David Long traces the cause of the 1975 constitutional crisis to the influence of English legal positivism, a theory which isolates the meaning from the political scheme the text was framed to support. He shows the fundamental premise of a Constitution, framed in Convention, ratified by the people that cannot be altered without their consent, the consent of the governed. Legal positivism was adopted by the High Court in 1920 when it abolished the federal scheme and therewith the sovereign States. The responsible judge had opposed federalism at the 1897 Convention. Long examines two juristic opinions that excused the Governor-General’s 1975 unprecedented dismissal of a government with the confidence of the House of Representatives. He identifies their reliance on legal positivist constitutional interpretations that are expressly rejected by the Founders. Long provides a theoretical defence of the Founders original understanding as the object of constitutional construction.

With its increasingly secular and religiously diverse population Australia faces many challenges in determining how the state and religion should interact. Australia is not unique in facing these challenges. States worldwide, including common law countries with shared legal and religious heritages, have also been faced with the question of how the state and religion should relate to one another. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have all had to grapple with how to manage the state-religion relationship in the present day. This book provides a comprehensive historical review of the interaction of the state and religion in Australia. It brings together multiple examples of areas in which the state and religion interact, and reviews these examples across Australia’s history from settlement through to present day. The book sets this story within a wider theoretical context via an examination of theories of state-religion relationships as well as a comparison with other similar common law jurisdictions. The book demonstrates how the solutions arrived at in Australia is uniquely Australian owing to Australia’s unique legal system, religious demographics and history. However this is just one possible outcome among many that have been tried in common law liberal democracies.

Australians will soon be faced with an important choice. Will they vote Yes to change our nation’s Constitution to introduce an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice? Or will they vote No and bring the recognition process to a halt and, along with it, the aspirations of an overwhelming number of Australia’s first peoples? The stakes could not be higher. In late 2023 Australians will vote in a referendum on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to parliament and government in the Constitution. What benefits will it bring? And what was the journey to this point? Everything You Need to Know about the Voice, written by co-author of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis, and fellow constitutional expert George Williams, is essential reading on the Voice to parliament and government, how our Constitution was drafted, what the 1967 referendum achieved, what it left unfinished and the Uluru Statement. This updated edition charts the journey of this nation-building reform from the earliest stages of Indigenous advocacy, explores myths and misconceptions and, importantly, explains how the Voice offers change that will benefit the whole nation. ‘...a vitally important book written for all Australians who have accepted the Uluru invitation and are walking with us in a journey of the Australian people for a better future.’ — Patricia Anderson AO Alyawarre woman

Your students will love this lively book. It's written in jargon-free language that they will understand, and it's designed specifically for the AQA AS-level, so there's no redundant material. It has all the essential information your students need for the exam. There are study tips, mind maps and self-testing exercises throughout. There's advice on revision and exam techniques so students can be fully prepared.

This book identifies, analyses and celebrates the significant and influential dissenting judicial opinions in Australian legal history.

Hinds' precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States is an eight-volume publication prepared by Asher C. Hinds (1863-1919) that was originally published in Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Government Printing Office during 1907-1908. The publication focuses on the parliamentary practices of the U.S. Congress, and is presented online by the U.S. Government Printing Office.