AOS-1 THE PEOPLE AND THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION Flashcards
DOT POINTS;4-8
Name one case that refers to the high court interpreting section 7 and 24 of the Australian constitution
the ACT Pty ltd V commonwealth
What are the main facts of the Lange Case
- 1991 the commonwealth passed a legislation banning some political advertising on radio and TV during election campaigns
- tv broadcaster challenged the constitutional validity of the act
What did the high court rule for the Lange case?
under section 7 and 24 the parliament is to be “directly chosen by the people” the court stated that he government can only be considered “representative” if it is able to communicate with the public and are able to discuss information and their opinion on politics. therefor invalid
What is the significance of the High courts ruling in the Lange case?
Decision created the implied right to freedom of communication on political matters which was expanded in other cases
- a defence in defamation = allows the criticising of performance of politicians without fear of law suit
- limited= only protects the free discussion of political issues in Australia
- not unlimited doesn’t mean that all speech that is somehow political is permitted
Name one referendum in which the Australian people have protected or changed the Australian constitution
1967 Aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples referendum
What are the facts of the 1967 Aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples referendum ?
- constitution denied the commonwealth the power to legislate for indigenous people or include them in the census
- section 51 stated “could make laws for the people of any race other than aboriginal”
- s127 state that “aboriginal natives should not be counted” therefor excluding aboriginals from our census
What is the significance of the 1967 Aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples referendum ?
- s51 the words other than aboriginal were removed from section 51 and section 127 was deleted
- aboriginal affairs became a concurrent power which allows the commonwealth to be involved in a previously residual power
- allowed commonwealth to spend money initiatives for aboriginal
Name a case that has displayed the impact of international declarations and treaties on the interpretation of the external affairs power
The Franklin Damn case
What are the facts of the Franklin damn case?
- Tasmania passed the gordon river hydro act 1982 to build a damn
- it was deemed unpopular by conservatives there the commonwealth decided to act
- commonwealth believed that the damn was likely to destroy Australias national heritage area that was covered by the national heritage treaty that to was to be listed on\
- the commonwealth passed legislation inhibiting the building of the damn. Tasmania challenged it on the point that it was an area of state
What is the significance of the Franklin damn case?
the high court decided that because the Franklin river area was covered by an international treaty it came under the external affairs power therefor international treaties were included in external affairs
- definition changes
- decision increased law making power of the commonwealth power
Name one high court case which has had an impact of the divisions of constitutional law making powers
The work choices case
What are the facts of the work choices act?
- s51= Australian constitution allows the commonwealth to make laws in respect to foreign corporations, and trading to financial corporations
- commonwealth allows them to make laws regarding the rights and responsibilities of workers employed by corporations
- states+ unions was a grab for power by the commonwealth, interpretation= too broad
What is the significance of the Work Choices act?
- High court ruled that this power allows the commonwealth to make laws with regards to industrial matters between employee and employer
- therefor the powers of the state were reduced and reducing their ability to regulate workplace relations at local level
