Can someone nominate a Republic that has a better lifestyle than Australia? To become a Republic will not improve anyone's status or life, it is just an anti-British fad.

NathanJ,

It is not an adequate response for you to assume as leftists do that 'she'll be right' and Australia is a 'wealthy country' that can easily afford additional imposts on the federal Budget.

If you listen to Parliamentary debates or read newspapers you should be aware that any new commitments have to be made possible by costs elsewhere. That is how Labor with their treacherous Greens sidekicks put the budget into the red and through loans take away from our children and their grandchildren as well.

Make that, "any new commitments have to be made possible by CUTS elsewhere".

otb,

"....you should be aware that any new commitments have to be made possible by costs elsewhere. That is how Labor with their treacherous Greens sidekicks put the budget into the red and through loans take away from our children and their grandchildren as well."

Pfft....if the govt closed its sadistic gulags of Manus and Nauru it might save a bit.

$280 million every three month period according to Senate Estimates yesterday...over $1 billion per annum to abuse people.

Do you have any explanation for the $143 billion Hockey and the govt added to our net debt during the Abbott tenure...with nothing to show for it?

Poirot,

Others have taken the time to correct you on that stuff on numerous occasions before and in all manner of threads, so I will not bother to retrace their footsteps.

Now, where is the patient Shadow Minister to play your forum parlour game of tit-for-tat, where you never make reasonable exchanges and make up your own 'rules' as you go?

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The constitution of Australia was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 became law on 9 July 1900, and entered into force on 1 January 1901.

In Australian law, legislation enacted by the British Parliament by “paramount force” is referred to as “imperial” law. Our constitution is an example.

In 1901 Australia was a federation of six British colonies. We had - and still have - a colonial constitution. Nothing has changed despite the eight relatively marginal amendments voted by referendum since it was enacted by the British Parliament 115 years ago.

Despite, also, the fact that Australia is no longer a federation of colonies of the United Kingdom, due to two pieces of legislation :

• the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and
• the Australia Act 1986, which was passed in equivalent forms by the United Kingdom Parliament and the Australian Federal Parliament (using legislative powers conferred by enabling acts passed by the Parliaments of every Australian state).

The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act is the point at which Australia became, de jure, an independent nation, while the Australia Act severed the last constitutional links with the United Kingdom – just 29 years ago. Elizabeth II acts in a distinct capacity as monarch of each country.

The UK does not have a constitution. It relies on its parliamentary legislation which is partly overridden by European law as a member of the European Union.

Laws passed by the EU are legally superior to domestic law, and are subject to a higher constitutional court, the European Court of Justice.

Australia’s colonial constitution has little in common with the UK’s parliamentary system and, of course, is not subject to the EU’s constitutional court. However, the UK has a Bill of Rights - and our constitution does not.

Regrettably, our colonial constitution is racist :

• Section 25 – States can stop people voting because of their race,
• Section 51; 26 – Allows racial discrimination by federal parliament.

We need a new constitution – whether monarchist or republican !

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