The Australian Constitution came into force in 1901 with the federation of the separate state colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia. With its introduction, the Constitution was heralded as ‘the most magnificent Constitution into which the chosen representatives of a free and enlightened people have ever breathed the life of popular sentiment and national hope’, by Charles Kingston (Irving 2001). The Australian Constitution has remained relatively untouched since it came into effect, from 44 referendum questions put to the Australian people to change various parts of the Constitution, only eight have been approved (Singleton et al. 2003:52). There is a striking lack of knowledge amongst the Australian people regarding the nature and role of the Constitution in today’s society (Stone 2000:194). This fact leads us to question the appropriateness of the Australian Constitution in the Twenty First Century. As a result, this points to the possibility that there are some inadequacies within the written Constitution that could account for the lack of knowledge and understanding of the document in this county. There are many different factors within the Constitution that could be examined to determine whether it is still adequate in the Twenty First Century; this essay will focus on the three main issues. Firstly, the provisions of the Constitution that are now obsolete are examined to determine whether they are inappropriate to still be included within the written document. Secondly, the use of conventions within the political system is reviewed to find whether the written Constitution lives up to the purpose constitutions are supposed to serve within a democracy. Finally, as the Constitution is seen as inappropriate by some critics because it lacks a Bill of Rights, the arguments for and against an Australian Bill of Rights will be weighed to determine whether it is appropriate or not.
It has been suggested that the Constitution should be reformed so that it...