Constitutional Powers
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
I would like to request any information on how and why the Australia Act 1986 is valid and legal because there are some fundamental issues. Some of these issues include:
* The Australia Act 1986 has no head of power. The Head of Power under 'The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900' is the Crown of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
* The Australia Act 1986 was enacted by the "Parliament of Australia" which is not recognised as a legislator under section 1 of 'The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900'.
* The Australia Act 1986 was an attempt to equalise powers exclusive to the Federal Government to that of the States by allowing the States to put aside any obligations to the inherited laws of England and obligations to the Federal Government, this attempt was put to the people in question 2 of the 1984 Federal Referendum and failed.
Therefore, I would like to know why the Australia Act 1986 has been introduced and is still in place today. If there are no arguments that prove the fundamental issues above are wrong, then I strongly suggest you repeal the Australia Act 1986.
I would also like to know under what head of power the federal government relies upon to create validity to the leadership of Prime Minister’s Julia Gillard and Scott Morrison when neither of them were voted in by the people of this nation.
Yours faithfully,
Anonymous
OFFICIAL
Dear Anonymous
We refer to your correspondence of 27 October 2020 sent to the Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) (as set out below) –
our reference FOI/2020/254.
Validity
Section 15 of the FOI Act requires that a request for access to documents
under the FOI Act meets certain requirements. These requirements are:
· It must be in writing;
· It must state it is a request for the purposes of the FOI Act;
and
· It must provide such information as is reasonably necessary to
enable the agency to identify the document/s being sought.
In relation to the Australia Act 1986, the Attorney-General’s Department
(AGD) has previously provided the following general and background
comments only, which we provide here in case it may be of interest to you:
The Australia Act was enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament at the
request of the Australian States in accordance with section 51(xxxviii) of
the Constitution, which provides that the Commonwealth has legislative
power with respect to:
the exercise within the Commonwealth, at the request or with the
concurrence of the Parliaments of all States directly concerned, of any
power which can at the establishment of this Constitution be exercised
only by the Parliament of the United Kingdom or by the Federal Council of
Australasia.
The Australia Act 1986 was enacted in virtually identical terms by the
United Kingdom Parliament. As the long title of the Act indicates, it
brought certain arrangements affecting the Commonwealth and the States
into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a
fully independent, federal nation. Section 1, in particular, confirmed
that the United Kingdom Parliament no longer had power to make laws for
Australia. The High Court has treated the Australia Act as enacted by the
Commonwealth parliament as valid and effective (see, for example,
Attorney-General (WA) v Marquet (2003) 217 CLR 545 at [66]-[67]).
Please note that if you are seeking legal advice, this is something the
Department is not in a position to provide to you.
If you would like assistance to make a valid FOI request, please feel free
to contact the Department by return email at [1][email address] or
telephone 02 6271 5849.
Kind regards
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy Section | Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [2][DPMC request email] | w. [3]www.pmc.gov.au
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear FOI,
Is it common practice for the Commonwealth Parliament to petition and coerce the States to unanimously make such requests?. Likewise, for the UK, hence why there could be no coincidence for having virtually identical terms by the enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament.
Isn't it the case that without both "requests" and enactment being done in preparation, the Commonwealth Parliament is powerless as per the Constitution?.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
OFFICIAL
Dear Anonymous
Thank you for your email.
We refer you to our email of 9 November 2020 (attached) regarding the requirements for a valid FOI request.
Yours sincerely
FOI and Privacy Section | Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [DPMC request email] | w. www.pmc.gov.au
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600