Australia's Head of
State
In Australia, our Head of State is Queen Elizabeth
II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Provisions of the Australian
Constitution and custom make it clear that
the Queen is intended to be the embodiment of the
Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia's Constitution
-
The Constitution of Australia defines the Parliament
as "the Queen, a Senate, and a House of Representatives"
and vests the Federal legislative (law-making)
power in the Parliament (s 1). While the Queen
is a part of Parliament, the Governor General
is not.
-
The executive power (the governing and administrative
power) of the Commonwealth of Australia is vested
in the Queen (s 61).
-
The Queen has the power to disallow any law within
one year of it being made even after the Governor-General
has given his assent (s 59).
-
The Governor-General is appointed to represent
the Queen, not Australia. The Governor-General's
power given by s 68 as Commander in Chief is vested
in him as "the Queen's representative". The Governor-General
only holds office "during the Queen's pleasure"
which means that the he can be dismissed by the
Queen at any time (s 2).
-
The Governor-General's salary is payable to the
Queen on his behalf, not directly to him (ss 3
and 66).
-
The Governor-General's power given by s 68 as
the Commander in Chief is vested in him as "the
Queen's representative".
-
Australians are described in the Constitution
as subjects of the Queen and not as subjects of
the Governor-General, nor as citizens (ss 34(ii)
and 117).
-
The Schedule to the Constitution requires that
all Federal Parliamentarians swear an oath or
declare an affirmation of allegiance to the Queen.
This oath of allegiance can only be changed by
alteration of the Constitution. No Oath of Allegiance
is required to the Governor-General by any member
of Parliament or official.
Legal Opinion
Authoritative legal opinion supports the view that
Australia's Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II.
-
Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
Sir
Anthony Mason clearly considers that Queen
Elizabeth II, rather than the Governor-General,
is Australia's Head of State.
-
Daryl
Williams, Attorney-General for Australia
1996-2003, similarly believes that "the head of
state of Australia is, and always has been, the
person who, for the time being, is the King or Queen
of the United Kingdom".
-
George Winterton, Professor of Constitutional Law
at the University of Sydney, has also dismantled
the monarchists' argument that the Governor-General
is Australia’s Head of State in a recent article,
Who
is our Head of State?
The Queen herself
In the late 1990s, the Queen's web site described
her as Australia's Head of State. However, in the
lead up to the 1999 referendum her website was changed
so that the Queen is now described as Australia's
Sovereign. The website provides no support for the
proposition that the Governor-General is Australia's
Head of State.
-
The Queen's own website
clearly refers to Australia being a Commonwealth
realm where the Queen is Sovereign:
"A Commonwealth realm is a country where The Queen
is the Sovereign. The Queen is Queen not only of
the United Kingdom and its overseas territories,
but also of the following realms: Antigua and Barbuda,
Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada,
Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher
and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines,
Solomon Islands and Tuvalu."
-
In describing the Queen's role in the modern state,
the website
further states:
"Since the beginning of the eighteenth century,
the monarch has become a constitutional monarch,
which means that he or she is bound by rules and
conventions and remains politically impartial.
"On almost all matters he or she acts on the advice
of ministers. While acting constitutionally, the
Sovereign retains an important political role as
Head of State, formally appointing prime ministers,
approving certain legislation and bestowing honours."
But what is the difference between a Sovereign
and a Head of State?
The Macquarie Dictionary defines "Sovereign" as a
monarch, "having supreme rank, power or authority"
and being "above all others in character and importance".
By definition, the Sovereign has higher rank, authority
and importance than our Governor-General. Therefore,
by definition, the Governor-General cannot possibly
be our Head of State.
The Governor-General's view
Governor-General His Excellency Major General Michael
Jeffery, in an extensive interview with Bruce Stannard
published in the Canberra Times on 6 November 2004,
Maintaining a theme of self-sacrifice for his
country, stated that Australia’s Head of State
was Queen Elizabeth II.
In response to the question: “Was it not something
of an anachronism that in the 21st century, Australia,
an independent sovereign nation should have as its
Head of State a British Queen resident in faraway
London?” he stated:
"Her Majesty is Australia's Head of State, but I am
her representative and to all intents and purposes
I carry out the full role. The Queen does not intervene
in any way. Her only function is to approve the appointment,
or the dismissal of Governors-General and Governors
on the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of
the day... My own view is that we are extremely fortunate
in having a Head of State with the tremendous knowledge
and wisdom that the Queen has accumulated having been
on the throne for over 50 years."
The Australian Government
The Australian Government clearly states that Australia's
Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II. See, for example,
the Australian Government House of Representatives
info sheet on The
Australian System of Government and the Department
of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
website on Australia's
Political System.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website
outlines protocol requirements for Heads of Mission
in Australia and in this context clearly refers to
Queen Elizabeth II as Australia's Head of State.
The Commonwealth
Australia's country
entry for the Commonwealth Secretariat clearly
states:
Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth
II represented by Governor-General Major-General Michael
Jeffery
Other countries
Other countries recognise Queen Elizabeth as Australia's
Head of State. The British Foreign Office's Country
Profile
on Australia, for example, states:
Head of State: Her Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth II
International Bar Association
The International Bar Association's website includes
an entry on Australia
which states:
Constitutional monarchy
Australia is a constitutional monarchy under which
the head of state is a monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth
2), whose functions are regulated by the Constitution.
The concept of the crown is integral to the Australian
constitutional system…
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