The Australian Federal Constitution

A Guide to Net Resources

(Other Papers and Resources of Interest)

This page was last updated on 31 January 2003.

[The Australian Federal Constitution: Net Resources (top level page)]
[About the Constitution] [About the Institutions & Processes] [About (Constitutional) History]
[Texts of the Constitution (& Other Important Statutes)]
[Discussion of Constitutional Issues (A-E) (F-K) (L-Z)] [Discussion of Particular Provisions]
[Other Papers on Constitutional Matters] [Other Papers of Interest]
[Useful Tools & Places]

Caution: this is only a subpage of my Australian Constitution Resource Guide site. Links should be made instead to http://www-personal.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/constitution/

Other Papers of Interest
Accountability of Ministerial Staff? (191K) By Ian Holland. 25 June 2002. Touches on s49, especially the powers of the house of the Commonwealth Parliament (and the Senate in particular) to call witnesses. A current issues brief from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. "There are no known constitutional hurdles preventing ministerial staff from giving evidence to parliamentary committees, though governments regularly suggest that conventions of Westminster government imply that ministerial staff answer to the minister, not the parliament. However, while both sides of politics have in opposition sought to assert the Senate's right to call witnesses such as ministerial advisers, both sides have while in government sought to resist the Senate." Acting Judges--A Non-Theoretical Danger By Justice Michael Kirby. Speech delivered in 21 September 1998 to the NSW Young Lawyers' Conference, Sydney. At the Justice Kirby's Papers website. "From a truly exceptional form of judicial appointment, usually preliminary to permanent confirmation when a sitting judge retired and a position became available to be filled, the situation has now been reached in New South Wales, at least, that acting judicial appointments constitute a most significant part of the judicial branch of government." After Port Arthur--Issues of Gun Control in Australia By Jennifer Norberry, Derek Woolner, and Kirsty Magarey. A current issues brief of 1996 at the Federal Parliamentary Library site. Also look at various constitutional aspects (chiefly on the question of which heads of power might sustain federal gun control legislation). Attacks on Judges: A Universal Phenomenon By Justice Michael Kirby. Delivered to a meeting of the American Bar Association, 6 January 1998. At the High Court's website. A justice responds to the critics. (Abstract: "In this paper Justice Kirby of the High Court of Australia reviews contemporary evidence of increasing attacks, many personal, on members of the senior judiciary in several common law countries. The phenomenon is illustrated by reference to instances in England and New Zealand, as well as in Australia and the United States.") The Attorney-General, Politics, and the Judiciary By L. J. King QC (a former Attorney-General for South Australia). At the Judicial Conference of Australia's site. Presented to the Fourth Annual Colloquium of the Judicial Conference of Australia in November 1999. "The recent spate of controversy between the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, Mr Darryl Williams QC, and eminent persons associated with the judiciary past and present, about the part which the Attorney-General should play of defending the courts and the judiciary from criticism, has focused attention upon the role of the Attorney-General as it has evolved in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to try to understand the contemporary role of the Attorney-General in the legal and political system and to examine some of the implications of that role for various functions performed by the Attorney-General." An Australian Bill of Rights By Michael Mansell. At AustLII's Documents of [Aboriginal] Reconciliation and Constitutional Issues: Seminar 3 site. Despite the title, not much to do with a "bill of rights" per se. The National Secretary of the "Aboriginal Provisional Government" discusses Aboriginal rights in terms of Aboriginal sovereignty, self-determination, and special Aboriginal seats in Parliament. ("The proposal: enact a new section 127 to provide: 'The right of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders to self determination is confirmed.'") Australian Democracy: Modifying Majoritarianism? By Arend Lijphart. Papers on Parliament: Collection No. 34. August 1999. Majoritarian electoral systems v proportional representation from a socio-economic perspective (in an attempt to show which has the better record of governing). No constitutional matters discussed, but does make a number of observations on the characteristics of Westminster and "Westminster-adapted" systems. Australian Federation Excerpts of an interview with Sir Ninian Stephen for the "Millennium Dilemma" series by Jane Innes. From the Ask the Expert pages at the Discovering Democracy site. Answers such questions as "Have there been any big changes in Australia's Constitution since 1901?" The Australian Loan Council By Richard Webb. 18 June 2002. Research note at the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library site. An overview of the Council. Not about constitutional matters as such, but the Loan Council arose out of ss105 and 105A of the Constitution (with the latter being added in 1928 because of doubts about the constitutionality of the Commonwealth-State Financial Agreement of 1928 on which the Loan Council was based). "Beer and Cigs Up!": A Recent History of Excise in Australia (87K) No author. A background paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. The Birthing of Laws By Kim Beazley MP. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. An awkward title, and an occasional tendency to stray towards a mildly partisan perspective (for example, mention is made of "a reformist Labor Government", and at one point a chiding note enters: "Unlike the Liberals, we do have votes!", by which he means in Caucus as distinct from Parliament), but for all that a candid look from a politician's perspective at the process, both inside and outside Parliament, of law making (or "law birthing", to adopt the language of the title). One point worth noting: the section on "The House of Representatives" is only a fraction of the length of those assigned to "The Role of Caucus" and "Senate Consideration". "I have to say that anticipation of Senate changes sometimes lowers the level of House of Representatives scrutiny [of bills]. There is something of a tendency on both sides to assume that only the Senate will consider serious changes, so 'why bother' with heated debate on any suggested detailed changes in the House. Getting the stuff out of the House quickly to give the Senate more time is certainly a consideration for ministers." The Blessings of the Constitution By Justice Michael Kirby. A paper to the Constitutional Centenary Foundation in August 1996. At the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy website. A wide ranging essay on the Federal Constitution, touching on (inter alia) the Crown, Parliament, external affairs, Aboriginal matters, and the courts. Can Private Government Contractors Claim Crown Immunities? By Christos Mantziaris. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. A brief look at an issue (not touched on in this research note) which might potentially have some constitutional aspects. Choice of Law in Tort--The Song that Never Ends By Janey Greene. In Federal Law Review Vol. 26 No. 2 (1998). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. Touches on s118 and related matters. The Civil War We Never Had By Professor Geoffrey Bolton. [Note: Moved to the Secession topic under Discussion of Particular Issues.] A Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians? (169K) By Dr Andrew Brien. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Includes a look at the constitutional aspects. Commission on Government: Western Australia Established by the Parliament of WA. Includes the commission's five reports (in PDF and HTML) plus various discussion papers (in PDF). Looks at a number of matters (from a State perspective, and WA in particular) of constitutional interest, of which the following is only a selection: The Legislative Assembly WA's lower house of the State Parliament. History, electoral system, etc. The Legislative Council WA's upper house of the State Parliament. History, electoral system, etc. The Constitution as the Foundation of Good Government The historical background to government in Western Australia, brief look at the legislature, executive, judiciary, along with the commission's recommendations. Changing Constitutional Laws Community Participation in Parliamentary Committees: Opportunities and Barriers (111K) By Kate Burton. Sections 49 & 50 get a brief mention in relation to the question (briefly looked at) where the Senate and House of Representatives obtain the power to set up parliamentary committees. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. A Comparison of the Australian, British and American Political Systems By R.J. Kilcullen. A lecture for Macquarie University's POL167: Introduction to Political Theory course. Competing Mandates in Australian Politics By Liz Young. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. "What is a mandate?", "are mandates reserved for governments?", etc. Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom: British Solutions to Universal Problems By Lord Irvine of Lairg. The 1998 National Heritage Lecture given at the US Supreme Court, 11 May 1998. The British Lord Chancellor offers his perspective on "protecting fundamental rights", "changing conceptions of the rule of law", and other matters. A brief mention of the High Court of Australia and the implied rights cases. Constitutionalism No author. University of New England Constitutionally Entrenching our Flag By David Jull MP. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1996. Best described as an attempt to explain why "the Coalition Government is firmly committed to keeping our flag as it is" but chose not to constitutionally entrench it. Some history of the flag is recounted and some of the issues surrounding the Flag Act's plebiscite provision are aired. "Entrenchment in the Constitution is also likely to polarize views on the flag and divide Australians unnecessarily. In our attempt to build consensus on this issue, we must make sure that we do not diminish the highly positive status that the flag currently enjoys amongst Australians from all walks of life." The Courts and the Individual By Justice Michael Black. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. Trade practices laws, protection of individuals against abuse of power, confessional evidence, right to a fair trial, and other matters. Touches briefly on s75(v). See also Fred Chaney's commentary on this paper. "It is generally accepted, indeed taken for granted, in Australia today that the courts have a central role in protecting individuals against the abuse of power. As I shall point out, developments in the law over the past fifteen to twenty years have seen that role grow." The Crown By Nick Seddon. In Federal Law Review Vol. 28 No. 2 (2000). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. Mainly about Crown immunity. ("The ambiguity surrounding the concept of the Crown stems from the very many functions that it has been required to perform. One tends to forget that it is merely a type of hat, as Maitland and Lord Simon have observed".) Date with Destiny: The Year 2000 Computer Bug By Matthew L. James. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Casts a skeptical eye over the Y2K problem. Not a bad read, but the only skerrick of constitutional interest comes in (briefly) in its "Daylight Saving Chaos or Twin-Zone Sanity?" section where it infers that the Commonwealth has the constitutional authority (under its weights and measures power in s51) to regulate Australia's time zones. Democracy in Australia (34K) By R.J. Kilcullen. A lecture for Macquarie University's POL167: Introduction to Political Theory course. Discusses (and finds fault with) a wide range of topics: division into electorates, Referendums vs Choice Between Packages, Prime Ministerial Government, the Governor-General, the Senate, Federalism (partly because Australia's version "puts special obstacles in the way of socialism"), and Australia's Political Culture. ("The Australian political system is in some ways democratic, and in some ways not.") Devolution of Power within Government Author unknown. Legal Briefing No. 24, 24 April 1996. At the Australian Government Solicitor's website. "Delegations, Authorisations and the Carltona Principle." Do Corporations Have Rights? By Jeremy Malcolm. A 1994 honours thesis for the degree of Bachelor of Laws at Murdoch University. Looks at a whole range of interesting ideas (eg "Can Intelligent Machines Bear Rights?"), including the rights of corporations under the Constitution. Drafting Styles: Fuzzy or Fussy? By Lisbeth Campbell. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, July 1996 issue. "Although the differences are often exaggerated, the civilian tradition of legislative drafting favours openness and generality (sometimes referred to as 'fuzzy' law) while the common law tradition favours precision and particularity (which may be called 'fussy' law). Fussy law concentrates on detailed distinctions thrown up by a focus on specific circumstances. Fuzzy law, on the other hand, provides general principles in the context of broad legislative purposes." Electoral Systems By R.J. Kilcullen. A lecture for Macquarie University's POL167: Introduction to Political Theory course. Compares single member vs multi-member constituencies, and first-past-the-post vs preferential voting vs proportional representation. End of the Beaudesert Principle Author unknown. Legal Briefing No. 19, 26 April 1995. At the Australian Government Solicitor's website. Touches very briefly on a High Court decision regarding liability "based on the 'constitutional principle of the rule of law'".
Federal Elections	Federal Election Results 1949-1996 (224K) By Gerard Newman. A background paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library A summary of results. Details for House of Representatives and for Senate, & for each State and Territory. Federal Elections 1996 (373K) By G Newman & A Kopras. A background paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library An "analysis of the results of the Senate and House of Representatives elections held on 2 March 1996". House of Representatives By-Elections 1949-2001 (695K) By Gerard Newman. 3 April 2001. Surveys and analyzes the 80 by-elections from 1949 to the end of March 2001. Many tables, and concludes with two appendices, the last of which is gigantic and takes up some three-quarters of the document. A current issues brief from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. "The fact that so few seats have changed hands in by-elections is probably due more to the propensity for by-elections to occur in safe seats rather than any other factor. Political parties and individual members are only too well aware of the possible political consequences of losing a seat at a by-election and thus try to ensure that by-elections occur only in relatively safe seats." "An increasing tendency over the period has been for the government of the day not to contest by-elections in seats held by the opposition. Since 1989, governments have not contested any by-elections in opposition held seats." Voter Turnout By Gerard Newman. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. A look at the effects of compulsory voting.
Federal Litigation: The Federal Magistrates Court in its federal jurisdiction (access restricted) By Kenneth Raphael. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), September 2000. No constitutional content worth mentioning, but a nice overview of the new Federal Magistrates Court and its place in the federal judicial system. Federation Issues By A/Professor David Black. A discussion paper from the Western Australian Constitutional Forums and People's Convention site. (A PDF version is also available here at the Constitutional Centre of Western Australia.) The Flags Amendment Bill A bill digest from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Briefly brings in the question of the constitutional validity of the proposed s3(2) of the Flags Act 1953. "It is arguable that the Flags Amendment Bill 1996 is unconstitutional because it seeks to invest legislative power in the people--who are not recognised as part of the legislative arm of the Commonwealth in the Constitution. ... It is also arguable that the proposed legislation is not unconstitutional on the basis that it is not an attempt to constitute a new legislative body comprising the Queen, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the electors but is only a limited delegation of legislative power by the Parliament to this alternative legislature." The crux of the matter would seem to be s3(2)'s use of the words "if, and only if", which (while not doubly entrenched) on the face of it appear to be purporting not so much to authorise a "delegation of legislative power", limited or otherwise, as to withdraw the authority of Parliament to enact laws changing the flag otherwise than upon the successful approval of a new flag at a referendum.
Freedom of Speech	Anti-Vilification Laws: Some Recent Developments in the United States and their Implications for Proposed Legislation in the Commonwealth of Australia By David Knoll. Published 1994 in the Australian Journal of Human Rights. "Free speech is no less laudable than free markets. It is the political plane rather than the economic. In the field of economics a student at the University of New South Wales was once chided into line by a lecturer who has since become rather famous. The student dared to suggest that support for the free market should be tempered by a realisation that a viable free market depended on consumers having enough information to make rational decisions. Reduce the information flow and the market will signal erroneous supply decisions. If the information flow is patently imperfect, then free market principles cannot be applied. So too it is in considering political discourse. Allow vilificatory speech and the voices that are heard will lead to erroneous political decisions. Allow enough vilificatory speech and vilification will become credible. The credibility will then pursue the vilification into violence." Freedom of Speech Fact sheet from the Constitutional Centenary Foundation. What is meant by freedom of speech? Why is it important? How is protected in Australia now? What happens in other countries? Free Speech and its Postmodern Adversaries (224K) By Laurence W Maher. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, June 2001 issue. A "response to the essay by David Fraser, 'Memory, Murder and Justice: Holocaust Denial and the "scholarship" of Hate' which is chapter 8 of Faces of Hate: Hate Crime in Australia (1997)." "The debate about free speech should always be stimulated by skepticism, but it will not benefit by being swamped by abstraction, jargon or postmodern dogmatism. Nor, despite Fraser's claims to the contrary, do we have anything to fear from the continuing debate and the vehemence of claims for minimal restrictions on individual free speech. ... What should be a matter of concern is the complete folly of the current commitment to equipping the State with the power to police the way its citizens think in order to protect the sensitivities of entire groups and to coerce uniformity of sentiment." Information Technology Law By Conrad Canterford. An essay discussing the "relevance of freedom of speech and privacy in the Australian computer context". Includes a discussion of claiming "further freedom [of speech] through the freedom of religion clause (Section 116) in the Australian Constitution, supported by Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)" Unfortunately, Conrad's paper is no longer available on the Net. Racial Vilification and the Freedom of Speech (138K) (missing) By Ben White. At the National Law Review site. A paper which "explores the tension between racial vilification legislation and the freedom of speech." It also considers the implications of Australia's constitutionally implied freedom of political speech." Retooling rhetoric: Has free speech gone the way of the free lunch? By Stephen Stockwell. At the 1996 Culture & Citizenship Conference site at Griffith University. Some of the implied rights cases get a mention. Truth in Political Advertising Legislation in Australia By George Williams. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Mostly about the findings of a committee of the Qld Parliament, but also touches on constitutional matters, such as the implied rights cases.
Free to Choose or Compelled to Lie? The Rights of Voters after Langer v the Commonwealth (93K) By Anne Twomey. In Federal Law Review Vol. 24 No. 1 (1996). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. Touches on the constitutional power to legislate on electoral matters. Further Developments in the Case of the Mount Thorley Twenty Five By Terry Tobin QC. Paper delivered to the 10th conference of the H R Nicholls Society in 1991. At the H.R. Nicholls site. Only briefly touches on constitutional matters ("Recently, constitutional lawyers have decided that during this decade we might turn our minds to refurbishing the Constitution and to attaching to it a Bill of Rights."), but does deal with individual rights and industrial relations. Bearing the latter subject matter in mind, the author at one point makes a curious observation about NSW's system of apprehended violence orders: "The NSW Crimes Act in recent years has provided for an 'apprehended violence order' which is not limited to domestic/family cases but extends protection to every member of the community. It gives the person under threat of violence a remedy in that he may go to a magistrate and obtain an order protecting him from harassment. ... It has been used recently in NSW by a furrier who was being picketed by animal liberationists protesting about the sale of furs. The magistrate granted an order against the picketing which was damaging the furrier in the conduct of his business." The Genesis of Laws By Hilary Penfold. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. Law making from a draftman's perspective. Looks at "the sources of legislative change, the processes of drafting legislation, and the preparation of explanatory memoranda and second reading speeches", and afterwards "discusses the extent to which judicial approaches to construction are taken into account in the drafting process". See also Rowena Armstrong's commentary on this paper. "...drafters in the Commonwealth Office must pay attention to the High Court's views on constitutional issues. For instance, the Air Caledonie method of testing the validity of certain legislation that purports to impose tax is something that would not otherwise have occurred to any of us, but it must now be borne in mind by all drafters." "...it must be said that, from a drafter's point of view at least, judicial approaches to the construction of legislation are sometimes unhelpful. Some of them are no better than veiled personal abuse. A current member of the High Court was recently reported as saying that a statutory provision 'looked as though it had been drafted by a social worker rather than a lawyer'." Gregory Wayne Kable v The Director of Public Prosecutions for New South Wales: The Power to Legislate for One By Professor Neil Rees and Professor Paul Fairall. Equal protection of the law, Bills of Attainder, implied rights, and the Community Protection Acts of NSW & Victoria. In Vol. 1 (1995) of the High Court Review. The Growth of Legislationand Regulation By Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. International Conference on Regulation Reform, Management, and Scrutiny of Legislation, 9 July 2001. At the High Court's website. Hit and Myth in the Law Courts By S.E.K. Hulme. Dinner address to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1994. Reflections on the "hit & myth" of appointing High Court judges. Icon of Liberty: The Status and Role of Magna Carta in Australian and New Zealand Law By Sir Anthony Mason. In The Melbourne University Law Review Vol. 24 No. 3 (2000). The persistence, attitudes towards, and practical uses of the Magna Carta in modern Australian and NZ law. Stored at AustLII's online archive. "Magna Carta is part of the legal and political legacy of Australia and New Zealand. From an early date the document figured in both political argument and in legal submissions in the courts. Yet despite the frequency with which it has been referred to there is a widespread lack of understanding of the Great Charter. In large part this arises not because the document has had a practical impact on legal decision-making, but because its chiefly 'sentimental value' has inspired both litigants and judges to attribute to it all manner of legal phenomena that are not warranted by the historical evidence." Immigration Policy and the Separation of Powers By Philip Ruddock MHR. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in June 2002. Despite the title, not so much about separation of powers per se (which is why I've filed it here), although that term get a mention, as about the role of the judiciary in Australia's immigration policy. Includes discussion of the new privative clause in the Migration Act "I am aware that the introduction of the privative clause into the Migration Act caused concern for some people, and that the concern was based on a separation of powers issue---specifically, that the role of the judiciary was being interfered with in some way." Implications for the legal profession in competition policy reforms (access restricted) By Ian Tonking. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), August 1995. Concerns changes to the Trades Practice Acts. Touches in one place on an interesting piece of legislative drafting: s51AAA, which "is designed to preserve State laws unless they are directly inconsistent with the TP Act (i.e. to negative the "covering the field" test under section 109 of the Constitution)". Independence of the Judiciary: Basic Principle, New Challenges By Justice Michael Kirby. Delivered to an International Bar Association conference, 12-14 June 1998. ("A special obligation to defend judicial independence falls on judges and lawyers not because of self-interest but because they are aware of the history and purpose of judicial independence and the myriad of ways by which it can be attacked by powerful interests, public and private.") The Independence of the Speaker By Margaret Healy. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. An overview of the issue in the aftermath of the Halverson resignation. Includes a look at the constitutional obstacles (eg s35). An independent Australia? By Peter Spearritt and David Walker. Part of a study guide for AUS1010S & AUS13 political science courses at Monash University. A summary of some of the issues surrounding the complex question of when Australia became independent and the relationships of that with certain other matters (such as the republic issue). (Note, though: one suspects, as in the extract quoted below, "independence" in a political sense is being confused with legal independence.) "Our inability to point to a specific date when Australia became independent creates very real problems, especially for those who have to negotiate our foreign relationships. It is not a purely 'academic' question, although constitutional lawyers have certainly argued the issue in complex academic terms." Inquiry into the Human Rights (Mandatory Sentencing of Juvenile Offenders) Bill 1999 A report of the Senate's Legal and Constitutional References Committee. Note: the individual chapters of the report itself are in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format only. Includes some discussion of the constitutional aspects (mainly as to whether the Commonwealth could repeal them). I pride myself on being a clubable man By H. M. Morgan. Paper delivered to a conference of the H R Nicholls Society in 1987. At the H.R. Nicholls site. Labour law, the Hancock Bill, and related matters. Only one tidbit of constitutional interest: an allusion to the 1897 Constitutional Convention and the "Irish barrister, H B Higgins" who "narrowly persuaded a reluctant Convention to include an industrial relations provision in the proposed Constitution." (The title, by the way, is a quote from Samuel Johnson. It may or may not be an allusion to the so-called "Industrial Relations Club".) "It is Trite and Ancient Law": The High Court and the Use of the Obvious (87K) By Richard Haigh. In Federal Law Review Vol. 28 No. 1 (2000). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. A "trite" thesis. Touches on constitutional matters. Includes various tables, among which is one showing the "Years in which Trite appears 3 or more times". "While these show Justice Gibbs' consistency, all is not sweetness and trite. In Brown v The Queen, Gibbs J stated that it is 'trite but true to say that the Constitution was framed to endure and to be capable of application to changing circumstances'. On the surface, that would seem uncontroversial. However, it is puzzling how Justice Gibbs argued for such a trite proposition, yet when it came to discussing the possibility of entrenching a Bill of Rights, stated that 'A Bill of Rights, like any other statute, is a creature of its time.' Accepting that he may not have considered the idea of a Bill of Rights being incorporated into a constitution (which is doubtful), at the very least, its enduring value can hardly be said to be a trite proposition if arguments about its viability over time are so easily changeable." Judicial Accountability By Justice Murray Gleeson. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. Looks in particular at the operation of the Judicial Commission of NSW. "In a democratic community, in which the institutions of government are expected to operate with integrity and efficiency, such institutions will necessarily be subject to appropriate forms of accountability. The issue is not as to whether there should be accountability, but as to the kind of accountability that is appropriate."
Judicial Activism	The Courts, Legal and Community Standards By Justice Sally Brown. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. A look at "judicial law-making". "The idea that judges merely apply the law, that their job is 'to interpret law, and not to make law, or give law' dies hard. It lives on in literature, ... and in legal journals and the popular press, as was reflected in the aftermath of the Mabo decision, when the High Court was widely criticised for undertaking a legislative role." "Writing [in the ALJ] in 1988, Mc Hugh J provided an eloquent reminder that courts are there to 'do justice', that this can and will involve judicial law making and that this is not inconsistent with the separation of powers." "I argue that judges do decide many cases by reference to their personal values, always genuinely believing that those personal values are enduring community ones. And it is because they do so that I think most people, asked to name selection criteria for judges, would include integrity and high personal standards on the list." Courts Unmaking the Laws By Professor Leslie Zines. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. A dissent against judicial activism. See also John Doyle's commentary on this paper. "There are clear signs among some High Court judges of a judicial activism that is hard to confine. These approaches are, in my view, not consistent with the traditional principles of judicial deference to Parliament and respect for representative democracy. ... [S]ome judges have delivered dicta and judgements which clearly reject, in certain areas, the basis of representative democracy and, therefore, the supremacy of parliament. They would make the Court guardian of the people, protecting them against the policies of their representatives. Implications, inferences and the supposed assumptions of the framers of the Constitution, have been the means to this end." Democracy and the Law: The Judicial Method (145K) By Justice M. H. McHugh. Delivered to the Australian Bar Association Conference, London, 5 July 1998. I was sorely tempted to file this under Separation of Powers. A spirited defence of the right of the judiciary to make law. "Modern legislatures simply do not have the time to continually monitor and amend legal rules, particularly those rules dealing with the relationships between private citizens. ... The spectre of the law's potential irrelevancy creates a dilemma for the Australian judiciary at the present time. If law is to remain relevant, social change requires the courts, and the High Court in particular, to develop the law to meet these changes. Yet if the courts develop the law, they are criticised for exceeding their role and usurping the role of the legislature. My impression is that most Australian politicians and members of the public think that judges should only interpret the law." "The lowering of the shield by the judiciary--the judiciary's open acknowledgment of its creative role--has exposed it to criticism from an unsuspecting and unprepared public, a criticism fuelled, as Justice Sackville has pointed out, by greater public scepticism and cynicism towards established institutions. The present climate of public opinion makes it incumbent on the judiciary, when giving judgment in cases which break new legal ground, to explain clearly how and why the change has occurred." Have the Judges Gone Too Far (Sixth Colloquium of the Judicial Conference of Australia, Launceston, Tasmania, April, 2002. Note: all papers submitted at that colloquium have the same title!) Have the Judges Gone Too Far (232K) (PDF) By Julie Debeljak. A response to the propositions of Michael Lavarch, John McMillan, and John Perry. Have the Judges Gone Too Far (152K) (PDF)< By Michael Lavarch. "The answer to the final 'basic truth': 'Whether you think the judiciary has 'gone too far' in any individual case is likely to reflect (at least in part) your personal views about the worthiness of the outcome.' Thus the High Court's Mabo decision was hailed as triumph of legal reasoning by some, and as a usurpation of the powers of parliament by others." Have the Judges Gone Too Far (452K) (PDF) By Professor John McMillan. Judicial activism and immigration law. Have the Judges Gone Too Far (172K) (PDF) By Justice John Perry (of the South Australian Supreme Court). Importing Wooden Horses By Barry Maley. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in August 1998. Teoh, Mabo, and the "reformist jurisprudence" of Australian courts. "It is, of course, in the nature of things that people will disagree about the ethical character and desirability of particular laws; and therefore whether they consider them just. What are we, or judges, to do if we consider established law to be unethical, inhumane, unpractical, and unjust? Must ordinary citizens, despite their objections, obey such a law; whereas a judge may so use his position to develop the law in a way that will, in his view, lead to decisions that are 'humane, practical and just'? Even if that means abandoning the delivery of justice according to law?" "If courts, especially courts from which there is no appeal, aspire to conjure decisions to serve private ideals and a higher purpose than delivery of justice according to law, they make us subjects of an exercise of power that is no less arbitrary because it issues from the courts, no less repugnant because the motive might be benevolent, and no less suspect if it is done in the name of human rights; because the foundation of liberty and human rights is the constraint of the arbitrary." Judicial Activism (100K) By Justice Michael Kirby. 1997 the Bar Association of India lecture, 6 January 1997. At the High Court's website. Perhaps better described as: Justice Kirby's Defence of Judicial Activism. Looks at (inter alia) the situation in the USA, UK, and Australia. A certain amount of protesting is involved ("Q: Do you see yourself as a crusader? A: Kindly don't place me in that category."), along with a measure of coyness ("Q: So how do you see the future of judicial activism? A: The judiciary will continue to respond to the changing needs of the times."), noblesse oblige ("The modern judge of the common law, in India, Australia and far beyond, is controlled in any temptations to activism."), and a reassurance that judicial activism is not only traditional, it's now expected ("Our communities have come to understand that some measure of 'judicial activism' is not only permissible but is traditional in our system of law. Moreover, it is beneficial to the noble cause of justice under the law."). Judicial Intervention: The Old Province for Law and Order By Des Moore. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in August/September 2001. Judicial activism, especially in respect of industrial matters (eg employment contracts, unfair dismissal laws, etc). "[A]s Justice Meagher pointed out in January, 1998, although: '...there are to be found in the Constitution very few express, or necessarily implied, civil rights.....the High Court has begun reading into the Constitution civil rights which are certainly not overtly mentioned there, nor which are necessarily implied there on any ordinary rules of construction, but which are "implied" because the current judges of the High Court regard them as indispensable democratic rights'." "In an article entitled Individualised Justice--The Holy Grail, which he wrote in 1995 when Chief Justice of NSW, His Honour [Murray Gleeson] noted the growing trend for judicial decisions to be based on individualised or subjective assessments of a case rather than the straight application of general rules. Accompanying this has been a greatly increased attention to detail and additional pressure on the court system to the point where: 'One cannot help feeling, on occasion, that the kind of truth for which the courts sometimes search is nonexistent, or at least undiscoverable'." Reflections on Judicial Activism: More in Sorrow than in Anger By Professor Greg Craven. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in October 1997. "Once the executive is convinced that the occupants of the bench intend to behave as political rather than legal creatures, it is a short step to ensuring that only those persons thoroughly amenable to the programme of the governing party will be appointed to the judiciary."
Judicial Independence (access restricted) By Daryl Williams, MP (Commonwealth Attorney General). In the Law Society Journal (NSW), April 1998. The courts and the criticisms thereof. Judges, Courts, and Tribunals (PDF) By Julie Debeljak. At the Judicial Conference of Australia's site. Presented to the Fifth Colloquium of the Australian Judicial Conference, Ayers Rock, April 2001. A collection of material on the title subject rather than a monograph. Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions Author unknown. Legal Briefing No. 42, 27 August 1998. At the Australian Government Solicitor's website. "To what extent are courts prepared to review the fact-finding aspect of administrative decisions? This briefing looks at the approach taken by the High Court in a series of cases about refugee law. It aims to identify some useful principles for decision-makers in the area of refugee law and in other areas." Judicial Review: Is There Still a Role for Unreasonableness? By Naomi Sidebotham. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, March 2001 issue. Judicial Review of Political Parties (69K) By Dr John RS Forbes. Consultant. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library Just tidying up: Two Decades of the Federal Court By Dr John Forbes. Empire-building and the Federal Court. Touches on constitutional matters, including the historical beginnings of the Judiciary Act and the High Court. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in August 1998. "In the upper House the Federal Court Bill was in the hands of Senator Durack. He was adamant that the new tribunal would be confined to 'well-defined fields of federal law. It would not enter into any ... jurisdiction now exercised by State courts'. ... The Bill was merely a little 'tidying up operation' to collect in one tribunal of limited statutory jurisdiction the Commonwealth Industrial Court and a few 'disparate jurisdictions' which had grown up over the years, such as the Bankruptcy Court, which occupied one judge in Sydney and Melbourne while the States did the rest of the work." Kitto and the High Court of Australia By Justice Michael Kirby. In Federal Law Review Vol. 27 No. 1 (1999). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. A bio of the former High Court justice, including Kitto's role in the famous constitutional case that dealt with the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950. Kitto and the High Court of Australia: Change and Continuity (121K) By Justice Michael Kirby. Sir Frank Kitto Lecture, 22 May 1998. At the High Court's website. Sir Frank Kitto was a former High Court justice. This paper is chiefly of interest to this webpage for the discussion of Kitto's part in the famous court case over the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950. Labor and the Constitution: Forty Years On By Peter Walsh. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in October 1997. ("The incessant quest for extension of Commonwealth power, into both State and new territory, is driven by several factors: common power lust; pressure groups seeking more sites in which to pursue their demands, e.g. two 'equal opportunity' shops are better than one; pressure from otherwise barely employable or unemployable activists seeking sinecures for themselves; and too many otherwise superfluous Ministers inventing reasons to justify their own existence.") The Knox Court: Exposition Unnecessary By Graham Fricke. In Federal Law Review Vol. 27 No. 1 (1999). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. A look at the Commonwealth's second chief justice. Several anecdotes relating to the Constitution (including the one quoted below). "Since the ambit of the grants power had not previously been explored, one would have assumed that the High Court would have welcomed extensive bipartisan debate. But if Menzies expected to be treated as seriously as he had been in the Engineers' case, he must have been disappointed. Following the arguments for three of the States, Sir Edward Mitchell managed to utter one sentence before he was stopped by the court. The authorised report attributes to Sir Adrian Knox the statement, 'The Court will put its reasons into writing.' There then follows the 'written' judgment. The Court is of the opinion that the Federal Aid Roads Act No 46 of 1926 is a valid enactment. It is plainly warranted by the provisions of sec 96 of the Constitution, and not affected by those of sec 99 or any other provisions of the Constitution, so that exposition is unnecessary. The action is dismissed." Law's Indispensable Role (access restricted) By Jim Cameron (former Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly). In the Law Society Journal (NSW), May 1995. "In the form it has taken in Australia following more than two centuries of evolution since 1788, the legal system we inherited from Great Britain--one that is living and constantly evolving--has a valid claim to rank among the best any human community has so far known. It is very much the people's own law." Liability Insurance Premium Increases: Causes and Possible Government Responses By David Kehl. 19 March 2002. Includes a very brief appendix listing the "[constitutional] Powers to Regulate Insurance". A current issues brief from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Liberal Democracy (52K) By R.J. Kilcullen. A lecture for Macquarie University's POL167: Introduction to Political Theory course. Bibliography. Only touches here and there on Australian constitutional matters, although it does have an appendix on "Events of the Australian 1975 constitutional crisis anticipated by Sidgwick". ("...the Australian constitution is an intelligent and successful solution to certain problems which worried educated people in the 19th century but are now largely forgotten.") Litigation Notes #1 Issue #1 (27 August 1997) of a newsletter from the Australian Government Solicitor which "focuses on current and developing litigation in Australia". This one contains (all on the same webpage) various matters of constitutional interest: "The Commonwealth's Implied Constitutional Immunity from State Laws" "Freedom of Speech--Is it a Constitutional Right?" "Freedom of Speech--Is it a Constitutional Right?" "Removal of Aboriginal Children - The Legal Issues" "Can a Commonwealth Employee Sue for Employment-Related Injury?" "Duties of Excise--The Commonwealth's Exclusive Power" "Commonwealth Acquisition of Property" in the Territories Litigation Notes #2 Issue #2 (27 May 1998) of a newsletter from the Australian Government Solicitor which "focuses on current and developing litigation in Australia". This issue contains (amongst other matters on the same webpage): "Validity of [the] Corporations [Law] Cross-Vesting Scheme" "Acquisition of Property" Litigation Notes #3 Issue #3 (31 May 1999) of a newsletter from the Australian Government Solicitor which "focuses on current and developing litigation in Australia". This issue contains (amongst other matters on the same webpage): "State Mining Laws and the Commonwealth". Litigation Notes #4 Issue #4 (28 October 1999) of a newsletter from the Australian Government Solicitor which "focuses on current and developing litigation in Australia". This issue contains (amongst other matters on the same webpage): "The Constitutional Status of Territory Courts" "Cross-vesting schemes" "Conferral of Powers of Determination on Administrative Bodies" Managing Juries in New South Wales (788K) By Mark Findlay, with Peter Duff, Susanne Leal, Jonathan Morrow, and Fiona Wright. March 1995. At the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. The AIJA "invited Associate Professor Mark Findlay, Director of the Institute of Criminology, Law School, University of Sydney, and his staff to investigate juries in New South Wales at all stages of their existence, and from several perspectives" with the aim of "reveal[ing] the true place of the jury in a criminal trial, and the expectations which the major players in justice administration have for it." Includes eight appendices (which are not listed in the table of contents), some of which are short essays in their own right. "Of all the institutions of criminal justice, the jury is the best known yet least understood. In addition to being the vox populi, the jury reflects a level of community confidence which is the envy of police, lawyers, judges and prison administrators. Yet such confidence seems grounded more in expectation than in reality. So strong is the ideology on which the jury is based that those who would criticise it do so in terms of its ability to realise these goals when compared with other methods of decision-making. Yet again such criticisms largely rest on assumption rather than the actual practice of juries within criminal trials." Mandate: Australia's Current Debate in Context (115K) By J.R. Nethercote. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Touches on various constitutional aspects. Mandatory Sentencing: A Catalyst for Debate By Denis Burke MLA. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in November 2000. Included mainly for completeness (and its comments on judicial outspokenness concerning mandatory sentencing). "This extraordinary outburst by judges caught public and political attention. The Commonwealth Attorney-General issued a news release: 'I respect the right of the judiciary to raise community awareness about legal issues by explaining the role of the courts and the process of judicial decision making. However, I also believe that judges should refrain from commenting on politically contentious issues, which are properly the domain of the democratic political process.[...] [t]he doctrine of the separation of powers means that not only should the judiciary be free of interference from the executive, but that the judiciary should not interfere in matters that are the clear responsibilities of democratically elected Parliaments". Manning Clark, "Bourgeois Democracy" and Strange Tales from Supreme Courts By Justice Michael Kirby. Second Manning Clark Lecture delivered in 26 March 2001 at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. At Justice Kirby's Papers website. Of Manning Clark, bourgeois liberalism, butterfly ballots, and electoral democracy. "[Manning Clark] did not have a very high opinion of the Constitution which the Founders fashioned for Australia. In 1977 he wrote: 'The Founding Fathers were still colonials--that is to say men who do not make their own history, men of a derived culture, and therefore derived ideas on political institutions. ... They drafted a Constitution that was neither exclusively British nor exclusively Yankee, but a combination of the two. ... It was therefore a British and Yankee Constitution, not an Australian Constitution. It was a bourgeois Constitution, not a people's Constitution'." "So central is the notion of representative democracy for the language, purpose and structure of our Constitution that it seems to me to be distinctly arguable that, in Australia, there may be a constitutional right to vote implied in the text of that document." Models of Citizenship & Democracy Author unknown. At the Citizenship and Australian Democracy site. Civic republican and liberal conditions, direct and participatory democracy, representative democracy & liberal constitutionalism, amongst other matters. National Development and the Constitution By Lance Endersbee. At the Online Opinion site. Dated July 1999. "Prior to Federation, the states of Australia operated as independent economies, virtually as separate countries. The Constitution was written to preserve that independence. It was never intended that the new Commonwealth Government would be granted powers to manage a national economy. At that time, a national economy did not exist. Now, 100 years later, Australia is vulnerable because the Australian Government does not have sufficient powers to defend the national economy, or to plan and build for national development. This is the most serious problem facing the nation."
National Sovereignty (as opposed to "parliamentary sovereignty")	Australia's Diminishing Sovereignty Sections 51(xxvi) (the race power) & 51(xxix) (the external affairs power) & national sovereignty. By Dr Colin Howard. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1993. The Basel Convention: Why National Sovereignty is Important By Ray Evans. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1994. Getting Serious About Sovereignty By Ray Evans. Paper presented to a Samuel Griffith Society conference in July 1999. International law and national sovereignty. "Sovereignty is all about self-government; it is about the capacity to make political decisions affecting the life of the nation without recourse to foreign powers or foreign tribunals. It is about constitutional closure or self-containment. Labour market regulation, for example, is central to the exercise of sovereignty. Whether we give legal privileges or not to trade unions is something for us, and us alone, to decide--at least as long as we remain a sovereign nation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) requires that trade unions are legally privileged, and that is why the ACTU keeps running off to the ILO to complain about Peter Reith." The ILO and Sovereignty: New Dawn or New Dinosaur? By Max Bradford MP (NZ). Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in November 2000. "Slowly but surely, countries like New Zealand and Australia are being enveloped in a spreading net of international obligations that eat away at national sovereignty and independence." International Tribunals and the Attack on Australian Democracy By Senator Rod Kemp. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1994. International Tribunals & Australian sovereignty, "focus[ing] on the role of UN human rights committees in relation to our legal and constitutional system." Mildly partisan. "In 1986 the Australia Act, which severed appeals [from State courts] to the Privy Council, was passed with the support of all parties. It took the Labor Governments five years to overturn the philosophy of this Act. ... In 1991 the Hawke Government ratified the First Optional Protocol to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which allowed individual Australians to take complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee." National Interest versus International Law: The International Criminal Court By Dr Janet Albrechtsen. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in June 2002. The ICC, national sovereignty, and the "clash of civilisations". "There is a spectre hanging over Western liberal democracy these days. It hardly seems secure. But the danger is not an external threat. The real danger is the enemy within. Australia's 'peace, order and good government' is being tinkered with. ... [I]ncreasingly, it's being threatened by a merry band of pseudo-intellectuals, cosmopolitan globalists, bureaucrats in Brussels, human rights activists, law-making judges and politicians who treat democracy with disdain, all united under the banner of international law. At the domestic level---within a country such as Australia---these activists encounter too much of what Tennyson called the 'common sense of most'. So their causes go nowhere. At the international level, there is too little common sense. Supranational bodies are full of other so-called champions of social justice. There's no electorate acting as a brake on the inclinations of this �lite mob. That's why they use international forums to do an end run around domestic democracy. International forums get them somewhere." "We've gone from governing relations between countries to dictating relations between people. We've gone from asserting fundamental civil and political rights to force-feeding countries on a fashionable diet of new-fangled economic, social and cultural rights." National Sovereignty versus Internationalism: The Importance of Repealability By Professor Kenneth Minogue. Address to the Samuel Griffith Society in November 2000. "Sovereignty is to be conceived of as the single concentrated authority emanating from a Constitution. The contrast is with the arrangements of mediaeval Europe, in which authority was dispersed between monarchs, the Catholic Church, nobles, and sometimes also relatively independent towns. Historically, sovereignty emerged in the later Middles Ages when governments, mostly monarchies, extinguished their partners in government and concentrated all authority in their own hands." "The point about 'nation states' (such as Britain or France, or Australia)...is that they seldom or never consist just of one 'nation'. They are all, in a technical sense, empires. But in times of crisis, they are capable of generating a passionate unity (overriding the attachments of the component parts) which resembles the unity of nations themselves. This is sometimes, misleadingly, called 'nationalism', but is actually what we generally recognise as patriotism. It is a common but serious mistake in politics to confuse patriotism with nationalism. It may well be this muddle which has given currency to the mistake of thinking that states have only recently become 'multicultural'." "Now what, if we may press the question, was the point of sovereignty? The obvious answer was that it enabled rulers to make valid law binding on their subjects. This power is so conspicuous that it is quite common to identify sovereignty with that bit of a modern state's Constitution which has the authority to make law. AV Dicey, for example, argued that in Britain the sovereign power resided in 'the Queen in Parliament' This formula certainly points to important realities in British politics, but it also makes it difficult to discover what sovereignty is in, for example, federal states. And that is why it is best to consider that sovereignty is the authority to make law found in the constitutionality of the state as a whole." Native Title: A Path to Sovereignty By Dr Stephen Davis. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in March 1997. National sovereignty, the UN, and native title. Includes four appendices. ("Today, the world comprises a collection of nation states who interact with each other as legal entities, and who are legally sovereign within their respective jurisdictions. We can readily observe an ongoing process in which the sovereignty of the nation states is diminished and political power is transferred from those states to what is agreeably described as the 'international community'.") Our Allegiance--Australians Or Global Citizens? (121K) By Michael Pendleton. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, September 1999 issue. Citizenship, Dicey, globalisation, patriotism ("If Racism is Wrong Why is it Permissible to be a Patriot?"), individual rights, "globalisation rights", and other matters. "No doubt controversially, it is this commentator's deep conviction that, contrary to that cornerstone of public international law, nations can no longer be regarded as sovereign states and are not so regarded by most of their citizens." The UN Convention on Refugees and its Implications for Australia's Sovereignty By Peter Walsh. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in November 2000. Note that some comments in this paper are couched in very blunt language (eg "rent-a-crowd", "a pernicious homo sapiens mutant known as an 'immigration lawyer'"). "On 17 October, 1991 this question was put on [the Senate] notice [paper by the author]: 'What legislation or regulation is required by Commonwealth law to delist from World Heritage status areas which had been previously listed?' Attorney-General Duffy replied: 'A Commonwealth Act or regulation could not operate to remove an area from the World Heritage List ... a removal can only take place if approved by a majority of two-thirds of the World Heritage Committee'. Later attempts to clarify this matter produced soft responses from Attorney-General Lavarch and a claim from Foreign Minister Evans on 6 December, 1994 that 'we retain the sovereign capacity to make and apply our own laws as we see fit'."
The New Official Religion: The Hindmarsh Island and La Trobe Affairs By Professor Austin Gough. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1995. Mainly deals with Hindmarsh Island & the woes of the archaeology dept. at La Trobe University. But does offer a thought or two on the dangers of "embodying a racial division in the Constitution" right at the end. An Occasional Address By Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. Speech delivered Griffith University (on the occasion of the conferral upon him of an honorary degree), 20 April 2001. At the High Court's website. Reflections by the Chief Justice on federation and other matters. "Judicial legitimacy, and adherence to the techniques of legalism, is not dull and conservative. ... Anyone can think up ways to alter the Constitution. To resolve great issues as to the federal division of governmental powers by interpreting and applying the language of the federal agreement, with all its legitimate implications, is a fitting task for a judge. To maintain public confidence in the integrity with which the judicial arm of government approaches such a task, and in its fidelity to the Constitution, is a continuing challenge." Opposition to Mining Projects by Indigenous Peoples and Special Interest Groups By Michael Hunt. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, June 1997 issue. Looks at the situation in various countries, including Australia. Australian constitutional matters are touched on. Ostensible Authority in Public Law By Enid Campbell. In Federal Law Review Vol. 27 No. 1 (1999). Stored at the archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. Delegated authority, estoppel, and related matters. "In public administration many decisions made in purported exercise of statutory powers are, as a matter of practical necessity, made not by the officer or body in whom the power has been reposed by statute but by persons purporting to act as delegates or agents of the repository of the power." The Paradox of Self-Amendment: A Study of Law, Logic, Omnipotence, and Change By Professor Peter Suber. Online edition of a 1990 book (now out of print). Although this is an American legal work, and deals mainly with American law, it offers a in-depth examination of a subject not without relevance to the Australian legal system (eg s128): what Suber calls the "paradox of self-amendment", which arises "when a rule is used as the authority for its own amendment." Suber explores "its variations in several Anglo-American jurisdictions and contexts, but mostly in American constitutional law". An essay-length synopsis of the book (published in the Stanford Literature Review, 7, 1-2 (Spring-Fall 1990) 53-78) is also online. Parliamentarians, Outside Employment and Outside Income By Liz Young. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Discusses "potential and actual conflicts of interest involving Senators and Members that may arise from their participation in outside employment or receiving outside income."
Parliamentary Authority	I might have called this one Parliament Supremacy if that did not have other connotations (and a separate section elsewhere on these pages). It is intended to cover a number of papers which have a common theme: the state of the authority of Parliament vis-a-vis the Executive. For example, the exercise by the latter of legislative authority delegated by the former.
Parliamentary Authority	Legislation by Proclamation--Parliamentary Nightmare, Bureaucratic Dream; and The Discharge of Senators from Attendance on the Senate upon a Dissolution of the House of Representatives (PDF) (95K) Two separate (but related) papers in the one document, the first by Anne Lynch and the second by John Vander Wyk. July 1988. Papers on Parliament: Collection No. 2. The first deals with "the fixing of the time of commencement of statutory provisions by means of proclamations", the second with "the wording of the proclamations dissolving the House of Representatives". The first looks at one of the consequences of the Australia Card debacle: a "significant delegation of parliamentary power" caused by the rise of the practice by Commonwealth Governments of fixing the dates when statutes commence by Proclamation. The second "shows how a misinterpretation of precedents by an executive government, careless of proper parliamentary forms and not concerned to preserve the constitutional position of Parliament, can lead to a distortion of constitutional practice." Deregulation, Merits Review and the Withering of Parliamentary Sovereignty (PDF) (117K) By Peter O'Keeffe. December 1988. Papers on Parliament: Collection No. 3. The tidal wave of delegated legislation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Petrol and Diesel Excises By Richard Webb. 3 October 2000. "What is excise?" "Who pays excise?" "Why is Excise Levied?" and other issues. Constitutional aspects get a passing mention now and again. A research paper from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Post-Separation Employment of Ministers By Ian Holland. 28 May 2002. Research note at the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library site. A brief look at what to do about ex-Ministers once they leave parliament. "Ministers hold positions of power and influence. Some of the knowledge they acquire might be of a confidential nature, or could confer on them advantages if subsequently, as private citizens, they were to work in an area related to their former responsibilities." Press Law in Australia By David Flint. Includes a brief discussion of the constitutional issues. Quality Control in Law Making By Stephen Skehill. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. Timeless "fuzzy" laws vs plain "pedestrian machinery" (or in less flippant terms "the extent to which the law-making process produces laws which are deficient, and how it might be reformed"). Sir Humphrey Appleby puts in a guest appearance. See also Professor Colin Hughes's commentary on this paper. "Section 51AA(1) [of the Trade Practices Act 1974] in three simple lines incorporates into the principal Act the entirety of the common law of unconscionable conduct." The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 By S.E.K. Hulme QC. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in October 1997. A wide-ranging critique. Looks at, amongst other things, the question of the constitutional basis of an Act "which is too sacred to be touched". Also touches on the constitutional role of the High Court--or rather the criticism it has undergone in recent times on account of the court's exercise of its most recent interpretation of that role. Re: Constituting Australia--the Differend, the (Re)Public, and the Proper Name By Jerry Everard. 1994. "Identifying Australia in Postmodern Times". Hard to describe this one. More of a philosophical tract than a legal paper. Section 127, the republic, amongst other issues of constitutional import get a mention. At the author's website at the ANU. "This serves to illustrate two aspects of the constitution of Australia's identity, as set out in the Constitution. Firstly, that the constitution of Australia's identity is mutable, historically contingent--if trac(e)able by the visible deletions in the text of the Constitution. Secondly, that changes in the cultural practices of Australian identity lead to changes in the identity itself, as reflected in the Constitution. Another example that illustrates this process is before us today, in the form of the debate concerning Australian republicanism, and its constitutional implications." "Reflections": An Address by The Honourable Gough Whitlam AC, QC to the Murdoch Student Law Society By Gough Whitlam QC. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, March 1998 issue. Some thunder and lightning on a selection of constitutional reform matters by a former PM. Includes the text of the official "Welcome" by Vice Chancellor Steven Schwartz and of an "Introduction" by Professor Michael Blakeney. Reform of the Australian Public Service 1983-1996 (294K) By John W. Holmes and Thomas A. Wileman. A Canadian perspective. At the website for the Office of the Auditor-General of Canada. Touches on constitutional matters. "The Australian public service (APS) operates within a constitutional and legislative framework, including important conventions inherited from the United Kingdom. The Constitution, as one authority put it, 'is remarkably brief when it comes to the structure of the executive government.' Of particular note is section 67 of the Constitution, which empowers the Governor General in Council to appoint and remove officers of the Executive Government of the Commonwealth, subject to Parliament providing otherwise. Pursuant to section 67, legislation has been passed dealing with employment of public servants. The major piece of legislation is the Public Service Act (1922), as amended, which covers basic terms and conditions of employment, organization and a variety of related matters, all essential to the conduct of public administration. Retrospective Legislation In Australia: Looking Back At The 1980s (missing) By Andrew Palmer and Charles Sampford. In Federal Law Review Vol. 22 No. 2 (1995). Touches on constitutional issues. Review of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act 1901 Author unknown. 1998. Canvasses assorted issues in relation to a proposed review of the Act, some of which may have constitutional implications (eg the section on "Providing for legislation to be up-dated or corrected without recourse to Parliament"). At the Civil Justice Division's website of the Federal A/G's Dept. Review of the Federal Civil Justice System Discussion Paper 62, Dated 1999. At the Australian Law Reform Commission site. Produced as part of a review of the adversarial system of litigation. Romantic Solutions to Practical Problems By Professor Austin Gough. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in October 1997. A critique of indigenous affairs issues and the modern cult of the noble savage. Touches on constitutional issues. ("...it seems extraordinary that a liberal multi-ethnic society such as Australia is still making laws distinguishing one race from the rest, and discussing amendments to the Constitution to make this racial distinction permanent.") Rule of law under threat in Victoria, critics claim (access restricted) Reports from the Law Society. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), August 1995. Victoria and the changes to the jurisdiction of the state's Supreme Court. "The government amended the Education Act and the Victorian Constitution in 1993 to remove the right of any person ever to challenge any decision to close a school."
Senate	The Senate--A House of Obstruction By Leigh T. Gillespie. Parliamentary Reform--The Baby and the Bathwater By Senator Meg Lees. At the Online Opinion site. A speech to the Sydney Institute delivered on 22 February 1999. A response to Senator Helen Coonan's proposal from the parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats. "In the current Federal sphere, the House of Representatives has already been captured by the Executive. The Executive, however, can't 'capture' the current Senate so they seek to discredit it before attempting to dismantle its powers." It's the Major Parties' Fault By Nick Ferrett. At the Online Opinion site. Dated May 1999. A response to (Liberal Party) senator Helen Coonan's proposal from another member of the Liberal Party. "The power of these small players [in the Senate] is a function of the rigid discipline and withdrawal from meaningful debate of the major [political] parties. These traits of the major parties mean that the small players become the only actors in the Parliament who lend any serious level of deliberation to the parliamentary process. When you consider that both houses of Parliament were primarily formed for the purposes of being deliberative bodies, this is a major indictment of the major parties, including the Liberal Party, of which I am a member. Don't get me wrong. I don't advocate the total demolition of party discipline. Plainly, a system which requires that the executive be drawn from the parliament and dependent on that parliament's confidence can only operate where there is a degree of corporate identity. I simply observe that the Liberal Party seems to have grown less tolerant of those who cross the floor and that the Labor Party expels anyone who does." The Senate and Representative Democracy By Elaine Thompson. Papers on Parliament: Collection No. 34. August 1999. A defence of the Senate and its system. Note: while much of the paper is concerned with the "nature of democratic representation", this concern is primarily focussed on minority representation, "diversity", and associated socio-political aspects rather than constitutional ones. "...since 1949 the Senate has developed from an all but moribund institution to a vibrant part of Australia's system of representative government. This change could not have occurred had the Senate remained under the control of either major party." The Senate: Safeguard or Handbrake on Democracy? By Senator Helen Coonan. Extract of a speech delivered to the Sydney Institute. (Also contains a link to the full speech as an MS Word document.) At the Online Opinion site. Dated May 1999. Senator Coonan puts forward her case for the electoral reform of the Senate. "Having shifted its emphasis from 'keeping the bastards honest', the Democrats, if Senator Lees is to be accepted, are now denying the legitimacy of the Government with a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and seek to usurp the function of Government. ... There is an overwhelming need for electoral reform that will ensure there is at least the prospect of the government of the day again obtaining a majority in the Senate." The Senate Today By Harry Evans. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in August/September 2001. "[T]he greatest change which overcame the Commonwealth after its founding...would have disturbed the men of 1901, and did disturb those of them who survived to see it. The situation whereby electors vote for nationally-organised parties and for national leaders, often with little knowledge of local candidates, and the parties vote as blocs in Parliament, bound to the party line on every question, radically changes the system of government. In the House of Representatives, this development put an end to 'responsible government' as it was understood by the founders, in that governments and Prime Ministers came to control the House through their assurance of a controlled party majority. Governments became accustomed to using their control of the House to suppress all legislative activity in that forum. We have come to regard this situation as normal, and no longer think it remarkable. Government legislation is pushed through without amendment, debate is curtailed, no serious inquiry into government activity is permitted if it would be even remotely politically embarrassing. Responsible government as it was understood in the 1890s survived only in the Senate, and only to the extent that the Senate, free of a government party majority, was able to hold the government accountable, however fitfully." Should Parliament be Abolished? By Fred Chaney. Papers on Parliament: Collection No. 34. August 1999. "One argument against Senate intransigence...is that 'the Government is elected to govern'. ... This sounds so obviously true that it is impossible to dispute, but it is often used in a context which smuggles in several more meanings than the ostensible one. ... The plausibility of the phrase is based on a confusion over the role of executive government. Of course the government is elected to govern in the sense that, once the ministry is commissioned, the government can use the vast range of legislation on the statute book and deploy all the resources of the public service to pursue its policies. It does not mean that the government can make any new law it wants by the stroke of the Prime Minister's pen. Governing is not the same as legislating.... So, the reply to the statement that 'the government is elected to govern' is to ask whether this means that parliament should be abolished." The "Unrepresentative Swill" Feel Their Oats By Geoffrey Brennan. "The Rise of Senate Activism in Australia". An article of the Summer 98/99 issue of Policy, the quarterly journal of the Centre of Independent Studies. "It was Paul Keating, the then Prime Minister, who coined the term 'unrepresentative swill' for the Senate. ... Keating, as leader of the recently victorious party in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister and Chairman/Head of Cabinet, had wanted to get on with the business of flexing his newly-acquired governmental powers. Until the next general election came round in three years' time, he could expect to 'run the country' as other Prime Ministers before him had done because, in the tight party structure that characterises Australian politics, he had the numbers. Or at least he did so in the lower house, the traditional seat of power. To be faced with an interventionist Senate, to be called on to share the power of government in a novel way with the Senate, must have struck him as an affront, both personally and to the distinguished office he occupied. In such circumstances, a certain irritation is probably understandable."
Should there be a Freedom to Strike? By Graham Smith. A paper delivered to the 10th Conference of the H R Nicholls Society in 1991. At the H.R. Nicholls site. Touches only once or twice on constitutional matters. ("Certainly the framers of the Federal Constitution envisaged the arbitration power as introductive of a 'new province for law and order' where legally regulated processes would replace the law of the jungle.") The Speaker who brought down a Government Prepared by the (federal) Parliamentary Education Office The story of Stanley Bruce and Littleton Groom, and how an attempt by a federal government to withdraw from industrial relations was thwarted on the floor of Parliament. Stamp Duties: A 17th Century Tax for the Next Millennium (access restricted) By Frank Zipfinger. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), June 1997. An interesting rundown of the history of stamp duties, mainly of interest to this webpage because "due to the Australian constitutional prohibition on the States imposing customs and excise duties, Australia is probably the only country in the world which still relies significantly on revenue from stamp duties."
State Constitutions	State Constitution Author unknown. Discussion paper #15. At Commission on Government: Western Australia site. Canvasses (in brief) a much wider range of issues than the title might suggest, from the "nature of a constitution" and "a constitution as higher law" to CIR, a bill of rights, and the role and responsibility of ministers. Concentrates on the "Western Australian context". The Three Monkeys Syndrome and Possible Remedies By Professor Peter Boyce. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in 1993. The Royal Commission into Commercial Activities of Government and other Matters, & preventing another W.A. Inc. Touches on State constitutional matters (eg strengthening W.A. State Parliament). The Western Australian Constitution By Wayne Martin. A brief discussion paper from the Western Australian Constitutional Forums and People's Convention site convassing various issues relating to the then forthcoming (WA) forums and convention. Covers such issues as: must WA become a republic? Could it be obliged to? The constitutional changes required. (A PDF version is also available here at the Constitutional Centre of Western Australia.)
State and Territory Judiciaries (see also Federal Judicial Power in Discussion of Particular Issues.)	ACT Judicial System Briefly describes the ACT judicial system. Part of the Questions and Answers part of the A.C.T. Attorney-General's site. Judicial independence. Entrenched in New South Wales? (access restricted) By Kim Gould. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), March 1996. Recounts the effects of the Constitution (Entrenchment) Amendment Bill 1992, the result it received at the ensuing State referendum. Also raises (briefly) a number of other constitutional points related thereto, including: the "efficacy of the entrenchment itself" (is it a "a law...respecting the constitution, powers or procedure of the Parliament"?), and the curious fact that "the usual provisions guarding against diminution of judicial salaries" were not entrenched by the legislation.
Statutory Interpretation, Law Reform And Sampford's Theory Of The Disorder Of Law--Part One By Jeffrey W Barnes. In Federal Law Review Vol. 22 No. 2 (1995). Stopping or Preventing Industrial Action in Australia (146K) By Victor di Felice. In The Melbourne University Law Review Vol. 24 No. 3 (2000). Stored at AustLII's online archive. I've filed this one here rather than up in one of the main discussion areas because although at one point it discusses the implied constitutional freedom of political discussion, it otherwise is entirely concerned with non-constitutional matters. Termination of Appointments to Public Offices (211K) Enid Campbell. In archived copy of the Federal Law Review at the National Library of Australia. Touches on constitutional aspects. ("...no Australian court has the same plenary jurisdiction as the Judicial Committee [of the Privy Council] used to have to review and, if need be, overturn, amotions and suspensions from office, at the highest levels, on the merits of the case.") Territory Representation in the Commonwealth Parliament (153K) By Margaret Healy. Research note at the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library site. A brief look at the history and some of the issues surrounding the title topic. Three Positive Theories of International Jurisdiction (109K) By Michael Whincop. In The Melbourne University Law Review Vol. 24 No. 2 (2000). Stored at AustLII's online archive. Using a utilitarian theory, a deontological theory, and a political theory, looks at the reasons and circumstances under which a country will "permit its courts to exercise jurisdiction over cases with international elements". Tort Law: Tort claims with alternative contract rights after John Pfeiffer v Rogerson (access restricted) By John Kernick. In the Law Society Journal (NSW), May 2001. Touches briefly on one constitutional aspect right at the end. Trans-Tasman Union--Was Sir Douglas Graham Right? By Justice Michael Kirby. Rudd, Watts, & Stone Public Lecture delivered 13 August 1999 at the Grand Hall of Parliament, Wellington, NZ. At the Justice Kirby's Papers website. Includes some reflections on NZ's role during the federation debates. "...on annexation, New Zealand at first became a dependency of New South Wales. Thus for a time, legally speaking, the two countries were united. However, this connection was very short lived. In May 1841, New Zealand was proclaimed a separate Crown colony. The separateness has continued every since. Yet there was enough memory of the political connection to prompt the father of Australian federation, Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales, in 1889 to insist that New Zealand be invited to participate in the Federation Conventions. So indeed it was. When the federationists met in Melbourne and agreed on an Australasian Convention for 1891, New Zealand sent three delegates. They were commanded not to bind the colony to anything." Unfinished Business at the Turn of a Century By Bill Bunbury. At the 1996 Culture & Citizenship Conference site at Griffith University. Federation, the Constitution ("Even today our Constitution is technically described as 'Section 9 of the British Parliament' [sic] and not as the Constitution of the Australian people."), and assorted other ponderings. The Well-Tuned Cymbal By John Doyle, Chief Justice of South Australia. Part of Fragile Bastion: Judicial Independence in the Nineties and beyond. At the website of the Judicial Commission of NSW. An essay on judicial independence. What holds Australians together despite their diversity? By Donald Horne. Barton Lecture. No. 1. At the ABC's Radio National site. "Representative democracy isn't in any classic sense democracy. It is just the best we can do: it leads to a peaceful handing over of power and it means that holding elections can provide some kind of a check on government (although it may not). But we should recognise that when we cast our votes on election day we aren't participants in government: we are simply voters choosing between two or more highly oligarchic party structures (although there can be conflicts among the oligarchs)." "What's in a name?" The curious tale of the office of High Commissioner By Lorna Lloyd, given at a workshop conference ("The Dominion Concept: Inter-state and Domestic Politics in the British Empire") at the University of Warwick, England, in July 1998. An interesting read on the history of the term "High Commissioner". At the Political Science Discourse site. "Meanwhile, India had become a republic in January 1950. This had raised the prospect of exchanging ambassadors rather than high commissioners, with all that this implied in terms of transferring responsibility for relations from the Commonwealth relations office...to the foreign office and exchanging fully-fledged diplomats. Britain's high commissioner in India had been surprised at how many issues arose. For example, deputy high commissioners would become consuls and take over functions currently exercised by Indian officials such as notarial acts, issuing visas and care of merchant seamen. And if trade commissioners (who reported to the Board of Trade) became commercial consuls, they would become members of the foreign service." What would Sir Samuel Griffith have said? Postmodernism in the 1990s company law classroom (281K) By Neil Andrews. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, June 1998 issue. Discusses (according to its abstract) "postmodernist legal theory in the context of Australian company law". However, it also spends some space discussing Samuel Griffith Society conference papers in relation thereto ("The focus of conference papers given at the conferences of the Samuel Griffith Society, with their preoccupation with the High Court's decision on native title and constitutionally implied rights, have come to inevitably explore the relationship between the power of the High Court exercised through the language of its judgments and the judges who constitute the court."), during which various constitutional matters are touched on. Who Must Open the Sydney Olympic Games? By Ian Ireland. A research note from the Department of the (Federal) Parliamentary Library. Discusses (inter alia) "who is Australia's head of state?" Who Needs a Fair Trial? By Michael Rozenes, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions 1992-96. Keynote address to the Sixth International Criminal Law Congress, Melbourne, October 1996. At the DPP's website. Touches briefly on juries, s80, and their replacement for "complex commercial trials". "Trial by judge alone, if available, should always be at the option of the accused and with the consent of the prosecution. I endorse the following comments of Justice Badgery-Parker: 'What we risk losing, by abandoning or reducing the use of juries, is the community advantages which a trial by jury brings--community participation in the administration of the criminal law; and increased community confidence in its outcomes.'" Who Speaks for the Courts? By Daryl R. Williams. Paper presented to the Courts in a Representative Democracy Conference (September 1995). Located at the website for the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration on SCALEPlus. See also David Solomon's commentary on this paper. "A consequence of the absence of criticism of judges was that judges were largely able to avoid having to deal with the public outside the court room. Today the advantages of not criticising judges are no longer accorded the same weight as previously and restraint is not seen as necessary. This has had a significant impact upon the judges. In 1994 in Australia and elsewhere the judges find themselves no longer insulated from the controversies of the day. In fact, the judges are one of the controversies of the day." "Some judges, a declining number, expect the attorney-general to defend them publicly against attack or criticism. There are even some attorneys-general who believe that defending the judiciary is part of their responsibilities. In truth, it has never been clearly articulated or accepted that attorneys-general in Australia do have such a duty." "The primary purpose in having a person other than a member of the judiciary speak for judges in public debate is to avoid having the judiciary involved in the debate at all. Respect for the judiciary and its independence and impartiality is maintained through detachment from controversy." The Wide Ranging Politics of the Cook Bill By John Stone. A paper delivered to the 10th Conference of the H R Nicholls Society in 1991. At the H.R. Nicholls site. In essence a critique of the report of a (mid-1980s) government-appointed Committee of Review into Australian Industrial Relations Law and Systems. Touches now and again on constitutional issues (eg "That Appendix lists the numerous submissions from industrial relations club members (including a number of employers or employer associations) supporting the view that the Constitutional provisions confining the exercise of judicial powers to proper Courts, should be overturned.") The Wik Judgment By S.E.K. Hulme QC. Paper presented to the Samuel Griffith Society in March 1997. For the most part of marginal interest to this page. Included mainly because he goes on to comment on the High Court and its (constitutional) role. ("In recent years the Court has given decisions which have, in the perception of many, taken it beyond its proper function. Members of the Court have given considered explanations of the approach they see as proper for the Court to take today. These explanations have added fuel to the fires of concern.") Wormes in the entrayles: the corporate citizen in law? (332K) By Neil Andrews. At the website for Murdoch University's E Law journal, June 1998 issue. An article on certain aspects of the theoretical side of law. Not for the light reader! Deals (so far as I can make out) with indeterminacy in (corporate) law. Of interest to this webpage mainly because of references to (parliamentary) "sovereignty" and "sovereign parliaments", and to various authors (eg John Austin) connected therewith. (Curiously, the article's abstract is not so much a precis of the contents than an extract--virtually word-for-word--of part of the article's introductory paragraph, possibly suggesting that the one who wrote it either did not himself fully comprehend what the article was on about or could not come up with a form of words that would better illuminate the darkness within! :) "Implicitly or explicitly nineteenth century legal positivists, in emphasising judge made law, recognised the indeterminacy of the law. Bentham was anxious to reveal that judges made law. Austin promoted judges to the role of delegates of the sovereign. In federated states with Constitutions there was no 'sovereign' in the Austinian sense but judges who were arbiters of the Constitution could be seen to take the place of such sovereigns."

[The Australian Federal Constitution: Net Resources (top level page)]
[About the Constitution] [About the Institutions & Processes] [About (Constitutional) History]
[Texts of the Constitution (& Other Important Statutes)]
[Discussion of Constitutional Issues (A-E) (F-K) (L-Z)] [Discussion of Particular Provisions]
[Other Papers on Constitutional Matters] [Other Papers of Interest]
[Useful Tools & Places]

Caution: this is only a subpage of my Australian Constitution Resource Guide site. Links should be made instead to http://www-personal.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/constitution/

Useful Tools and Places for Legal Authors
Archives	The Australian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) Contains searchable & browsable archives of assorted Commonwealth & (some) State & Territory Acts, bills (since 1998), regulations, administrative decisions, and court judgments & transcripts, amongst other useful things. Law & Justice Foundation: Judgments and Courts Not an archive as such, but nicely organised pages of links into particular areas of the AustLII, SCALEPlus, and other archives. The texts of various court & tribunal judgments, transcripts etc. At the Law & Justice Foundation site. Law & Justice Foundation: Legislation and Parliament Not an archive as such, but nice organised pages of links into particular facets of the AustLII, SCALEPlus, BillsNet, and Timebase (amongst others) archives. The texts of Acts, bills, regulations, parliamentary committee transcripts, etc. At the Law & Justice Foundation site. SCALEPlus Database Contains searchable & browsable archives of assorted Commonwealth & (some) State & Territory Acts, explanatory memoranda, regulations, administrative decisions, and court judgments.
Articles	Developing An Interactive Legal Journal On The Internet: International Commentary On Evidence (ICE) By Sean Doran. Published 2000 in the University of Technology Sydney Law Journal. Referencing And Citation Of Internet Resources: "The Truth Is Out There" By Pearl Rozenberg. Published 2000 in the University of Technology Sydney Law Journal. Includes links to some useful online legal resources. "No, Mulder, it's not a conspiracy. It's just a mess." ("Having delved into the depths of citation style, one is left gasping for air, reeling with shock and surprised at the general murkiness of those depths. There is no uniformity at all within any of the guides. No common standard has appeared, and it would appear no chance of one doing so in the future.")
Guides	The Australian Guide to Legal Citation At the The Melbourne University Law Review's site. A highly useful guide for authors and would-be authors on constitutional and other legal matters. The guide itself can be downloaded as a (520K, 171-page) PDF file. Plain English Manual (also in PDF format) Author unknown. How to draft laws in simple plain English. At the Office of [Federal] Parliamentary Counsel's site. (Other documents from the OPC, including drafting directions--covering "a wide range of topics related to drafting"--from the 1970s onwards, can be found here.) "Our first duty is to draft laws that do all the things the policy instructors want, and don't do anything else. This means our laws must be precise, except when we deliberately use 'general principles' statements..."

[The Australian Federal Constitution: Net Resources (top level page)]
[About the Constitution] [About the Institutions & Processes] [About (Constitutional) History]
[Texts of the Constitution (& Other Important Statutes)]
[Discussion of Constitutional Issues (A-E) (F-K) (L-Z)] [Discussion of Particular Provisions]
[Other Papers on Constitutional Matters] [Other Papers of Interest]
[Useful Tools & Places]

Caution: this is only a subpage of my Australian Constitution Resource Guide site. Links should be made instead to http://www-personal.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/constitution/