CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT (PLEDGE OF LOYALTY) BILL 2004 (NSW)

Next month, the New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Council will be considering a Bill that amends the NSW Constitution. This Bill, if passed, would require Members of the NSW Parliament and NSW Ministers to take a pledge of loyalty to Australia and the people of NSW instead of swearing allegiance to the Queen of Australia. A similar Bill is underway in Western Australia.


The ever increasing willingness for most State Parliaments to amend their Constitutions without reference to the people is anachronistic in modern Australia. State Constitutions should only be changed by referendum by the people of a State!


That said, there are other issues. For example, the late Richard McGarvie in his book "DEMOCRACY choosing Australia's republic" stated:


With the power from the Australia Acts, the Commonwealth Parliament, by Acts supported by the State Parliaments, can amend the provision in the Statute of Westminster that precludes it from amending the Commonwealth Constitution, the covering clauses or the preamble.


(Further reading on this issue can be viewed at http://www.statusquo.org/aru_html/html/const_safe.html)


Clearly, the Commonwealth Parliament should use its power under Section 15(3) of the Australia Acts to either remove the obnoxious Section 15(1) of the Australia Acts or amend it to require a referendum in each State.


To further enhance Australia's collective democracies, Section 106 of the Australian Constitution should also be amended to require that State Constitutions only be changed by State referenda.


(Further reading on this issue can be viewed at http://www.statusquo.org/aru_html/html/const_change.html )


A letter relating to the NSW Constitution Amendment (Pledge of Loyalty) Bill 2004 which has been delivered to each of the Members of the NSW Legislative Council yesterday is shown below for your information:


In May 2005, yourself and other members of the NSW Legislative Council will consider the abovementioned bill to amend the NSW Constitution. This Bill, if passed, would require Members of Parliament and Ministers to take a pledge of loyalty to Australia and the people of NSW instead of swearing allegiance to the Queen of Australia.


A similar change to the Australian constitution would require a referendum; in other words, the people of NSW do not enjoy total sovereignty over their parliament as do the people of Australia federally. Accordingly, the NSW Constitution is light years behind the Australian Constitution in terms of "democracy for the people by the people"!


Until the introduction of the Australia Acts (1986), all laws in NSW weresubject to theUnited Kingdom's Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865. The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 constrained the NSW parliament in its ability to amend the NSW constitution. However, since the introduction of the Australia Acts, much of the NSW Constitution can now be changed without a referendum or without external constraint. Additionally, section 106 of the Australian Constitution provides no further protection for the State Constitutions other than confirming that they remain unaltered until changed in accordance with the Constitution of the State! In the Sydney Morning Herald of 19 January 2001, Professor Cheryl Saunders in her article "Updating Our Democracy" stated:

• Fundamental rules about the acquisition of power cannot confidently be left to those who presently hold power or who have regular prospects of doing so.

Clearly, changing a constitution without a referendum does not conform which such sentiment.


That said, and whether or not the Council chooses to approve the Bill in its current form is dependent on whether or not Council members believe they are above the sovereignty of the people of NSW. Alternatively, if the Council votes to approve the Bill with an amendment to require a referendum to let the NSW people also have their say on this issue then democracy in NSW will be considerably enhanced. Such action would also allow for the Legislative Assembly to either abandon the Bill or allow for the procedure at section 5B of the NSW Constitution to systematically take place.

Accordingly, I commend to all members of the Council to add an amendment to require a referendum should they choose to approve the changes provided for in the Bill so that the people of NSW can also have their democratic say. If not, what other parts of the NSW Constitution will be changed in the future without the will of the people of NSW?

Letter to MLC Members.pdf

Email Address: support@statusquo.org


Website: http://www.statusquo.org

OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME AND NOW OUT OF CYBERSPACE; WHAT NEXT?

Not content with kicking the Governor out of Government House, Premier Bob Carr appears now to have removed any mention of the Governor from the New South Wales Parliament's web site. The Governor of New South Wales is the only Governor who does not have her own independent web site. All of the the other 5 states provide substantial - and stand alone - web sites for their Governor. In the main, these sites carry a wealth of information about the functions they attend and the speeches they have made. The Governor-General also has an independent and significant web site. No such service is provided to the people of New South Wales. They have no way of knowing what their Governor is doing and has done. They are not able to get any of the speeches she has made in an easy and quick manner. It would make one wonder if the Governor has been locked away in "the Tower". But maybe there is something more sinister down the track for New South Wales!

If the Labor Party wins the forthcoming federal election it will mean coast-to coast Labor dominated legislatures across the nation. That in itself is not the issue. The issue is that it would be far more likely for all State Labor Parliaments to resurrect their "Australia Acts (Request) Act 1999" to request the Commonwealth Government to amend Section 7 of the Australia Acts (Clth & UK) so that the States can become republics independently of the Commonwealth and without the will of the people.


While New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia have since repealed those Acts, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia have no plans to do so. This would mean that Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia could easily amend the commencement date of those Acts to some other date that is convenient to the States. New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia could easily reintroduce new similar legislation in quick time. It is interesting to note that in New South Wales it took less than one month from when their Australia Acts (Request) Act 1999 was introduced to when it received Royal Assent!


But even more sinister and and equally convoluted is that a similar action (as explained by the late Richard McGarvie in his book "Democracy - choosing Australia's republic") could lead the Commonwealth Parliament with power from the Australia Acts, and by Acts supported by the state Parliaments, to amend the provision in the Statute of Westminster that precludes it from amending the Commonwealth Constitution, the covering clauses or the preamble. That means the Commonwealth constitution could be amended without the will of the people. Accordingly, and if a Labor wins the next federal election, Labor could hold a plebiscite to simply ask the people if they want a republic and if the people indicate "yes" then the Government could amend the constitution to make Australia a republic without any further consultation with the people.


And what next you may ask! As we well know the NSW Government intends removing the requirement for Ministers of the Crown to make an Oath of Allegiance to the Queen of Australia! And after that! Don't be surprised if you see "Bob the builder" down at Government House making some renovations before he moves in!


Email Address: support@statusquo.org

Website: http://www.statusquo.org

CARR USES REPUBLIC TO HIDE HEALTH AND TRANSPORT PROBLEMS

The report in the Sunday Telegraph of 2 May that NSW Premier Bob Carr will reintroduce a Bill to change the oath that our elected public servants will take in lieu of swearing allegiance to the Queen of Australia is a ruse to try and hide the mismanagement of the health, education and transport portfolios in NSW. A similar Bill didn't get off the ground when it was dumped in the Upper House in the mid 1990s.


The Report in the Sunday Telegraph alluded that our elected public servants swear allegiance to Queen Victoria. Of course, that is not the case as Section 6 of the Oaths Act 1900 provides for the substitution of the name of the incumbent Sovereign. This is consistent with the Australian Constitution in which a similar oath makes reference to Queen Victoria. The Oath contained in the Australian Constitution also provides for the substitution of the incumbent Sovereign's name in lieu of Queen Victoria!


However, a more disturbing issue about Mr Carr's proposal is that the Section 12 of the NSW Constitution Act 1902 may also have to be changed. Although that section states that an oath of allegiance will be taken in the form prescribed by the Oaths Act 1900, that section also provides for certain procedures relating to the demise of the Sovereign in respect of the Successor to the Crown.


The people of New South Wales do not own their constitution; in the main, it belongs to the elected public servants. Most of the NSW Constitution - including Section 12 - can be amended or repealed without reference to the people of NSW. If Mr Carr was serious about making our State more democratic he would make sure that no part of the New South Wales Constitution could be amended or repealed without a State referendum.


Mr Carr should take note of a statement made by Professor Cheryl Saunders in her article about the Australian Constitution in the Sydney Morning Herald of 19 January 2001 viz: "Fundamental rules about the acquisition of public power cannot confidently be left to those who presently hold power or who have regular prospect of doing so". Surely that premise applies to the New South Wales Constitution as well!

If Mr Carr really believes in democracy, the first thing he would do is have a referendum to allow the NSW people to gain ownership of their constitution. No changes to our State Constitution should be made until that happens!