Written by Robert Vose
1 August 2024 Alice Springs
Section 129 – An Australian republic
Since time immemorial, Australians walk sovereign on this land.
We recognise and honour the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
The people of Australia agree to restore sovereignty within our nation, by electing an Australian to serve a fixed term as head of state, in place of the monarch, under the democratic Crown of Australia.
Commencing from 10 am on the 3rd of September, 2032, successors for the Crown of Australia shall be elected of the people, by the people, and for the people of Australia.
(See Note 1 – Section 129)
Section 130 – Election of the head of state
A successor for the Crown of Australia must qualify for nomination as a Senator or Member of the House of Representatives.
The term of office is one year.
The title of the head of state is “Australian of the Year”.
The gender of the head of state taking office in even years must be female, and the gender of the head of state taking office in odd years must be male. (see Note 2)
A successor for the Crown of Australia must serve an apprenticeship under the previous head of state, for a duration of six months prior to their term in office, starting on the 3rd of March.
A successor for the Crown of Australia must serve as a mentor to the incoming head of state, for a duration of six months after their term in office, ending on the 3rd of March.
The people of New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and all the Territories combined for the Commonwealth, shall elect an Australian to serve as head of state in turn through a round robin.
Every State, and the Territories combined for the Commonwealth, must elect an Australian to serve as head of state once every seven years.
A candidate for election must be a resident of the relevant State or Territory.
The gender of the head of state elected in a State, and all the Territories combined for the Commonwealth, must alternate between male and female for each seven year cycle.
Voting shall be first past the post. (see Note 3)
There shall be two rounds of voting to elect an Australian head of state.
The first round of voting shall result in a short list of no more than the seven candidates with the highest number of votes.
The second round of voting shall be to elect the successor for the Crown of Australia from the candidates on the short list, who shall be the person receiving the highest number of votes.
If there is a draw between first and second place, the Commonwealth Parliament shall decide between these two candidates by a majority vote.
If a State, or the Territories combined for the Commonwealth, fail to adequately elect a head of state for their turn in the round robin, the Governor of the State, or the Governor-General of the Commonwealth for the Territories combined, shall serve as head of state, regardless of gender.
Section 131 – Impeachment of the head of state
The Commonwealth Parliament may impeach and remove an elected head of state with a two thirds majority vote of both houses.
Section 132 – Vacancy in the office of head of state
A successor for the Crown of Australia who has died while in office, resigned, been impeached, or who has otherwise left office prematurely shall be replaced by the Governor of the State they were elected in, or by the Governor-General if elected in the Territories combined for the Commonwealth, regardless of gender.
Section 59 – Disallowance by the Queen. Powers of the head of state
The Queen may disallow any law within one year from the Governor-General’s assent, and such disallowance on being made known by the Governor-General by speech or message to each of the Houses of the Parliament, or by Proclamation, shall annul the law from the day when the disallowance is so made known.
The elected head of state replaces the monarch under the democratic Crown of Australia. He or she must abide by the conventions practiced during the reigns of monarchs since the Statue of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 and in accordance with the Australia Acts 1986.
Process
Once this is considered a possibility, we will need to convene a convention, conference, establish a Parliamentary Inquiry, or set up an expert working group, to examine and document the options.
If expert opinion supports this possibility, it would then be suitable to start engaging with the Parliaments of the Commonwealth and States, as well as political parties.
There would need to be a formal agreement between the Commonwealth and all States on the nature of the Crown in Australia, and a commitment for the Commonwealth and States to agree to work together on any changes to the Crown in Australia. This step is critical, and further progress will need to paused until there is a formal and universal agreement on this topic. There must also be a consensus between political parties that this option will be supported.
A draft referendum question can then be prepared and publicly discussed.
Discussions with the British monarchy, Parliaments of the UK and Canada need to be initiated.
If polling suggests that this option can win a double majority in a referendum, the next step would be to prepare for a referendum vote.
If a referendum is passed, and the new sections added to the Commonwealth constitution, this will not automatically achieve our objective.
We will then need to formally request the Parliaments of the UK and Canada to pass legislation to amend the Statute of Westminster.
The text of the Acts needs to be prepared by experts, and a process similar to that initiated at CHOGM 2011 with the Perth Agreement need to be started.
Every State needs to pass identical legislation requesting the Commonwealth to request the UK and Canada to enact Acts in their parliaments to modify the Statute of Westminster.
Even if the UK and/or Canada refuse, we will still be able to carry on with our own arrangements. It would be better to include them and the monarchy, and it would be poor form for any of them to refuse if the referendum passes. It isn’t essential but it would be nice to have a formal handover.
The first election would need to be conducted before we are a republic.
Ideally, we will have the monarch visit Canberra for the transition to a democratic Crown of Australia on the 3rd of September 2032.
Note that Brisbane will host the summer Olympics in 2032 – albeit it is scheduled to run through Brisbane’s winter from Friday, 23 July 2032 to Sunday, 8 Aug 2032. Perhaps we could arrange to have this rescheduled to the second and third weeks of September so that the whole world can witness the establishment of the new republic in Australia.
We have eight years to make this happen!
Notes
Note 1 – Section 129
This refers to Covering Clause 2 by changing and redefining the rules of succession for “successors” for the Crown of Australia only. If passed by a referendum, and enacted by identical legislation in all Australian States, the Commonwealth, and the Parliaments of the UK and Canada, the idea is to redefine rules of succession for the head of state in Australia under the Crown of Australia.
The new rules of succession define a democratic process for electing our head of state. If successfully added to the Commonwealth Constitution, and accepted under the Statute of Westminster by the UK and Canada, we can keep the divisible Crown of Australia, no matter whether this is a federal Crown or not, and turn this into a democratic Crown. Everything else can stay the same.
The Statute of Westminster changed the nature of the Crown from indivisible to divisible and thus it arguably changed the scope of sovereignty under divisible Crowns, even if there continues to be only one Sovereign.
Australian Constitution
Covering Clause 2: Act to extend to the Queen’s successors
The provisions of this Act referring to the Queen shall extend to Her Majesty’s heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
The date of the 3rd of September is chosen to commemorate the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 which was made to apply retroactively from the 3rd of September 1939.
The year 2032 is chosen because the length of time between the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (starting from 3/09/1939) and the Australia Acts 1986 (starting from 3/03/1986) is the same as the length of time between the Australia Acts 1986 and the potential establishing of an Australian republic on the 3/09/2032 – 46 years and six months.
10am is the start of the day in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It’s best to start on the dot.
Note 2
Assuming the last monarch for Australia in 2032 will be a King, the first elected head of state for Australia in 2032 would be female.
Note 3
Two party preferred voting systems are not relevant for contests between individuals.