LAWS 107 - Summary Notes on Australian Constitution PDF

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LAWS 107 - Summary Notes on Australian Constitution

S 51 Section 51 details, subject to the Constitution, the legislative powers of The Parliament to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth and covers, amongst other things, Trade and Commerce, Taxation, Naval and Military Defense of the Commonwealth, quarantine, census, currency, naturalisation and aliens and marriage.

S 52 Exclusive powers of the Parliament are covered in Section 52. Exclusive powers are certain powers that only the national government has e.g. the right to declare war or the right to levy tariffs on imports and exports.

S 61 Section 61 vests the executive power of the Commonwealth in the monarch of Australia, and establishes the Governor-General as being able to exercise this power on behalf of the monarch as their representative. In practice, the Governor-General only exercises this power on the advice of the Federal Executive Council which he or she presides over.

S 71 S 75 Section 75(v) of the Australian Constitution gives the High Court original jurisdiction to hear 'all matters’, in which a writ of Mandamus or prohibition or an injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth.' This is said to guarantee the Court's ability to ensure that officers of the Commonwealth act within the law

S 80 The trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury, and every such trial shall be held in the State where the offence was committed, and if the

offence was not committed within any State the trial shall be held at such place or places as the Parliament prescribes.

S 83 No money is to be drawn from Treasury of the Commonwealth except under appropriation made by law.

S 90 Section 90 of the Constitution of Australia prohibits the States from imposing customs duties and of excise. The section bars the States from imposing any tax that would be considered to be of a customs or excise nature.

S 109 Section 109 of the Constitution of Australia deals with the legislative inconsistency between federal and state laws and declares that valid federal laws override ("shall prevail") inconsistent State laws, to the extent of the inconsistency.

S 116 Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia precludes the Commonwealth of Australia (i.e., the federal parliament) from making laws for establishing any religion, imposing any religious observance, or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. Section 116 also provides that no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

S 117 Section 117 of the Constitution of Australia provides protection against discrimination on the basis of State of residence. It states “A subject of the Queen, resident in any State, shall not

be subject in any other State to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in such other state”.

S 128 Section 128 provides that the Constitution may only be amended by referendum, and specifies the procedures for referendums. The method involves several steps; firstly, a bill containing the proposed change must be passed by the Parliament of Australia (subject to an exception), secondly, the proposed change must be submitted to the Australian electors for approval....