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Australian Referendum
In Australia, referendums (also spelt referenda) are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as ''plebiscites'', with the term ''referendum'' being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia. In the past, however the terms were used interchangeably, with the non-constitutional 1916 Australian conscription referendum and the 2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum being examples. Voting in a referendum is compulsory for those on the electoral roll, in the same way that it is compulsory to vote in a general election. As of 2023, 45 nationwide referendums have been held, only eight of which have been carried. Of those eight, all but one had bi-partisan support. Since multiple referendum questions are often asked on the same ballot, there have onl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. It is a megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and Climate of Australia, climates including deserts of Australia, deserts in the Outback, interior and forests of Australia, tropical rainforests along the Eastern states of Australia, coast. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last glacial period. By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Australia
The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a representation of the Crux, Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars (Epsilon Crucis, one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars). Australia also has a number of other #Other Australian flags, official flags representing its States and territories of Australia, states and territories, Indigenous Australians, Indigenous peoples and government bodies. The original version of the flag first flew as the Commonwealth blue ensign on 3 September 1901, after being selected alongside a merchant naval Australian red ensign, red ensign in 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition, a competition held following Federation of Australia, Federation. A slightly simplified version as approved by King Edward VII was officially adopted in 1903. It was later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flags Act 1953
The ''Flags Act 1953'' is an act of the Parliament of Australia which defines the official Australian National Flag and the Australian Red Ensign. Other flags may also be proclaimed as official flags of Australia under this act; for example, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Australian Defence Force ensign. History In the decades following the Federation of Australia in 1901 the Red Ensign was the pre-eminent flag in use by private citizens on land. This was largely due to the Commonwealth Government and flag suppliers restricting sales of the blue ensign to the general public. By traditional British understanding, the blue ensign was reserved for official government use. State and local governments, private organisations and individuals were expected to use the red ensign. In the 1920s there was debate over whether the blue ensign was reserved for Commonwealth buildings only, culminating in a 1924 agreement that the Union Flag should take precedence as the National ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Government
The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal–National Party of Australia, National Coalition (Australia), Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard government commenced following victory over the Keating government at the 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 federal election. It concluded with its defeat at the 2007 Australian federal election, 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party, whose leader Kevin Rudd then formed the first Rudd government (2007–2010), Rudd government. It was the second-longest government under a single prime minister, with the longest having been the second Menzies government (1949–1966). Two senior ministers served in single r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed will of a legislative body, whether that be on the behalf of a country, state or province, county, municipality, or so on. Depending on the legal system, a statute may also be referred to as an "act." Etymology The word appears in use in English as early as the 14th century. "Statute" and earlier English spellings were derived from the Old French words ''statut'', ''estatut'', ''estatu,'' meaning "(royal) promulgation, (legal) statute." These terms were in turn derived from the Late Latin ''statutum,'' meaning "a law, decree." Publication and organization In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Section 123 Of The Constitution Of Australia
Section 123 of the Constitution of Australia details the method by which the Parliament of Australia, federal parliament may alter the borders of the States of Australia, Australian states. It provides that any alterations must be approved by the relevant State parliaments of Australia, state parliament and ratified by a referendum in the relevant state. Text Drafting Section 123 was derived from the ''British North America Act 1871'', part of the Constitution of Canada. Andrew Inglis Clark included an equivalent section in his first draft of the constitution, although no reference was made to a referendum. Clark's original wording was retained at the Constitutional Convention (Australia), 1891 Constitutional Convention in Sydney and at all further conventions. In 1899, following a conference of colonial premiers, additional wording was inserted requiring a referendum – "the approval of a majority of the electors of the State voting upon the question" – as one of the New Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
States And Territories Of Australia
The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the Australian Government, federal government. They have their own state constitutions in Australia, constitutions, Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, legislatures, Premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories, executive governments, Judiciary of Australia#State and territory courts and tribunals, judiciaries and state police#Australia, law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policy, public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous administrative division, autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government. Australia has si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1977 Australian Referendum (Referendums)
The 1977 Referendums question was a successful Referendums in Australia, amendment to the Constitution of Australia, Australian constitution that allowed Australians living in Australian territories, territories to vote on future referendums. This question was put to voters alongside 1977 Australian referendum, four others during 1977. With the success of the vote, the ''Constitution Alteration (Referendums) Bill 1977'' passed. In future referendums, the votes of electors in the territories would be counted towards the national total, but would not be counted toward any state total. Question ''It is proposed to alter the Constitution so as to allow electors in the territories, as well as electors in the states, to vote at referendums on proposed laws to alter the Constitution.'' ''Do you approve the proposed law?'' Results Discussion At the time of Federation the very few people who lived in the Northern Territory voted as residents of South Australia. Territorians could th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century. Royal assent is typically associated with elaborate ceremony. In the United Kingdom the Sovereign may appear personally in the House of Lords or may appoint Lords Commissioners, who anno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Majority
A double majority is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. The mechanism is usually used to require strong support for any measure considered to be of great importance. Two special cases that technically fit the definition but are usually not considered double majority are double chambers, where a law must have a majority in two chambers of a legislative body to pass; and quorums, where the measure requires not only a majority but also a turnout minimum. Examples in use Australia In Australia, constitutional changes must be passed at a referendum in a majority of states (4 of the 6), and by a majority of voters nationally. Prior to 1977, the votes of citizens in the Northern Territory and the ACT did not affect the national or state-based count. After a Constitution Alteration put to referendum in 1977 and given vice-regal assent on 19 July 1977, Territorial votes contribute towards the national majority, but the Territori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proposed 2013 Australian Constitutional Referendum
An Australian constitutional referendum was planned, and then abandoned, in 2013. History The referendum was proposed to change section 96 of the Constitution of Australia to allow the Commonwealth of Australia to directly fund local councils.Local govt referendum planned Business Spectator, 24 June 2013 Similar referendums failed to pass in 1974 and 1988. The proposed constitutional alteration was passed by both Houses of Parliament as the ''Constitution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
