Australian Parliamentary Essay: The Australian Constitution

Australian Parliamentary Essay

Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901 when the British Parliament passed certain legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to regulate their own authority as part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia was established, and remains as, a constitutional monarchy, meaning that it was founded with a written constitution, and that the Australian head of state is also head of the Commonwealth (Queen Elizabeth II.) The Australian Constitution was initially drafted by several men in the 1890’s though it wasn't passed by the British Parliament until 1900 as part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. By definition the Australian Constitution is a composition

As well I will outline reasons why the Australian federal system of government is in its current state and what action can be taken to change it.

Before federation in 1901, Australia was not a nation. At that time, the Australian continent consisted of six British colonies (Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria) that were somewhat self-governing, however still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament. Each colony had its own government and laws, including its own rules and regulations on trade, transport and defence. This caused a lot of problems and people began to think about the benefits of uniting as one nation, under a federal system of governance. Under this system, powers would be distributed between a national government and the six States where the Constitution defines the boundaries of law-making powers between the Commonwealth and the States/Territories. One reason to federate was to achieve a united defence force which could better protect Australia. In the 1880s, Australian colonies became increasingly concerned with the large