-PDF Download- Australias American Constitution And The Dismissal EBOOK

Australia’s American Constitution and the Dismissal

Author: David Long

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-04-28

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 179364196X

David Long traces the cause of the 1975 constitutional crisis to the influence of English legal positivism, a theory which isolates the meaning from the political scheme the text was framed to support. He shows the fundamental premise of a Constitution, framed in Convention, ratified by the people that cannot be altered without their consent, the consent of the governed. Legal positivism was adopted by the High Court in 1920 when it abolished the federal scheme and therewith the sovereign States. The responsible judge had opposed federalism at the 1897 Convention. Long examines two juristic opinions that excused the Governor-General’s 1975 unprecedented dismissal of a government with the confidence of the House of Representatives. He identifies their reliance on legal positivist constitutional interpretations that are expressly rejected by the Founders. Long provides a theoretical defence of the Founders original understanding as the object of constitutional construction.

Secession, the Ultimate States Right

Author: Gregory Craven

Publisher: Melbourne University

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Truth of the Matter

Author: Gough Whitlam

Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780522852127

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

On Remembrance Day, 1975, the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, sacked the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The Dismissal was the culmination of almost three years of political conflict, as Whitlam's reforming Labor government rammed home overdue legislative reforms in the face of implacable, and increasingly bitter, conservative opposition. The focus of the Opposition's scheming was the Senate, where its leaders blocked supply in order to force a political crisis. Whitlam, famous for his 'crash through or crash' style, refused to compromise with his political enemies. After consulting secretly with the Opposition Leader, Malcolm Fraser, and the Chief Justice, Sir Garfield Barwick, Kerr abruptly informed the PM that he had withdrawn his commission. Half an hour later, Kerr swore Fraser in as 'caretaker Prime Minister'. At an election a month later, the conservatives were returned to office. Controversy and recrimination followed. Many Australians, including Whitlam himself, believed he had been the victim of a coup. In 1979, he published his own account of the events of 1975, The Truth of the Matter, an instant best seller. Out of print for many years, it is republished by MUP on the thirtieth anniversary of the Dismissal, with a new introduction by the author and other new reference material. Passionate, pithy, learned, witty, and vigorously combative, The Truth of the Matter tells the extraordinary political story of the only Prime Minister of Australia ever deposed from office.

Australian Constitutional Landmarks

Author: H. P. Lee

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-01-12

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9781139450355

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Australian Constitutional Landmarks presents the most significant cases and controversies in the Australian constitutional landscape up to its original publication in 2003. Including the Communist Party case, the dismissal of the Whitlam government, the Free Speech cases, a discussion of the race power, the Lionel Murphy saga, and the Tasmanian Dam case, this book highlights turning points in the shaping of the Australian nation since Federation. Each chapter clearly examines the legal and political context leading to the case or controversy and the impact on later constitutional reform. With contributions by leading constitutional lawyers and judges, as well as two former chief justices, this book will appeal to members of the judiciary, lawyers, political scientists, historians and people with a general interest in Australian politics, government and history.

The Palace Letters

Author: Jenny Hocking

Publisher: Scribe Publications

Published: 2020-10-27

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 192593862X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A political betrayal. A constitutional crisis. A hidden correspondence. Gough Whitlam was a progressive prime minister whose reign from 1972 proved tumultuous after 23 years of conservative government in Australia. After a second election victory in May 1974, when a hostile Senate refused to vote on his 1975 budget, the political deadlock that ensued culminated in Whitlam’s unexpected and deeply controversial dismissal by the governor-general, Sir John Kerr. Kerr was in close touch with the Palace during this period, but, under the cover of being designated as personal, that correspondence was locked away in the National Archives, and embargoed by the Queen — potentially forever. This ruse denied the Australian people access to critical information about one of the most divisive episodes in the nation’s history. In the face of this, Professor Jenny Hocking embarked on what would become a ten-year campaign and a four-year legal battle to force the Archives to release the letters. In May 2020, despite being opposed by the Archives, Buckingham Palace, and the full resources of the federal government, she won her historic case in the High Court. The Palace Letters is the ground-breaking account of her indomitable fight. Drawing on material from the Palace letters, Kerr’s archives, and her submissions to the courts, Hocking traces the collusion and deception behind the dismissal, and charts the secret role of High Court judges, the leader of the opposition, Malcolm Fraser, and the Queen’s private secretary in fostering and supporting Kerr’s actions. Hocking also reveals the obstruction, intrigue, and duplicity she faced during her campaign, raising disturbing questions about the role of the National Archives in fighting access to these historic letters and in enforcing, against Australia’s national interests, royal secrecy over its own documents.

The Constitution of Australia

Author: Cheryl Saunders

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-11-30

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 1847317405

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Consistently with the aims of the series, the book canvasses the Australian constitutional system in a way that explains its form and operation, provides a critical evaluation of it and conveys a sense of the contemporary national debate. The chapters deal with the foundations of Australian constitutionalism, its history from the time of European settlement, the nature of the Australian Constitutions, the framework for judicial review, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, federalism and multi-level government and rights protection. Running through all chapters is the story of the gradual evolution of Australian constitutionalism within the lean but almost unchanging framework of the formal, written, national Constitution. A second theme traces the way in which the present, distinctive, constitutional arrangements in Australia emerged from creative tension between the British and United States constitutional traditions on which the Australian Constitution originally drew and which continues to manifest itself in various ways. One of these, which is likely to be of particular interest, is Australian reliance on institutional arrangements for the purpose of the protection of rights. The book is written in a clear and accessible style for readers in both Australia and countries around the world. Each chapter is followed by additional references to enable particular issues to be pursued further by readers who seek to do so. 'The Constitution of Australia' has already been cited in a High Court of Australia case: Momcilovic v The Queen [2011] HCA 34 (8 September 2011)

Constitutional Conventions in Australia

Author: Ian Killey

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781783081226

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Australia's constitutions tell only part of the story. They omit or barely mention many of the essential and well-known elements of the system of government, such as the cabinet, the prime minister or premier, ministerial responsibility or the opposition. This work fills that void by explaining the nature of conventions, how they arise, how they are altered, as well as their operation and development. This is a book for anyone who has an interest in understanding the complexities and mysteries of the unwritten rules of Australian systems of government.

Conversations with the Constitution

Author: Gregory Craven

Publisher: UNSW Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780868404394

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Describes the bitter power struggles of the Australian constitution's forging, and paints the founding fathers as implausible heroes who managed a profound historical achievement. It talks about parliaments, courts, judges and ministers not just as colorless instruments of the Constitution, but as the walking wounded of political psychology; and it sheds light on today’s great constitutional controversies: Do we need a Bill of Rights? Can federalism work? How can parliament work better? Can we ever be a republic?