THE CONSTITUTION

AND GROWING UP

 by Dr. Glen Sheil

Republicans claim that The Queen is our Head of State. They are wrong again and also claim that she is not an Australian, and she lives far away, and represents England overseas and not Australia.

They also claim Australians must "cut the apron strings" and "take the last small step to get rid of the vestiges of English Colonialism. Republicans claim that Asians (their own Monarchies and Despotism's aside) cannot understand our absent of State, and will trade with us better if we throw off the Colonial yoke! Republicans find the Union Flag in the hoist of our flag offensive, and they are pushing for a replacement depicting our freedom and independence."

Our Constitution, Crown and Government have done a lot of growing up since Federation on 1st January, 1901. Admittedly, it took England and Australia 30 years to realise that our Constitution had created a sovereign, independent nation, and that we had stripped the English Monarch of all her powers in Australia and given them to our Governor-General. Our Constitution was written with a view to having an absent Sovereign and the Sovereign did not even visit Australia for our first 54 years! When she did, we realised that she had no to perform any of the formal duties we required of her Parliament, quickly and unanimously, passed an Act in 1953 to her some power back but only for the time that she was in Australia. At the same time the Governor-General all the powers of the Crown. This situation has never been Incidentally, this Act made her an Australian citizen, just other immigrants who are all made Australian citizens by an of Parliament!

Originally the English Monarch appointed our Governors-General, acted under "Letters Patent" from the Monarch. After 30 we requested the Monarch cease this practice, and appoint "remove our Governor-General on the advice of our Prime Minister. This was assented to, and later we that our Governor-General stand in the same relationship to the Australian Parliament as the British Monarch stands to the Parliament. This was also agreed AUSTRALIA WAS ALREADY AN INDEPENDENT SOVEREIGN NATION IS BY THE FACT THAT NO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS WERE NECESSARY MAKE ANY OF THESE CHANGES.

Heads of State live in their own countries, cost big money for security, housing and transport. They represent their own country overseas and have a day to day hands-on-role for their governments. The Queen does not cost us one cent or play any part in the day-to-day running of Australia. In fact the English gave us seven Crowns, free, and much else besides, such as the English language, law and genius. We have never been to pay taxes or tribute to England.

After our period of English Colonial Government, we became six self-governing Colonies, each with its own Crown, and Governor. The Governors were initially and removed, by the English Monarch on the advice of Ministers, but now this is done on the advice of our elected State Premiers.

At Federation the six Crown Colonies created another Crown for their Federal Government. All these Crowns were children of the Crown, but they have grown up and they are now independent, sovereign Crowns. One day we may even have someone we think is worthy of wearing them. In the meantime the powers of the are exercised by our State Governors and our Governor- General.

In days of yore the Crown represented total power. Today it the denial of total power. While the Crown is at the head of all our great Institutions of State, nobody else be the head of any of them. Thus the Crown represents the ultimate and untouchable guarantee of our freedom and our genius.

Republicans resent the power the Crown denies them. They resent the Senate having the power to block supply to a rogue Government. resent the Governor-General's ability to sack a rogue Prime Minister.

The Crown and the Constitution are the rules by which we have by referendum, to be governed. We chose the Crown, it not forced on us by a jack-booted England. Any problems we now have are ours to fix - such as an unworldly High Court, that is raining down hammer blows on our Federation, and from whose decisions there is no appeal.

Republicans consider the Constitution "out of date for a modern, industrial multicultural society". They claim it is because it was written by men only, and had no input from Minorities and women. The wanton rebelliousness of the republicans shone out of the recent Constitutional Convention. They had no real proposition to put to the Convention. They could not agree that any of their four "models" should be put to a referendum. They do not even support the model that was deemed to win the most support!

Republicans claim, obviously erroneously, that there is a groundswell of public support for a republic; but how can there be, when they cannot answer the key question as to what sort of republic that 'groundswell supports? Never-the-less the republicans insist that they are no less 'Australians' for their BLATANT POWER GRAB. The important feature of all republican "models" is that they discard our Crown as well our Constitution. The fundamental requirements for Australia's democratic rule are: appointment of an apolitical Governor-General and the sacking of a rogue Governor-General, or a rogue Prime Minister, without causing a revolution. We have a simple way of doing this and all it causes is an election - what could be more democratic than an election? The reserve powers of the Governor-General are not a problem for us now, and all these jobs are done at no extra cost, and with no interference from the English Sovereign. Our Governor-General is his own man, responsible only to the Prime Minister and the Australian People. THE REPUBLICANS CAN OFFER US NOTHING THAT EVEN COMES NEAR WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY.

GLENISTER SHEIL.

18 March 1998