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Concepts: - Constitutionalism : Power will be divided up or limited by constitutional law. o General law for the government of political community (e.g., Australia) o Why a written constitution? (UK and NZ don’t)  Did not want the commonwealth to have too much power (divide of power, make sure all the different levels of government work together and maintain a trust).  A lack of trust in other States  To make sure protection for smaller States  To have an independent high court to rule on dispute between the states etc.  Allows constitutional law to be tighly held (not easily changed? o The constitution deals with sovereign power of government and all the agencies  The governor general  The parliament, etc. o Political vs legal  Political constitution = vest all power into the political branches  Flexible  Trust in political accountability  Legal constitution = a lot of power given to the highest courts (locked in structures and values)  A list of quote-on-quote rights or fundamental values (e.g., the US)  Less flexible  Less trust in political branches, more trust in highest courts o The Australian system of government is founded mainly on the structure of both the UK and US governments. Thus, the Australian constitution has been given the name ‘washminster’.  From the UK (Westminster )  Crown not a republic  Executive not directly elected  No bill of right (e.g. right to free speech, right to bear arms etc.)  From the US (Wash ington)  Federalism  A strong senate  Strict judicial separation - Sovereignty : Ultimate source of legal authority, self-government o a jurisdiction has sovereignty o ‘state’ with a small ‘s’ means a nation (e.g., Australia) o within the state there a capitalist States like Queensland, Victoria, etc. o Four types:  Crown asserted control over a continent  Commonwealth of Australia constitution act – federation – written constitution  The people (‘popular sovereignty’)