Constitution

Constitution series: Covering Clause 3

Constitution series: Covering Clause 3

Constitution series: Covering Clause 3

Proclamation of Commonwealth.

  1. It shall be lawful for the Queen, with the advice of the Privy Council, to declare by Proclamation that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the passing of this Act, the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, and also, if Her Majesty is satisfied that the people of Western Australia have agreed thereto, of Western Australia, shall be united in a Federal Commonwealth under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia. But the Queen may, at any time after the Proclamation, appoint a Governor-General for the Commonwealth.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 328, (relevant part only).

HISTORICAL NOTE.- Clause 3 of the Commonwealth Bill of 1891 (UK Parliament) (which became the Constitution Act 1900) was as follows:-

“It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the advice of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, to declare by Proclamation that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than six months after the passing of this Act, the colonies shall be united in one Federal Commonwealth under the Constitution hereby established, and under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia; and on and after that day the said colonies shall be united in one Federal Commonwealth under that name.”

At the Adelaide Session (Constitutional Convention Debates), the clause was introduced in the same form, except that it was provided that the colonies “shall be united in a Federal Constitution under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia, and on and after that day the Commonwealth shall be established under that name.”

The Queen may, at any time after the making of the proclamation, appoint a Governor-General for the Commonwealth.

The words “of the Commonwealth Bill” point out the influence that Australia had in the creation of the Constitution Act.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 328, (relevant part only).

This was agreed to. Drafting amendments were made after the fourth report. In the Imperial Parliament, the names of the federating colonies were filled in; with the provision for including Western Australia in the Proclamation if the Queen were satisfied that the people of Western Australia had agreed to the Constitution.”

Privy Council.

This body was originally one of the most important councils of the Crown. It acquired the last-named designation during the reign of Henry VI. (1422–1461). It was a council of confidential advisers, who were in constant attendance upon the king and assisted him in the decision of all questions of public policy and in the administration of the business of the kingdom. It consisted of nobles and other eminent persons in whom the king had confidence.

Lord Hale referring to the fact that the members of that council, being peers, in consultation with the king, they prepared the business. It was foreshadowed in the reign of Henry III, and assumed a definite organization during the long period covered by the successive reigns of the three Edwards. It was one of the three groups into which the Great Council was originally divided and which afterwards became fused into the House of Lords.

These groups were—

  1. The Lords Spiritual;
  2. the Lords Temporal; and
  3. the official and bureaucratic element immediately associated with the king in the government of the realm.

The Cabinet has been defined as the political committee of the Privy Council,

especially organized for the purpose of advising the Crown, directing all public departments, and deciding all important questions of administration, subject only to the approval of the House of Commons.

In Colonial causes the Privy Council had, from time immemorial, both original and appellate (Appeal) jurisdiction.

And to the same supreme tribunal there is an appeal in the last resort from the sentence of every court of justice throughout the colonies and dependencies of the realm. Practically, however, all the judicial authority of the Privy Council is now exercised by a committee of privy councillors, called the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, who hear the allegations and proofs, and make their report to Her Majesty in council, by whom the judgment is finally given.

The statutory jurisdiction of the Privy Council was first regulated in 1833 by the Act of William IV, passed for the better administration of justice in the judicial branch of the Council.

Under that law the Judicial Committee of the Council was definitely constituted.

The Erection of the Commonwealth.

Three distinct stages in the erection of the Commonwealth are contemplated by this clause:—

  1. The passing of the Imperial Act,
  2. the issue of the Queen’s proclamation appointing a day within one year after the passing of the Act,
  3. the day when the people of the concurring colonies are united. These events and successive stages are not chronologically narrated in the clause. It will be conducive to clearness to consider them in the order of time in which they occur.

The Passing of this Act.

Before the Act, every Act in which no particular time of commencement was specified, operated and took effect from the first day of that session of Parliament in which it was passed. An Act which was to take effect from and after the passing of the Act operated by legal relation from the first day of the session. But now, where the commencement of an Act is not provided for in the Act, the date endorsed on the Act, stating when it has passed and received the Royal assent, is the date of its commencement. The Royal assent may be given during the course of the session, in which the two Houses of Parliament concur in it, or at the end of the session. The practice is to endorse on the first page of the Act, immediately after the introductory title, the date of the Royal assent.The Royal assent to an Imperial Act is given by the Queen in person or by commission; if by commission it is only given to such bills as may be specified in the schedule thereto.This Act received the Royal assent on 9th July, 1900, which day is therefore the date of “the passing of this Act.” But, although that date marks the commencement of the Act, the Commonwealth is not established, nor does the Constitution take effect, until the Queen has made a proclamation under the Act and the day fixed by that proclamation for the establishment of the Commonwealth has arrived. The only immediate consequences of the passing of the Act were:

  1. That the Queen in Council was empowered to issue a proclamation appointing a day, not later than one year after the passing of the Act for the establishment of the Commonwealth “Proclamation”), and
  2. that the Parliaments of the several colonies might proceed to pass preliminary electoral laws and to make arrangements for the election of the first Federal Parliament.

Proclamation.

A royal proclamation is a formal announcement of an executive Act; such as a summons to the dissolution of Parliament; a declaration of peace or war; a warning to the people to keep the law, or a notification of enforcement of the provisions of a statute, the operation of which is left to the discretion of the Queen in Council. The object of a royal proclamation is only to make known the existing law or declare its enforcement; it can neither make, nor unmake the law. A proclamation is a resolution of the Queen in Council, which, as we have already seen, means the Cabinet.

The proclamation referred to in this clause is one which it is in the discretion of the Queen, acting on constitutional advice, to issue subject only to the condition that the date fixed therein must be not later than one year after the passing of the Act.

A Day therein Appointed.

Where an Imperial Act of Parliament is expressed to come into operation on a particular day, it is construed as coming into operation immediately on the expiration of the previous day. Thus if the day appointed is the 1st January, the day begins at midnight, marking the end of 31st December. This principle will apply to the day appointed in the Queen’s proclamation. An expression of time in an Imperial Act, in the case of Great Britain, means Greenwich Mean Time. Definition of Time Act 1880, Interpretation Act 1889. On the day appointed by the proclamation, the following events are declared to happen,

  1. The people of the colonies are united.
  2. The Commonwealth is established.
  3. The Constitution takes effect.
  4. The electoral and other procedure laws passed by the Parliaments of the federating colonies between “the passing of the Act” and “the day appointed” come into operation.

The People shall be United.

The formative words in this clause are more forcible, striking, and significant than those of the corresponding parts of the Constitutions of the United States and of Canada; they indicate the fundamental principle of the whole plan of government, which is neither a loose confederacy nor a complete unification, but a union of the people considered as citizens of various communities whose individuality remains unimpaired, except to the extent to which they make transfers to the Commonwealth. In the body of the Constitution it is nowhere stated that the people of the States are or shall be united.

The individual human units, the vital forces, the population of the provinces, are not even remotely alluded to.

The haziness of one and the deficiency of the other Constitution have not been allowed to damage the design of the Constitution of the Commonwealth. The union of the people of the colonies is doubly asserted and assured; first in the preamble, where it is recited that “the people have agreed to unite,” and secondly in this clause, in which it is forcefully stated with mandatory force that on the day appointed they “shall be united.

Western Australia.

The condition necessary for the establishment of Western Australia as an Original State that the Queen should be “satisfied that the people of Western Australia have agreed thereto” was fulfilled by the affirmative vote in that colony on the Constitution, followed by addresses to the Queen passed by both Houses of the West Australian Parliament.

In a Federal Commonwealth.

The word “federal” occurs fifteen times in the Act, exclusive of references to the Federal Council of Australasia Act, 1885:

  1. Federal Commonwealth, Preamble and Clause 3.
  2. Federal Parliament, sec. 1.
  3. Federal Executive Council, secs. 62, 63, 64.
  4. Federal Supreme Court, sec. 71.
  5. Federal Courts, sec. 71.
  6. Federal Court, secs. 73 ii.; 77 i. and ii.
  7. Federal Jurisdiction, secs. 71, 73 ii., 77 iii., and 79.

The Federal idea, therefore, encompasses and largely dominates the structure of the newly-created community, its parliamentary executive and judiciary departments.

“Federal” generally means “having the attributes of a Federation.” By usage, however, the term Federal has acquired several distinct and separate meanings, and is capable of as many different applications. In this Act, for example, the term Federal is used first in the preamble, and next in clause 3, considered as a political community or state; in various sections of the Constitution it is employed as descriptive of the organs of the central government. This use, in an Act of Parliament, of one term in reference to two conceptions so entirely different as state and government, is illustrative of the evolution of ideas associated with Federalism. In the history of Federation the word seems to have passed through several distinct stages or phases, each characterized by a peculiar use and meaning.

These meanings may be here roughly generalized as a preliminary to a separate analysis:

  1.  As descriptive of a union of States, linked together in one political system.
  2.  As descriptive of a dual system of government, central and provincial.

As descriptive of the central governing organs in such a dual system of government.

The first, and oldest, of these meanings directs attention definitely to the preservation of the identity of the States; the second asserts that the duality is a matter of government, not of sovereignty; whilst the third asserts nothing, but is merely a convenient form of terminology.

A Union of States.

The primary and fundamental meaning of a federation is its capacity and intention to link together a number of co-equal societies or States, so as to form one common political system and to regulate and co-ordinate their relations to one another; in other words a Federation is a union of States.

A Dual System of Government.

In recent years it has been argued that the word “federal” is inappropriately and roughly used when applied to a State or community; that there is no such thing as a federal State; that if there is a State at all it must be a national State; that any political union short of the principal attribute of statehood and nationhood, sovereignty,

Central Government of a Dual System.

The term federal” is often used as descriptive of the organs of the central and general government, such as the Federal Parliament, the Federal Executive, and the Federal Supreme Court.

Federal Structure of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth as a political society has been created by the union of the States and the people thereof. That the States are united is proved by the words in clause 6, which provide that the States are “parts of the Commonwealth;” that they are welded into the very structure and essence of the Commonwealth; that they are inseparable from it and as enduring and indestructible as the Commonwealth itself; forming the support of the entire constitutional fabric.

Covering Clause 6.

Definitions.

“The Commonwealth” shall mean the Commonwealth of Australia as established under this Act.

“The States” shall mean such of the colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, including the Northern Territory of South Australia, as for the time being are parts of the Commonwealth, and such colonies or territories as may be admitted into or established by the Commonwealth as States; and each of such parts of the Commonwealth shall be called “a State.” Original States” shall mean such States as are parts of the Commonwealth at its establishment.

“The Commonwealth, however, is not constituted merely by a union of States; it is something more than that; it is also a union of people.”

State Rights—Federal.

The sections which guarantee equal representation in the Senate and a minimum representation in the House of Representatives; which enable the Governors of States to issue writs for the election of Senators and to certify their election to the Governor-General; which require the Governor of a State concerned to be notified of vacancies in the Senate; State Constitutions except so far as they are inconsistent with the Constitution of the Commonwealth and its laws; which continue the power of State Parliaments except to the extent to which it has been withdrawn from them or vested in the Commonwealth; which continue.

State laws in force until provisions inconsistent therewith are legally made by the Federal Parliament; which preserve to each State the right to have direct communication with the Queen on all State questions; are examples of State rights secured by provisions of a Federal character.

The Constitution is National so far as it makes the laws of the Commonwealth binding on the people, Courts and Judges of every State; so far as the High Court has jurisdiction (sec. 73) to hear and determine appeals from State courts on questions of State laws; so far as the High Court has original jurisdiction (sec. 75) in certain classes of matters; so far as the Parliament has power to make laws (sec. 76) conferring original jurisdiction on the High Court in certain other classes of matters; so far as the Federal Parliament has power (sec. 77) to nationalize (take over) State courts by investing them with Federal jurisdiction.

Federalism in the Judicial System.

The Constitution is federal so far as it preserves the operation of State laws, not inconsistent with Commonwealth laws; so far as the State courts have exclusively original and primary jurisdiction to entertain matters in which State laws are involved; so far as it provides that the trial, on indictment, of an offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be held in the State where the offence was committed (sec. 80).

Powers of the Federal Parliament.

It is in the distribution of legislative powers between the Federal Parliament and the State Parliaments that the fundamentally federal basis of the Constitution is most apparent; yet even here there is a distinct predominance of the national element. Looking down the sub-sections of sec. 51, we find that in many of them the principle of duality is expressly recognized, and the exclusive domestic jurisdiction of the States expressly reserved. For instance, the trade and commerce power is confined to inter-State and foreign trade and commerce, and it is hedged in (Chap. IV.) with a number of small restrictions to prevent injustice or discrimination as between States. The federal power of imposing taxation and granting bounties is similarly hedged about with conditions for the protection of the States. In sub-sec. x., the power over fisheries is confined to waters beyond territorial limits—the territorial rights of the States being thus reserved. In sub-secs. xiii. and xiv., the powers as to Banking and Insurance also contain a reservation of State rights.

In sub-sec. xxxv., power to deal with conciliation and arbitration is only given in the case of inter-State industrial disputes, and so on.

In all these cases, the duality of interest is recognized in the very gift of the power to the Federal Parliament, and the distribution of power is thus essentially federal. But in most of the subsections this nice analysis is not found.

Powers of the Federal Executive.

In other matters the original jurisdiction of the State courts is exclusive. The appellate jurisdiction of the High Court, on the other hand, is completely national and is in fact the most national element in the whole Constitution. It extends, subject only to partial limitation by the Federal Parliament to cases of every description decided by the Supreme Courts of the States, whether of federal concern or not. The High Court is, in fact, not a federal court of appeal, but a national court of appeal.

Composite Character of the Constitution.

It thus appears that even according to the more modern meaning of the word “federal” which recognizes the national as well as the provincial elements of federalism, the Constitution may be described as partly federal and partly national. That is to say, it contains not only those national elements which relate to a pure Federation, but also some further national elements which relate to a unification. This is especially the case with regard to the wide extent of some of its legislative powers, and with regard to the unlimited appellate jurisdiction of the High Court.

Credit: (CLRA) Community Law Resource Association

Authorised by Ian Nelson for the Great Australian Party, 65 Cardinal Cct, Caboolture, 4510

Posted by GAP in Constitution
Kaurareg First Nation Tribale Peoples and GAP

Kaurareg First Nation Tribale Peoples and GAP

Kaurareg First Nation Tribale Peoples and Great Australian Party MoU have agreed to work together, support each for the timely restoration of the Commonwealth, and bring back sovereign decision-making control for our tribal peoples.

Posted by GAP in Constitution
Constitution Series: Clause 4

Constitution Series: Clause 4

Constitution series: Covering Clause 4

Commencement of Act.

The Commonwealth shall be established, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth shall take effect, on and after the day so appointed. But the Parliaments of the several colonies may at any time after the passing of this Act make any such laws, to come into operation on the day so appointed, as they might have made if the Constitution had taken effect at the passing of this Act.

The words “of the Commonwealth Bill” point out the influence that Australia had in the creation of The Constitution Act, an act of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament.

The above is the enabling act that allowed the Colonies/States taking part in Federation to continue to make Laws but only those Laws that they could make after Federation (Reserved and Concurrent powers).

The above words “But the Parliaments of the several colonies may at any time after the passing of this Act make any such laws, to come into operation on the day so appointed, as they might have made if the Constitution had taken effect at the passing of this Act.

All Acts have a date, or a process, that such Act comes into force or takes effect. Most Acts come into force or take effect 28 days after such Act receives Royal Assent. The Constitution Act was different, instead of a date being the method that such Act comes into force or takes effect, there was a process that allowed the Constitution Act to come into force or to take effect and that process was by proclamation.

As is described in Covering Clause 3 the process was to declare by proclamation, that, on and after a day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the passing of this Act. In other words, the Constitution Act was created and then assented to on the 9th of July 1900 (the passing of this Act) and the Constitution Act came into effect only after Queen Victoria (the then Monarch) announced by proclamation or if you like, such Act was proclaimed, to come into effect on the 1st January 1901. The time that elapsed in-between was about 5 and ½ Months which was less than one year.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments;

HISTORICAL NOTE.

—Clause 4 of the Commonwealth Bill of 1891 (which became the Constitution Act 1900) was as follows:—

Unless where it is otherwise expressed or implied, this Act shall commence and have effect on and from the day so appointed in the Queen’s proclamation; and the name ‘The Commonwealth of Australia’ or ‘The Commonwealth’ shall be taken to mean the Commonwealth of Australia as constituted under this Act.

This clause, with the omission of the second word “where,” was adopted at the Adelaide Session, 1897. A provision was then added that “The Parliaments of the several colonies may at any time after the passing of this Act make any such laws, to come into operation on the day so appointed, as they might have made if the Constitution had been established at the passing of this Act.”

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

Shall be Established.

Clause 3 says that the people of the Commonwealth shall be united on and after the day appointed in the Queen’s Proclamation. Clause 4 contains a detailed list and expansion of the legal results of the Union so accomplished. The first immediate result is that the Commonwealth is established.

The word Union refers to the unification of the colonies into becoming firstly States and then the Commonwealth of Australia.

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

Parliament authorizing the creation of colonies, the words “erect” and “establish” are used as identical terms. The Act 9 Geo. IV. (1828) (the Australian Courts Act of 1828), provided that it should be lawful for the King by charters or letters patent under the Great Seal to “erect and establish” courts of judicature in New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land.

In 1828, all of the area now known as the mainland of Australia was then called New South Wales and the area now known as Tasmania was then called Van Diemen’s Land.

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

The Act (1840) authorized the Queen by letters patent to “erect” into a separate colony or colonies any islands being dependencies of the colony of New South Wales; and by section 3, in case Her Majesty should establish any such new colony or colonies, Legislative Councils might be “established” therein.

The Act (1840) established that Her Majesty could create new colony or colonies.

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

In the first section of the notable Act 13 and 14 Vic, the provision occurs that the territories comprised in the district of Port Phillip should be “erected” into and subsequently form a separate colony to be known as the colony of Victoria (1851).

In the second section of the same Act the words occur “that upon the issuing of such writs for the first election of members of the Legislative Council of the said colony of Victoria such colony shall be considered to be established.

As a result of the Act (1840) that allowed for the creation of the colony of Victoria in 1851. There was other colonies created prior to 1851 and some created after 1851.

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

From these precedents it appears that the word “Established” is the one commonly used to denote the creation of a new State or community.

Shall take Effect.

Another consequence and necessary incident of the Union is that the Constitution shall on the day so appointed “take effect” or come into operation. Here we reach the third and final stage in the progress of political organization contemplated by the Act.

It clearly appears that the Constitution is something distinct from the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is the community united by the Imperial Act. The Constitution provides the necessary machinery for the government of that community so as to secure its steadiness, safety and development.

The provision of Clause 3 that the Queen may appoint a Governor-General for the Commonwealth at any time after the issue of the Proclamation, and before the actual establishment of the Commonwealth and before the Constitution “takes effect,” is somewhat strange and looks like a speaking out of harmony with the sequence of the other stages. It enables the Queen to appoint a Governor-General, not for an actual existent Commonwealth, not to fill an office created by a constitution actually in force, but for the Commonwealth that is to be, and in order to fill an office that does not yet exist.

May make any such Laws.

At any time after the passing of the Act (the Constitution Act), and therefore before as well as after the day appointed by the Proclamation, the Parliament of each of the federating colonies may proceed to exercise certain powers intended by the Constitution to be conferred upon them.

The above is the enabling act that allowed the Colonies/States taking part in Federation to continue to make Laws, but as said early only those Laws that they could make after Federation (Reserved and Concurrent powers).

Now back to Covering Clause 4 and the Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments Page 343 to 345.

The Constitution, by which these powers are defined, does not take effect until the day appointed by the Proclamation. In anticipation of that day the Act authorizes the Parliaments to exercise the powers referred to.

Turning to the Constitution we find that the laws referred to by this clause comprise the following:—

  1. Laws prescribing the method of choosing the Senators for a State, and
  2. Laws for determining the times and places of election of Senators for a State, and
  3. Laws for determining the divisions in each State for which  Members of the House of Representatives may be chosen, and the number of Members to be chosen for each division,

To put this into perspective, The Constitution Act was created and then assented to on the 9th of July 1900 and the Constitution came into effect on the 1st January 1901. The paragraphs under the heading “May make any such Laws” allowed the Colonies/States to make Laws but only with the constraints that the new Commonwealth Constitution would apply. The Colonies/States could only use those powers reserved for them and the concurrent powers that both the States and the Federal Parliament (when it came into effect) could make Laws for.

Posted by GAP in Constitution

FOI requesting termination of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth refused

FOI requesting termination of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth refused

On 22 July 2021, Former Senator Rod Culleton wrote to the Attorney-General’s Department to request access to information regarding the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Australia & its Termination.

Mr. Culleton’s request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 was as follows:

  1. In light of the letter of Mr. David Lewis, dated 16 August 2021, in response to my request for information, dated 22 July 2021, and my references above, regarding the authority to terminate the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Australia, I request the instrument that overrides, suspends or terminates the “indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom…” as qualified by the second clause that binds the Crown and the fifth clause that binds the people, that ought to have been in place at the time of 1973 in making the change of authority to the Australian Government.
  2. With reference to termination of the Commonwealth, by substitution of the jurisdiction taken to be solely under the authority of the Australian Government without the Crown, I request the acknowledgement of the Australian people, via the alteration by process of section 128, or otherwise for termination of the Commonwealth and substitution in current practice today.
  3. With reference to termination of the Commonwealth, I request the publication of sufficient notice to the Australian people of that change, in light of the current text of the Constitution and prefacing clauses and in light of the celebration of the centenary of the Commonwealth held in 2001.

Ms. Joanna Baker who is the departments Assistant Director of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Section has signed off and stated:

“Having regard to the above, I am satisfied that reasonable steps to locate the documents to which you have sought access were undertaken. I am also satisfied that the documents do not exist within the department’s records holdings. I have therefore decided to refuse access pursuant to section 24A of the FOI Act.”

Mr. Culleton wanted to bring to the people’s attention, that even though the 1999 republican referendum failed, and that the people chose to stay under the protection of the Crown – contained within our constitution – the government continued to defy the people with the continuation of the defaced Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Furthermore, the government deceived the people two years later by claiming to celebrate the Centenary of Federation, having full knowledge that ties to the Commonwealth had been severed.

Watch video on Rumble.

Authorised by Ian Nelson for the Great Australian Party, 65 Cardinal Cct, Caboolture, 4510

Posted by GAP in Constitution

Notice of prohibition to the acting Governor-General

Notice of prohibition to the acting Governor-General

Use this link to sign the notice to the Governor-General

Dear Sir,

I write to you on behalf of my Federal Party, Great Australian Party (GAP) and the wider electorate of the Commonwealth, including but not limited to, its members, having right to legitimate government of the Commonwealth.

In order for such elections to be lawful and proper, writs are to be passed under the Great Seal of the Commonwealth for the endorsement and protection of the Crown in accordance with the foundation law and Her Majesty’s coronation of 1953.

Notices to your pre-successors were made to which answer was returned that you act on the advice of the Australian Government in contradistinction to, and not under the authority of, the Government of the Commonwealth, or the Parliament of the Commonwealth.

Under your term of acting as Head of State, you presided over a discord of the unison of the Commonwealth community where two classes of Australians have developed by the identification of people on the circumstance of a medical condition, vaccinated or not, and application of restrictions upon those who rightfully exercise their private and confidential choice made apart from government oversight.

The Australian people, known as the Commonwealth of Australia, have the right to be informed of the nature of the office of Governor-General established by the Letters Patent and regulated by the Constitution for the Commonwealth. The record shows that no response has been received for disclosure that your office no longer acts for the Commonwealth, as established 1900, but in substitution of it and without lawful instrument.

This notice is drawn and sponsored by the people as electors upon the failure to answer for disclosure the nature of office indicated to be under Queen of Australia, by reference within your Letter of Commission dated May 30 2019, and by reference to the Great Seal of Australia. The meaning of the manner in which you were allegedly commissioned is taken to exclude the exercise of power of Her Majesty within the Commonwealth of Australia.

Unless the otherwise is demonstrated, your failure to make answer and disclose the tenets of office that you hold, it shall be taken that you hold no representation of Her Majesty, as commissions made by the Queen do not include the Great Seal of Australia, nor reference to Queen of Australia. The foundation law establishing the Commonwealth is the current and rightful law for the Australian people including that as recognised by the first people of this land.

You are to forthwith make declaration to the Australian people that you stand down, and having done so, disclose to them the reasons for your action. In fulfilment of the law,

Rodney Norman Culleton

Use this link to sign the notice to the Governor-General

Download the PDF version of this notice

Download the evidence in support of this notice

Posted by GAP in Constitution

AEC and Government Solicitor threaten Great Australian Party with “quantum” fine

AEC and Government Solicitor threaten Great Australian Party with “quantum” fine

Under the title “Authorisation requirements under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth),” the Australian Government Solicitors have issued the Great Australian Party with a warning letter claiming they are being “instructed to act for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)“.

Point 3 of the letter stated:

Each time the unauthorised electoral matter is viewed, the notifying entity (in this case the GAP) may be liable to pay a civil penalty up to $26,640. That is, each time the unauthorised post and/or page is viewed, a penalty of $26,640 can be imposed. For example, we note that the GAP Facebook page has 111,000 followers and has attracted 510 reviews. Depending on the number of times the unauthorised electoral matter on the Facebook page has been viewed, you might be liable for a very significant civil penalty, the precise quantum of which will not be known until the concerns raised by the AEC have been addressed (that is the posts and/or page have been authorised in compliance with the Act).

Furthermore, the Australian Government Solicitors spent Christmas Eve trolling and taking screen shots of the Great Australian Party Facebook Page and emailed a further two (2) “unauthorised” posts they found. We’re not sure if the AEC has given a party this much attention in their entire existence, begging the question is this even normal behaviour?

The letter was signed off by Matthew Blunn

National Leader AGS Dispute Resolution

T 02 6253 7424 M 0407 464 028

matthew.blunn@ags.gov.au

Posted by GAP in Constitution, Covid, Legal

AEC places federal election into jeopardy by disallowing unvaccinated scrutineers

AEC places federal election into jeopardy by disallowing unvaccinated scrutineers

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have responded to an enquiry from one of our members by informing them they must be “fully vaccinated” to scrutineer for the upcoming federal election.

As per our constitution, s 41 gives people the right to elect their own representatives. By the AEC disallowing electors the right to maintain the integrity of their vote, they are interfering in the democratic process that could see a potential fraudulent election occur.

The Great Australian Party sees this as a threat to the checks and balances of a free, fair and open democratic election, not to mention discriminatory.

Australia has a long history of apartheid, discrimination and segregation, and the AEC is proudly choosing to continue that tradition in the next federal election.

The Former Senator of the 45th Parliament, Rod Culleton said today that Australia is increasingly becoming a dictatorship, where the two major parties are making it extremely difficult to remove them from power, something our constitution could not foresee.

Mr. Culleton also went on to ask what the logic was behind allowing people to gather to cast their vote, but not to protect their vote.

Posted by GAP in Constitution, Covid, Legal

Constitution series: Covering Clause 1

Constitution series: Covering Clause 1

Covering Clause 1

Short Title

  1. 1. This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 310 and 314, (relevant part only).

Historical note.

Clause 1 of the draft Bill framed by the Sydney Convention of 1891, and usually known as The Commonwealth Bill of 1891 (which became the Constitution Act 1900), declared that- “This Act shall be cited as The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia Act .

Some aditional notes.

The words “the draft Bill framed by the Sydney Convention of 1891, and usually known as The Commonwealth Bill of 1891” point out the influence that Australia had in the creation of the Constitution Act.

The words “Sydney Convention of 1891” was one of the Constitutional Convention Debates and that the framers of the Commonwealth Constitution had all around the Country and used those Constitutional Convention Debates to formulate such Constitution.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 310 and 314, (relevant part only).

This Act.

Outline of the Act.

This Act, to constitute the Commonwealth, consists of nine clauses.

Clause 1 gives the short title of the Act;

Clause 2 declares that it binds the Crown and extends to the Queen’s successors;

Clause 3 provides that the Queen may issue a proclamation appointing a day when the people of the federating colonies shall be united in a Federal Commonwealth;

Clause 4 specifies when the Commonwealth is to be deemed legally established;

Clause 5 provides for the legal operation of the Act and of the laws of the Commonwealth;

Clause 6 defines “Commonwealth,” “States,” and “Original State;”

Clause 7 repeals the Federal Council Act, 1885;

Clause 8 applies the “Colonial Boundaries Act, 1895,” to the Commonwealth;

Clause 9 contains the Constitution of the Commonwealth.-

Commonwealth.

Significance of the term.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments

The term “Commonwealth,” to label the Australian colonies, united in a Federal Constitution, was first proposed by the Constitutional Committee of the Federal Convention held in Sydney in 1891. The suggestion was eventually adopted, by a substantial majority of votes. The same name was accepted by the Federal Convention of 1897. In both Conventions the name Commonwealth was generally accepted, the only objections raised to it being that it was suggestive of republicanism, owing to its association with the Commonwealth of England.

According to the derivation of the term from “common” and “wealth” it signified common wellbeing or common good.

Webster says “a Commonwealth is a State consisting of a certain number of men united by compact, or unspoken agreement under one form of government and one system of laws. Strictly, it means a government in which the general welfare is regarded rather than the welfare of any particular class. In this Act the word is used to describe the new political community created by the union of the people and of the colonies of Australia.

Constitution.

Definition.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 314 and 316, (relevant part only).

A Constitution is a general law for the government of a political community, unamendable and unrepealable, except in the manner and on compliance with the conditions prescribed by the authority which created it.

A general law first, then, a Constitution is a general law or a collection of laws, capable of effective enforcement and binding on every member of the community, including the members of the Government in their private capacities.

It is a law which should be understood in wide and general terms, avoiding tiny specifications and details and thus leaving room for “unpredictable emergencies,” and possible and desirable developments. In the history of a Constitution there grow in association with it, and springing from its certain customs and practices, which cannot be exactly termed laws, strictly so called. These customs and practices generally relate to matters which, by the letter of the Constitution, are left to the discretion of some member or branch of the sovereign body.

In time, owing to political influences and considerations, these discretionary powers are exercised in a certain manner; and hence arise what have been described as the understandings and conventions of the Constitution, different from the positive law of the Constitution.

Some additional notes.

The words:- “leaving room for unpredictable emergencies, and possible and desirable developments” and the words “understandings and conventions” Is an area that has been exploited. The framers of the Constitution, have left such Constitution, and consequently the people, somewhat exposed. In other words, the framers of the Constitution did not think that our elected representatives would enslave and control the people in such a Fascist manner as we have since the early 1930s. (8 Decades)

What is fascism?

Fascism is corporatism and is a totalitarian or dictatorial form of control. It is also an extreme right wing or new world order type of governance and almost totally Governs for the Corporations and not the people.

The Annotated Constitution written by Quick and Garran make the following comments; Page 314 and 316, (relevant part only).

As distinct from a Constitution, a law implies the existence of a force able to command obedience and to punish disobedience. As such, a law is clearly contrasted with a mere understanding, or a practice, which is capable of variation and modification. A Constitution is also different from a social compact between the members of the society which it concerns; if it were a mere compact it could be rejected and violated at the whim of any faction or group within the society.

When the functions of government are divided, there must be some more specific rules appropriating certain classes of work to particular members of the governing body, determining the mode of appointment and succession of those members, such as Legislators, and Judges.

These rules would, if compiled and classified, compose a more complex constitution, and so the greater the division, and multiplication of governing agencies, and the greater the distribution of power, the more complex a constitution becomes.

Governing power, as well as subordinate or delegated governing power, analysed and classified, may be resolved into three departments or divisions—

  1. The making and promulgation of laws prescribing the functions of governing agencies and regulating the legal rights and duties of the people within the jurisdiction of the government (Parliament):
  2. the administration (Executive); and
  3. the interpretation and determination of laws in cases where doubts arise as to their meaning or intention (Judiciary).

In simple societies these three functions may be blended in one person, or one body, but in all maturely developed States they become segregated, and divided amongst separate persons or separate bodies composing the sovereign authority as a whole.

Hence arises the well-known tripartite division of government into the Legislative Department, the Executive Department, and the Judiciary Department.

The British system of government, the Constitution of which, although it has not been reduced to the form of a single document or Act of Parliament, is as capable of being gathered from numerous Charters, Bills, Proclamations, Statutes, legal decisions, and official documents, extending from the time of King Alfred down to the reign of Queen Victoria (Now Queen Elizabeth ll), as the Constitutions of the countries referred to, which have been, in fact, largely constructed according to the British model.

This tripartite classification does not necessarily imply that each of the three departments of government is independent of the others. Each of the three is endowed with a defined share in the work of government, but they are all parts of one governing machine and are exercising portions of the sovereign power; each acts within its respective legal sphere, but, to some extent, one may check and balance the other. The Executive may advise the legislature, as is done in the British system.

Although the primary appointment of the Judges generally rests with the Executive, and for gross misconduct in office they may be removed by the Executive: in some Constitutions they may be removed by the Executive at the request of the Legislature.

In every well-designed Constitution the Judiciary, once appointed, is almost absolutely independent of the influence of either the Executive or the Legislature;

Rights, privileges and immunities.

A Constitution not only deals with this division of governing powers, with the mode in which those powers are exercised, and with the structure of the governing organs; it generally details certain cardinal rules, principles, and maxims which are intended to be the public policy that should guide or bind the Executive the Legislature, and the Judiciary Departments.

Thus Magna Charta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Rights, contain declarations of rights, privileges, and immunities, which are said to be the inalienable birthright and heritage of every British subject, protecting his liberty from unlawful impairment and his property (Fee Simple) from spoliation. (De facto Taking)

These declarations undoubtedly bind the British Executive and the British Judiciary; they may guide but cannot bind the British Parliament, which may amend or repeal them at any time, but only with a super majority (around 80% of those entitled to vote, voting in favour).

A fundamental law.

Next, the word Constitution means the idea of a fundamental law—a law of higher authority, than ordinary legislation. In all modern written Constitutions there is a tendency to establish the fundamental character of the instrument upon a firm legal basis by making the process of constitutional amendment more difficult and more complex than the process of ordinary legislation (except in Victoria), and thus to affirm the principle that every alteration in the fundamental law is an act so momentous that it requires compliance with special formalities intended to prevent hasty and ill-advised changes, to ensure the fullest debate, to guard against surprises, and to protect the rights and interests of all classes of the community (again except in Victoria).

A Constitution which makes the process of its own amendment more difficult than the process of ordinary legislation is what is called a “rigid” Constitution.

The degree of rigidity may vary widely; it may consist of the unusual majorities in the Legislature (control of both houses of Parliament) or the constraints, set out by conventions, or the constraints set out by the requirement for elector approval, or it may involve other and more complicated processes.

Black’s Law 9th Edition.

Spoliation.

  1. The intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration, or concealment of evidence.
  2. The seizure of personal or real property by violent means; the act of pillaging.
  3. The taking of a benefit, properly belonging to another.

Take.

To obtain possession or control, whether legally or illegally. It’s a felony to take that property without the owner’s consent.

To acquire (property) for public use by eminent domain; (of a governmental entity) to seize or condemn property. The state took the land under its eminent-domain powers.

Taking.

Constitutional law. The government’s actual or effective acquisition of private property either by ousting the owner or by destroying the property or severely impairing its utility. – There is a taking of property when government action directly interferes with or substantially disturbs the owner’s use and enjoyment of the property.

De facto taking (1921)

  1. Interference with the use or value or marketability of land in anticipation of condemnation, depriving the owner of reasonable use and thereby triggering the obligation to pay just compensation.
  2. A taking in which an entity clothed with eminent-domain power substantially interferes with an owner’s use, possession, or enjoyment of property.

Eminent domain.

The inherent power of a governmental entity to take privately owned property, esp. land, and convert it to public use, subject to reasonable compensation for the taking.

“The term ’eminent domain’ is said to have originated with Grotius, the seventeenth century legal scholar. Grotius believed that the state possessed the power to take or destroy property for the benefit of the social unit, but he believed that when the state so acted, it was obligated to compensate the injured property owner for his losses. Blackstone, too, believed that society had no general power to take the private property of landowners, except on the payment of a reasonable price.

Fee Simple.

(1289 to 1290 and is an Entrenched Law)

Hailsbury’s Laws of England, 1st Edition, Volume XXLV (24) Page 164 to 173.

Explanatory or supporting argument has not been included.

Estates and Interests in Real Estate at Common Law.

Section 1.– Estate in Fee Simple. Sub Section 1,-Quantum of Estate.

Sub Section 2,-Incidents of Estate.

(i) Enjoyment.

317 Land subject to easements or to restrictive covenants cannot be used in a manner inconsistent with the proper enjoyment of the easements, or with the due observance of the covenants; and, in certain circumstances, the use of land may interfere to such an extent with the comfort of neighbouring owners or occupiers as to constitute an actionable nuisance; but, short of this, an owner in fee simple is subject to no restrictions as to the use to which he may put the land, and he may exercise over it acts of ownership of all kinds, including the commission of waste, such as the felling of timber, opening and working of mines, and the pulling down of houses. If, however, his estate is subject to an executor device over, he is in the same position as a tenant for life without impeachment of waste; he may not commit equitable waste.

Sub Section 3.- Incidents of Estates.

327 There is no rule forbidding waste by the owner of an estate in fee simple which is liable to be determined for breach of condition or by virtue of a collateral limitation. Consequently, such an owner has the same rights of actual enjoyment as an owner in absolute fee simple, including the right to commit waste at his pleasure.

Credit: (CLRA) Community Law Resource Association

Authorised by Ian Nelson for the Great Australian Party, 65 Cardinal Cct, Caboolture, 4510

Posted by GAP in Constitution

Rod Culleton speaks at the Kingsway Tavern

Rod Culleton speaks at the Kingsway Tavern

Former Senator in exile Rodney Culleton speaking at The Kingsway Bar & Bistro, Darch WA – 17 December 2021. Credit: Freedom Media WA

Posted by GAP in Constitution