A Republic For All Australians
In 2004 I wrote a book, A Republic For All Australians, which explains how we can succeed in bringing about an Australian republic with a directly-elected President, guaranteed to possess almost exactly the same powers as are now held (largely by unwritten convention) by the Governor-General, who would be an effective check and balance to our Federal Government and Parliament, and who would only be able to be dismissed by a direct vote of the people. The uncertainties of 1975 would be removed with a much more robust and democratic mechanism for handling crises, in which the President could refer any insoluble problem to the Australian people rather than having the discretion to act precipitately, with no danger of the Commonwealth Government running out of money. The powers of the Senate would not be curbed in any way.
My approach since 1994 has been to listen to what Australians
want, and to then figure out how to
build a republic that both fulfils those desires, and is as safe as our current
constitutional monarchy—or, indeed, safer. This culminated in the full
construction of my model after the defeat of the 1999 referendum (which I
predicted in an August 1994 letter published in the
After discussions with Senator John Faulkner and former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, I decided to allow A Republic For All Australians to be published by the Australian Senate in 2004.
Chapter 1 of A Republic For All Australians
provides a very brief overview of the development of
Finally, the Appendix contains the full text of the Constitution, with all amendments required to implement the model (44 pages). The book also includes an extensive Index (12 pages). The entire book is 250 pages in length (xii + 238 pp.).
Can I see a one-page summary of your direct-election republic model?
Yes: click here. If you have any questions arising from the one-page summary, you will probably find them answered in the book.
How do I get a copy of the book?
A copy of the book can be downloaded by clicking here or here (1.2 MB).
You can also download just the Contents, the Preface, or the Index.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Yearning
A slowly evolving independence
From convicts to self-government
The rocky road towards Federation
The Commonwealth is saved by the people
Australia in the
The awakening
The generation gap
Chapter 2 The Easy Option Fails
If history had been different
A sign of trouble ahead
Warning the decision-makers
Republic models before the 1990s
The ALP and the ARM
Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull
The road to the Constitutional Convention
The “ConCon” con
The referendum we had to have
The aftermath
Chapter 3 Listening to Australians
Why do we need to listen?
Lies, damn lies, and statistics
Judging public opinion
Do we want Australian sovereignty?
Do we want to become a republic?
Do we want to vote for the President?
Do we want a U.S.-style executive President?
Do we want a ceremonial President?
Who should be able to dismiss the President?
Do we want a politician for President?
Do we care how many amendments are needed?
Do we want to pay for all these elections?
Do we want to curtail or abolish the Senate?
Do we want to abolish the States?
Do we hate the British?
Must we change the flag too?
How soon do we want a republic?
Do we want a series of plebiscites?
Chapter 4 Expectations of the President
Maintaining the powers of the Governor-General
Acting on the advice of Ministers
The reserve powers
Dissolving the House of Representatives
Granting a double dissolution and a joint sitting
Assenting to Bills
The Federal Executive Council
Commissioning and decommissioning Ministers
Confidentiality of the Executive Government
Chapter 5 Election of the President
Who is President when there is no President?
Who should be eligible to become President?
Filtering the nominations
Keeping the bastards honest
The Indicative Presidential Vote
Selection of the President-Elect
Ratification of the President-Elect
Chapter 6 Removal of the President
Term of tenure of the office of President
Justiciable criteria for removal
Calling for the people to dismiss the President
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander
Chapter 7 Emergency Powers
Discretionary decisions of the President
Forced dissolution of the House of Representatives
Forced dissolution of the Senate
Dismissal of the President
Dismissal of a Federal judge
Calling an emergency vote of the people
Ensuring that a crisis is resolved promptly
Emergency supply
Chapter 8 Changing Our Constitution
The birth certificate of our nation
Maintaining the structure of the Constitution
Removing unwanted blemishes
Racism, sexism and ageism in the Constitution
Protecting the States
Protecting the High Court
Appendix A Ready Model
The Constitution
Background information for overseas visitors
For those visitors to this website from other countries, a brief explanation is in order.
Australia is still a constitutional monarchy: the Queen of England is automatically Queen of Australia, our Sovereign, enshrined in our Constitution.
Although any direct influence of the British Parliament or Monarchy on Australia (other than to appoint the Governor-General, constitutionally the Queen’s representative in Australia) was gradually eliminated throughout the twentieth century (fully completed only in 1986), the wish for full independence has grown from the latent roots laid down before Federation (1901), until, in the 1990s, under the support of Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating, it became a realistic possibility.
A referendum to change the Constitution in November 1999 failed, arguably because of the poor republic model that was chosen.
A more detailed overview of this historical background is contained in Chapters 1 and 2 of A Republic For All Australians.
Copyright © 1994–2010 John P. Costella