An Australian Head of State

The New Aussie Constitution draft makes a democratically elected Governor-General the Australian Head of State. The Governor-General is chosen by the people from a pool of up to 10 candidates with 5 nominated by Parliament and 5 by the public. Election of the Governor-General would occur once every 4 years at the same time as the Parliamentary elections.

A Parliament with a House of Representatives and a Senate

The Parliament is the legislative arm of the Government. A House of Representatives is retained with members elected to represent electoral districts. The House of Representatives is responsible for the legislative agenda of the Government. A Senate is also retained, with Senators representing their respective States’ interests as a whole. The Senate is the house of review, to scrutinise legislation and propose improvements but, in most circumstances, the Senate would no longer be able to block legislation of the elected Government. Members and Senators would serve fixed 4 year terms.

The Head of Government is the Prime Minister leading a Cabinet

The Executive Government is formed by the Governor-General at the request of the leader that has the support of the largest number of Members of the House of Representatives. This leader becomes the Prime Minister and Head of Government. The Prime Minister selects Ministers from among the Members and Senators, the most senior of which form the Cabinet. The New Aussie Constitution draft relies on the Westminster system of the collective responsibility of the Cabinet for all major decisions, rather than the Prime Minister having absolute power like a President in some models adopted around the world.

The New Aussie Constitution proposes democratic, representative and secular government with universal suffrage. Only one system of law is permitted and its power and operation is governed by the Constitution.

The current Constitution defines very few rights for Australian citizens. The draft New Aussie Constitution sets out both our rights as Australians and the responsibilities we owe to each other through the operation of the Commonwealth. There are many rights defined in the draft, including:

• Equal treatment before the law for all Australians

• Right to life, freedom and the ownership of property

• Freedom of movement around Australia and in and out of the country

• Rights to a basic education

• Rights to privacy and against unreasonable search and seizure

• Freedom of the press and the right to protest

  These rights are not absolute and are subject to certain limitations necessary for the protection of the Australian community as a whole.

The New Aussie Constitution includes a preamble that is based on historical fact and that sets out Australia’s journey up to the new Constitution’s implementation. It also recognises those that have gone before, having contributed to and sacrificed much for the country to reach this point in its history, a country we all draw considerable benefit from.

Eight key Australian values are provided for in the draft New Aussie Constitution as a cornerstone of our community. These values are:

• A Fair Go;

• Mateship;

• Compassion;

• Family;

• Stewardship of the land;

• Protection of life and freedoms;

• Growing to personal potential; and

• Property.

There are four ‘organs’ of Government being: the Governor-General, the Parliament, the Executive Government and an independent Judiciary. The New Aussie Constitution divides the power of the Commonwealth among the four organs of government. It provides methods to control the use of power and, if necessary, the removal from office of any individual that is acting improperly.

The draft New Aussie Constitution retains three tiers of Government; Commonwealth, State and Local but more clearly delineates their roles and reduces overlap in the provision of government services. It defines Local Government in the Constitution for the first time and sets basic rules for its operations.

Only the Commonwealth can collect taxes and royalties under the New Aussie Constitution and once the Commonwealth budget needs are met, all remaining monies are distributed in full to the States. States receive the funds on a per ca-pita basis, adjusted for the relative cost of providing services given the respective geographic distribution of their populations. To the extent possible, only one tier of government provides each of the government services and receives the bulk of the funding to meet those obligations.