The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 is a superb document. It is our common law, as well as laying out the structure for a Westminster style of government that served Australia very well right up until 1960.
On 2 February 1960, William Morrison (Viscount Dunrossil) was the first Governor General to be appointed to the post, paid by and controlled by the Australian Government Parliament. Ever since then, we have not had a lawful government.
The Constitution is the highest law of the land. All state constitutions are subordinate to it, as Section 109 states, When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid.
The political parties have done their best to try and nullify the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901, but because it is so brilliantly constructed they never can get rid of it without the approval of all members of the Commonwealth of Australia voting in a referendum.
But how was the Constitution written? Who is responsible for writing one of the best constitutions in the world, and what was their thinking as they constructed it?
All these questions are answered in The annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth, by John Quick and Robert Randolph Garran
We highly recommend you read the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 first, before reading the Annotated version. This is the actual Constitution. Every Australian should read the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901. This copy has all the amendments included, shown with a capital ‘A’. For example, Section 51 (xxiiiA) was amended by the Australian people voting in a referendum in 1946.
If you would like to learn how the constitution was written, and the thinking behind each Section, then download
All of these questions are answered in The annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth, by John Quick and Robert Randolph Garran
