In November, 1999, Australians will vote in a referendum to decide whether Australia should change our constitution to become a republic, with an Australian Head of State.
[ what is a republic? ]
There are many different forms of republic in the world. Their common
feature is that the head of state is not a monarch. The proposed model for
the Australian republic is not copied from the particular form of republic
adopted in any other country.
[ what would the changes be? ]
If the change to a Republic is approved at the referendum, the President
would become Australia's head of state, replacing the Queen and the
Governor-General.
The President would have the same powers that the Governor-General now has. Like the Governor-General, the President would act on the advice of ministers and would not be an executive President as in the United States.
The name 'Commonwealth of Australia' would be retained.
[ when would the changes take effect? ]
If endorsed at the referendum, the change to a republuc would take effect
on January 1, 2001.
[ if australia becomes a republic can it remain in the commonwealth of
nations? ]
Yes. Within the Commonwealth there are republics (South Africa),
constitutional monarchies with Queen Elizabeth II as monarch (ie: Canada,
New Zealand) and constitutional monarchies with their own monarchs (ie:
Malaysia), all of which acknowledge the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations.
[ how would the president be chosen? ]
The President would be chosen as follows:
- a broadly representative committee of 32 Australians would be established, with 16 members appointed from the community by the Prime Minister and 16 others drawn from the Commonwealth, State and Territory parliaments;
- the committee would invite public nominations for the office of President before preparing a report, including a shortlist, for the Prime Minister;
- after considering the report, the Prime Minister would present a single nomination, seconded by the leader of the Opposition, to a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives (the two houses of the Commonwealth Parliament); and
- the nominated person would be appointed as President if the nomination is affirmed by a two-thirds majority of that joint sitting.
The Prime Minister, if nominating a person not shortlisted by the committee would need to inform the Commonwealth Parliament of the reasons for the alternative nomination.
[ what qualifications would the president need? ]
Only an Australian citizen who is eligible to seek election as a member
of the Commonwealth Parliament could be put forward by the Prime Minister
for the office of President. A person could not be put forward by the Prime
Minister if that person is a member of a political party, the Commonwealth
Parliament, a State Parliament or Territory Legislature. A person nominated
for the office of President who held dual nationality would have to take all
reasonable steps to renounce that other nationality.
[ how long would the president hold office? ]
The term of office would be five years. A President could be nominated
for additional terms.
[ how could the president be removed? ]
The Prime MInister may, by instrument signed by the Prime Minister, remove
the President with effect immediately. If the Prime Minster took this action,
they would then have to seek the approval of the House of Representatives
within 30 days unless an election is called. If a majority of the House
should refuse the approve the Prime MInsiter's action, there are likely to
be political consequences for the Prime Minster, but the President would not
be reinstated. The longest serving State Governor would act as President
until a new President was appointed.
[ how was this model developed? ]
This model was devloped by the Constitutional Convention held in February 1998. Half of the 152 delegates were appointed by the Government, including delegates from every State and Territory, community, government, indigenous and youth representatives. The other half were elected by Australian voters in a voluntary postal ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission.
The Prime Minister asked the Convention to consider three questions:
- whether or not Australia should become a republic;
- which republic model should be put to voters to consider against the current system of government; and
- in what timeframe and under what circumstances might any change be considered.
A majority of the Convention voted for Australia becoming a republic. The Convention looked at several different models for choosing a head of state, including direct election, appointment by a Constitutional Council, and appointment by Parliament. No model gained an absolute majority; the model with the greatest support was the 'bipartisan appointment of the President' model which involves appointment by a two-thirds majority of a joint sitting of the Commonwealth Parliament.
[ what about the states? ]
In addition to the links at Commonwealth level, the six States also
have links to the Queen, and the State Governors are her representatives
in matters of State government. If the referendum is carried in November,
the links at Commonwealth level would be severed from January 1, 2001.
The referndum would not affect the links at State level, but all States
have indicated they would consider whether to sever or maintain those links.
In four states, a State Referndum would be required if the State Constitution
were to be altered.
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