Australians will be asked on Saturday to approve Australia becoming a republic and to insert a preamble in the Constitution.
Polling stations will be listed in a advertisement by the Australian Electoral Commission in Friday’s paper.
The two questions will be asked on separate ballot papers.
For either change to take place it will require a majority of voters to vote Yes in a majority of states (that means four states) and for an overall majority across Australia.
People in the territories also vote in referendums. Their vote counts only towards the national majority, and so usually does not matter. The territory votes would only make a difference if four small states voted Yes, but the total state votes did not quite make a majority. Any Yes majority in the territories could be added to make a national majority.
The Republic Bill provides for 69 changes to the text of the Constitution. The great majority of them are to replace references to the “”Governor-General” and “”Queen” to the “”President” and to clarify references to the “”President of the Senate”.
The other changes are as follows:
To create a President as head of state, chosen for a five-year term, from January 1, 2001. The President would replace the Queen and Governor-General as head of state.
The president’s functions would be identical to those of the present Governor-General. This includes the existing reserve powers of sacking a Prime Minister, calling an election or refusing to call an early election.
The present system of government with a Prime Minister would continue with the usual three-year election cycle.
The Prime Minister, as now, would head the Government. The President’s role would be largely ceremonial.
The president would be chosen as follows:
A nominations committee would receive nominations from the public. Any member of the public could nominate anyone. Sending the name in on a form, similar to nominating people for an Order of Australia. The committee would vet the nominations and cut them down to a shortlist. Nominations would be kept secret, but a nominated person could make their own name public if they wanted.
The nominations committee would be made up of Commonwealth, state and territory parliamentarians and an equal number of non-politician community representatives chosen by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister considers the short-list and selects one of them (or someone else if he wants) and proposes the name to a joint sitting of the Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition must second the proposal and the person be approved by a two-thirds majority of the joint sitting.
Both major parties must agree, so it is likely the person will be a publicly nominated person and will not be a politician because each major party would veto someone from the other party. Even if a government party had a two-thirds majority of the joint sitting, the nomination still requires the Leader of the Opposition to second it.
Also, given that requirement, it is likely that the Prime Minister would pick someone nominated by a member of the public to the committee.
The president must be an Australian citizen, not a member of parliament and not a member of a political party.
The qualifications for president pick up the qualifications in the existing Constitution for members of parliament, but it clarifies the reference to the armed forces. Serving and ex-service people can become president. A serving officer would have to resign just before parliamentary approval.
The president can be removed by the Prime Minister. (At present the Prime Minister can ask the Queen to remove the Governor-General which she must do.)
Upon removal or incapacity of the president, the most senior state governor becomes acting President until a new president is chosen in the way set down. (At present the Prime Minister can remove the Governor-General and pick a new one without reference to anyone.)
The Prime Minister’s powers are reduced under the new model.
If the Prime Minister dismisses the Governor-General he has to get approval of the House of Representatives within 30 days — which would amount to a confidence vote. So if the Prime Minister goes off the rails in dismissing the President the Acting President would have a parliamentary vote to act upon in deciding whether to dismiss the Prime Minister or call an election.
A sacked President cannot be re-instated.
The existing arrangements whereby a state governor usually acts as Governor-General in his absence will continue.
The power of the Queen to veto legislation passed by the Australian Parliament would be removed. The power has never been exercised.
The federal system would continue. It would be a matter for each state to make changes so the state governors are not selected by the Queen on the advice of the Premiers.
References to the “”Crown” in legislation would be dealt with by the Parliament. Existing legislation would be saved.
Changes to the coinage would be gradual, as now, if there is a new monarch or the monarch ages and her image updated.
Changes to insignia would be gradual. Changes to the title “”Royal” in institutions’ names would be a matter for those institutions.
Australia would remain in the Commonwealth of Nations.