Talk:Australian Government
Talk:Government of Australia/archive 1 Talk:Government of Australia/archive 2 Talk:Government of Australia/archive 3 Talk:Government of Australia/archive 4 Talk:Government of Australia/archive 5
Queen of Australia v British Monarch
As Skyring points out, section 2 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK) says: "The provisions of this Act referring to the Queen shall extend to Her Majesty’s heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom." However, this merely highlights that the Commonwealth Constitution was enacted by the British Parliament, and was intended to make the Federation of Australia binding on the British monarchs. In the Commonwealth Constitution, there is only reference made to "the Queen".
In the Royal Style and Titles Act 1953 (Cth), the Commonwealth Parliament declared that the monarch in relation to Australia is to be referred to as "Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories": cf. s 2. As far as I have been taught, "the Queen" in Australia is a distinct legal entity from "the Queen" in the United Kingdom. The succession rules to the Crown are the same as they are in the United Kingdom, being set out by the Act of Settlement 1701 (UK) s 1, and received at the time of European settlement. However, due to the Australia Acts 1986 (UK & Cth) s1, any changes by the UK Parliament to the law of succession to the throne will not take effect in Australia. Thus, it is legally possible to have different monarchs in Australia and the United Kingdom. In this respect, the current Australian monarch might currently be the same as the United Kingdom monarch, but they should (and are) treated as distinct entities.
I refer you to: P Hanks, P Keyzer & J Clarke Australian Constitutional Law: materials and commentary 7th edn (Sydney: Butterworths, 2004) pp. 464-465.
Thus, please stop changing "Queen of Australia" to "British Monarch". - Mark 02:51, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- This is basic stuff, but irrelevant. The Queen is styled the Queen of Australia, by Act of Parliament. Agreed. However, no Act may over-ride the Constitution, and the context within the article is that the Queen is a part of Parliament, as mentioned in Section 1 of the Constitution. 1. The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Federal Parliament, which shall consist of the Queen, a Senate, and a House of Representatives, and which is herein-after called "The Parliament," or "The Parliament of the Commonwealth."[1] I am not aware of any other Act or Regulation that makes the rather odd claim that the Queen is a part of Parliament.
- I take your point that the Covering Clauses, which describe all provisions referring to the Queen (Victoria) of the Constitution as extending to Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom are no longer able to be modified by the British Parliament, but neither have they been modified by the Commonwealth. Furthermore, within the Constitution itself, the note to the Schedule directly refers to the usage of Queen Victoria by saying that the name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the time being is to be substituted from time to time. Only we the people may amend those particular words, and we have not done so.
- It is quite clear that within the normal governmental processes of the Commonwealth, the Queen, in that delightful description "Our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth II", is the Queen of Australia. Nobody disputes this. However, I say that in this precise meaning within the Constitution of the Queen as being a constituent part of the Parliament, and specifically stated as such in the article, the Queen is the Queen of the United Kingdom, because neither the Covering Clauses nor the Constitution itself has been amended to say otherwise.
- I am not trying to make this a big deal. Quite frankly, I am picking at trivial details here. It is another one of those arcane and obsolete details of the Constitution that has never been amended because nobody thinks it necessary and it's such a bloody pain to change the thing anyway. Nevertheless, I pick at trivia because that is what I like doing, may God have mercy on my soul, and it amuses me to see people getting all hot and bothered and twisted up in knots when they can't provide a good clear verifiable source to throw in my nit-picking face.
- Having said all of the above, I think it has been made amply clear that Wikipedia does not exist for me to amuse myself at the expense of self-important fools, and I shall not continue to do so, nor attempt to modify the article to reflect nit-picking accuracy, rather than "close enough is good enough." Pete 05:06, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Vote on contents of Government of Australia
As previously advised (and not opposed by anyone), I am now proposing a formal vote on the following proposition:
- That in Government of Australia, and in all other articles dealing with Australia's system of government, it should be stated that:
- 1. Australia is a constitutional monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy
- 2. Australia's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
- 3. Under the Constitution, almost all of the Queen's functions are delegated to and exercised by the Governor-General, as the Queen's representative.
- That any edit which states that (a) Australia is a republic, (b) the Governor-General is Australia's head of state, or (c) Australia has more than one head of state, will be reverted, and that such reversions should not be subject to the three-reversions rule.
- Edits which say that named and relevant persons (eg politicians, constitutional lawyers, judges) disagree with the above position, and which quote those persons at reasonable length, are acceptable, provided proper citation is provided and the three factual statements are not removed.
User:Skyring, who has argued for a contrary position, was given an opportunity to present an alternative position but declined to do so.
- My position was stated previously - namely that normal Wikipedia processes are simple, adequate, and easily understood by all. You archived it, Adam. Thanks a lot. Pete 05:13, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- Voting to determine the consensus is a normal Wikipedia process in cases where other methods have not worked. Sorry if it isn't as much fun as arguing endlessly. -Willmcw 05:16, May 25, 2005 (UTC)
- It takes two to make an argument. Adam, for example, advised everyone to ignore and revert me without comment, but if you check, his participation is frequent and voluminous. Presumably he enjoys the process. Pete 05:53, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- There five pages of archives on this matter, indicating a discussion which is many times longer than the article. If your proposal is in there somewhere, please find it and copy it here. Thanks, -Willmcw 05:18, May 25, 2005 (UTC)
- I did. You just responded to it. I stated it last night as part of the discussion and Adam shunted it into those five pages of archives. Be fair, please. I have amended the voting headings to reflect this, seeing as how Adam's proposal is aimed squarely at me. Pete 05:53, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- I don't see any proposal about your preferred wording to describe the head of state roles of the Queen and the Governor General. Sorry for being so stupid. Please copy that proposal here again. Thanks, -Willmcw 06:22, May 25, 2005 (UTC)
- My position on that is that as an editor my personal opinion doesn't matter. I have stated this numerous times. Pete 06:30, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- I don't see any proposal about your preferred wording to describe the head of state roles of the Queen and the Governor General. Sorry for being so stupid. Please copy that proposal here again. Thanks, -Willmcw 06:22, May 25, 2005 (UTC)
- I did. You just responded to it. I stated it last night as part of the discussion and Adam shunted it into those five pages of archives. Be fair, please. I have amended the voting headings to reflect this, seeing as how Adam's proposal is aimed squarely at me. Pete 05:53, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
He made no proposal. Adam 05:50, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Be fair, please. I stated my position - namely that there should be no change to existing Wikipedia policies - and you ignored it despite posting several times including in this very call for votes that I have a contrary position. I think that having the voting heading to reflect both my position and the reality of a vote to disagree with your proposal is fair and reasonable. Pete 06:30, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
I am posting a notice advising of this vote at Wikipedia:Australian Wikipedians' notice board and at Wikipedia:Village pump. I propose that the vote remain open for 48 hours from now (2.30pm AEST 25 May), and that ten votes be required to produce a valid outcome, but I am open to other suggestions on this. Adam 04:46, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- Seeing as though the vote is not contrary to "existing Wikipedia procedures", I cannot see the reason for the revised vote titles. I support Adam's proposal, and will vote in favour, but I would first like to see the vote titles reflect what the vote is actually for. --Cyberjunkie 09:24, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- Thank you Adam.--Cyberjunkie 09:37, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks. I've re-worded it. Pete 09:44, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Votes for new Wikipedia policy stated above:
Votes for no change to existing Wikipedia procedures:
Neutral
- As this is up in front of the ArbCom. Can the vote be delayed until they decide if they wish to hear it. It is pointless to do this and have an ArbCom ruling on the same issue. Xtra 09:38, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Requests for arbitration
I think that a more appropriate way to solve this given the ongoing nature of the dispute and the unwillness of Skyring to reach a resolution would be a request for arbitration. I have made a page to prepare the case and will move it to Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration when the parties have agreed to arbitraion and made their respective cases.--nixie 05:39, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
I think this will just lead to further weeks of pointless circular argument. But your'e welcome to try. Adam 05:48, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Interested editors please direct all comments to Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration, I have requested arbitration to get this underway. --nixie 06:40, 25 May 2005 (UTC)