This book provides an engaging and distinctive treatment for anyone seeking to understand the significance and interpretation of the Constitution.

This imaginative and resonant 1997 book looks at the constitution as a cultural artefact. It attempts to understand the period during which it emerged, culminating in Federation in 1901. Irving looks beyond the well-known events, places and figures to locate federation and the constitution in the context of broader social, political and cultural changes. She argues that Australians displayed an ability to reconcile the demands of pragmatism with the urge of romanticism. Despite its paradoxical construction, there is something uniquely Australian about the constitution, and it marked a utopian moment as the old century gave way to the new. Irving analyses the background and outcomes of the Constitutional Convention and considers its significance for Australia's possible future as a republic.

Providing an interdisciplinary overview of Australian constitutional law and practice, this Handbook situates the development of the constitutional system in its proper context. It also examines recurrent themes and tensions in Australian constitutional law, and points the way for future developments.

Consistently with the aims of the series, the book canvasses the Australian constitutional system in a way that explains its form and operation, provides a critical evaluation of it and conveys a sense of the contemporary national debate. The chapters deal with the foundations of Australian constitutionalism, its history from the time of European settlement, the nature of the Australian Constitutions, the framework for judicial review, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, federalism and multi-level government and rights protection. Running through all chapters is the story of the gradual evolution of Australian constitutionalism within the lean but almost unchanging framework of the formal, written, national Constitution. A second theme traces the way in which the present, distinctive, constitutional arrangements in Australia emerged from creative tension between the British and United States constitutional traditions on which the Australian Constitution originally drew and which continues to manifest itself in various ways. One of these, which is likely to be of particular interest, is Australian reliance on institutional arrangements for the purpose of the protection of rights. The book is written in a clear and accessible style for readers in both Australia and countries around the world. Each chapter is followed by additional references to enable particular issues to be pursued further by readers who seek to do so. 'The Constitution of Australia' has already been cited in a High Court of Australia case: Momcilovic v The Queen [2011] HCA 34 (8 September 2011)

This book examines the origins of Australia’s constitutional religious freedom provision. It explores, on the one hand, the political activities and motives of religious leaders seeking to give the Australian Constitution a religious character and, on the other, the political activities and motives of a religious minority seeking to prevent the Australian Constitution having a religious character. The book also interrogates the argument advanced at the Federal Convention in favour of section 116, dealing with separation of religion and government, and argues that until now scholars and courts have misunderstood that argument. The book casts new light to show how the origins of the provision lead to section 116 being conceptualised as a safeguard against religious intolerance on the part of the Commonwealth. Written in an accessible style, the work has potential to influence the development of constitutional doctrine by the High Court through its challenge of historical assumptions on which the High Court’s current doctrine is based. Given the ongoing political debates concerning the interaction of discrimination law and religious freedom, the book will be of interest to academics and policy-makers working in the areas of law and religion, constitutional law and comparative law.

The fourth edition of this work has involved a thorough rewrite. Each chapter has been looked at again from beginning to end, with fresh choices in some cases made for extracts to bring the book up to date for new materials and scholarship and some material rewritten to provide clearer explanation. While all chapters contain changes, some have involved a more fundamental rewrite. The Supplement below, details changes from the 3rd edition to the 4th edition. For example, the chapters on the executive as well as characterisation and the trade and commerce power have been rewritten to provide a more straightforward structure and to provide greater clarity and contemporary relevance. Other changes have been made in order to restructure the book and to provide room for the substantial new material. Overall, the book is roughly the same length as the last edition due to cuts and streamlining. This has also involved rethinking the placement of some material, such as to group together the grants and appropriations powers of the Commonwealth. The material dealing with human rights has been substantially restructured with the chapters dealing with the implied freedom of political communication rewritten to take account of new developments and to provide space for major new cases. The final chapter on constitutional change has also been reworked to include a section dealing on Bill of Rights issues as a contrast to that on the republic.

This collection of primary source material on the Australian commonwealth constitution of 1901 brings together original unedited drafts, memoranda, comments by the drafters, and personal letters about the process of drafting the text. Political records including the Hasnard extracts, speeches, and newspaper cartoons reveal the opinions of political leaders and the feelings of the populace about the landmark document. The early drafts and evolution of the document reveal much about Australian constitutional law and political history.