at our request, the benign hand of Britain was gradually withdrawn, until now the G-G is appointed and removed by the Monarch on the advice of our democratically elected PM, and the Letters Patent have lapsed.

The Federal Crown is thus our own Australian Crown, as are the State Crowns. They could be regarded as children of the British Crown, which have now grown up, and are sovereign and independent. The golden thread to God is enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution. We have no one to wear any of our Crowns yet, but all the powers of the Crown are exercised by the State Governors and the G-G.

The Constitution is written with a view to having an absent Sovereign, which role the Queen graciously consents to still play, and the G-G remains her personal representative in Australia. Indeed, for our first 54 years no Monarch even visited Australia. But, when the Queen was due to visit officially in 1954, it was realised that she did not possess power to perform any of the formal functions we had requested of her. The Parliament passed the Royal Styles and Titles Act 1953, returning the powers of the Crown to the Queen, but only for the time she was personally present in Australia. At the same time the G-G kept all the powers of our Australian Crown. This position has never been abused, and has obviously been accepted as a Constitutional practice without objection.

Thus the essential role that the Crown plays in our Constitutional Monarchy is immediately apparent. Australian Office Bearers swear their Oaths of Allegiance to the Queen in her role as "The Queen of Australia". This is not anachronistic, as the republicans claim, because Her Majesty is still Queen of Australia, at our request, and by her grace.

Before the Whitlam Government was sacked by our G-G, for attempting to govern with money not granted to him by the Parliament, there was a fear in the States that his Government would threaten our Constitutional Monarchy. The Governments of both Queensland and Western Australia thereupon entrenched the Queen as Queen of their States. Entrenchment means that republicans, if they wish to displace our Constitutional Monarchy, will be required to put this entrenchment to the people of each State at referendum.

Under our Constitutional Monarchy the G-G is required to become apolitical on appointment, and to Govern for all the People, without fear or favour affection or ill-will. Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, an independent Judiciary and freedom of religion.

Our Constitutional Monarchy is a system of government where the Crown is the ultimate and untouchable guarantee of all our freedoms.

Glenister Sheil.

August 1998