Dissatisfaction with Australian politics extends beyond concerns over the issues of the day. There is a general feeling that our political system is either failing, or not working well enough.

The political system is governed by the Constitution. The Constitution sets the rules by which political disputes are conducted in much the same way as the rules of a sport control how the game is played.

Most of the problems which have recently made the headlines are not caused by defects in our Constitution. In particular, that a  ‘minority’ Government held office between 2010 and 2013 is not a sign of constitutional failure - in fact, it is a sign of success: even when no party commanded majority support, the Parliament and the Government could still function effectively provided one group was supported by a majority of the House of Representatives on important issues, and the convention that the majority governs was respected.

The real problems with our Constitution - those which the Advancing Democracy model is designed to address - are (with one exception) not yet evident to most people. They become apparent only in certain circumstances, and those circumstances do not prevail at present. There is however a significant chance of those circumstances occurring in the near future, provoking a crisis which will threaten the stability of our political system. The Advancing Democracy model proposes fixing the problems now, before a crisis emerges, by making these changes:

Improving the Parliament
The Advancing Democracy model will improve Parliamentary conduct by requiring debates to be chaired by a genuinely independent person armed with the power to enforce his or her rulings.
▸    The current positions of Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor-General will be replaced by a new Governor-General of Parliament, who will become our Head of State. A Deputy Governor-General of Parliament will preside in the Senate in place of the Senate President and be our Deputy Head of State.
▸    While the politicians will still determine the rules of Parliamentary debate, the Governor-General and Deputy will decide whether the rules have been complied with, and their rulings will not be capable of being overruled unless two-thirds of the relevant House votes to reverse the ruling.
▸    If the Governor-General or Deputy rules that a Minister has not answered a question which the standing orders oblige the Minister to answer, the Minister will forfeit one day’s salary. If a Member of Parliament is suspended for breaching the standing orders, the member will forfeit his or her salary for the period of the suspension.
Governments will have to play by the rules in Parliament. They will no longer be able to avoid scrutiny by appointing a tame Speaker.

Majority Rule will be Entrenched in the Constitution
The most important rule of democracy - that the majority is entitled to govern - is not stated in our Constitution. This is an unforgivable omission - as nonsensical as failing to state, in the rules of a sport, that the side which scores the most points is the winner. The consequence of this defect is that the minority which lost the last election can be appointed to govern instead of the majority which won. This actually happened in 1975. A further consequence is that the Governor-General may exercise substantial powers without democratic control. The Advancing Democracy model will prevent such undemocratic conduct by writing into the Constitution a guarantee that Governments will be formed by a vote of the majority in the House of Representatives.

Replacing the Monarch with a Useful Head of State
The Queen and the current Governor-General are simply redundant. Their roles are inherently unproductive and wasteful. Under the Advancing Democracy model, the monarchy will be completely abolished.

The 1999 referendum really only proposed partial abolition, because it did not attempt to abolish the powers of the Crown. Instead, it sought to transfer those powers to a President who would have been a substitute monarch. We do not need a pretend Queen any more than we need a real one. All the Crown’s roles, functions and powers must be abolished, because they are inconsistent with democracy.

By contrast, the new Head of State will play a vital role in ensuring our democracy works. The Governor-General of Parliament, and his or her deputy, will be fully occupied doing a real job - chairing Parliamentary proceedings in an impartial manner, making sure our most important forum works as intended.

Making the Constitution Comprehensible
At present, Australians cannot understand how our Government works by simply reading the Constitution. The Advancing Democracy model will change that by abolishing unwritten rules concerning  the ‘reserve powers’ and ‘prerogative powers’ of the Crown, and including simple clauses which set out how laws are made, how Governments are formed and which powers Governments may exercise. It is important that voters understand how the system works.

Putting Australia in the Lead
The Advancing Democracy model will give Australia a constitutional structure unlike that of any comparable country. Ours will be far more democratic. Majority rule will be guaranteed, but the majority will no longer be able to evade Parliamentary scrutiny. The role of our Head of State will be very limited. He or she will not be able to usurp the powers of the elected Government, but will be able to ensure the Government is accountable to Parliament.


A more detailed description of the Advancing Democracy model is in Chapter 3 of the Rationale. The real problems with our Constitution are explained in the Rationale, mainly in Chapters 1 and 2. The circumstances under which our Constitution can fail are set out in Appendix 1 to the Rationale.