Course Notes 3

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Australia's Place in the World

Australia, precisely because it is an integral part of the world, faces the same fundamental challenges: how to create conditions that are conducive to human security and fulfilment, both in this country and beyond.

The same two signposts point the way: civilisational dialogue and democratic governance. Our task in the years ahead is to harness the insights and energies offered by Australia's unique cultural context, and to deepen the commitment to and capacity for democratic citizenship at all levels of governance - local, state, national, regional and global.

In embarking on this journey, we need to be conscious of Australia's particular circumstances - of both the opportunities and roadblocks that we are likely to encounter along the journey.

Assets

1. Protective features of our geography

2. Unusually rich opportunities for civilisational dialogue offered by our demographic composition and geographic location

3. Peculiar combination of the old (traditional wisdom of Indigenous Australia) and the new (modern technical know-how of non-Indigenous Australia)

4. Lingering sense of social solidarity and attachment to notions of a 'fair go'

Obstacles

1. Confluence of powerful interests committed to the preservation of the status quo (in particular, those interests, be they foreign or domestic, that control the commanding heights of the economy and the mass media)

2. A culture of dependency that combines a high degree of insularity with reliance on great and powerful friends and breeds varying degrees of complacency and self-satisfaction

3. A largely moribund system of politics, especially party politics, that breeds cynicism

4. Sharp decline of trade unionism as an agent of social and political mobilisation

5. Sharp decline of Christian Churches as upholders of public morality (and in particular of such public virtues as truth and compassion)

6. The deeply ingrained racism of 'White Australia' that continues to hamper reconciliation with Indigenous Australia and engagement with Asian cultures and societies

7. A political culture that privileges the private sphere at the expense of the public sphere, and deprives social involvement of deep and sustained organisational commitment.

An Agenda for Institutional Change

Australia's current political institutions and decision-making processes consistently advantage the wealthy and the powerful.

Present constitutional arrangements impede democratic participation and a sustained programme of economic and ecological reconstruction.

A multifaceted and prolonged campaign is needed to:

raise the level of public consciousness
develop a new public morality
revitalise the political fabric of society.

The long-term aim must be the fundamental overhaul of our constitutional arrangements.

General Outline of Proposed Changes

1. A representative and popularly elected national Convention should be created to initiate a prolonged and inclusive process of public education and consultation. The purpose of this process would be to consider how democratic citizenship and governance can best flourish in Australia in the context of a globalising world.

2. Building on the consultative process, the Convention would have the added responsibility of drafting a new constitutional framework that seeks to apply the democratic ethic to the rapidly changing circumstances of Australia's domestic and international environment.

3. A new constitutional framework should begin with a declaration that sets out the principles that form the core of Australia's vision of the future and of its place in the world.

4. The Declaration of principles should include the following:

a.	Formal recognition of the right to self-determination of the Indigenous people of Australia, by virtue of which they may freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, cultural and spiritual development - Indigenous customs, traditions and institutions should be recognised as an integral part of Australia's cultural and legal heritage
b.	A commitment to democratic citizenship and governance, to an economically just, ecologically sustainable, non-patriarchal, self reliant, multicultural society, and to the elimination of discrimination based on race, religion, gender, class or nationality
c.	Respect for the balance, integrity and diversity of the natural environment
d.	A conception of world order premised on the satisfaction of human needs, respect of human rights, redistributive justice and ecological sustainability, and on the development of an international legal system and international organisations committed to achieving these ends
e.	Prohibition of the development, acquisition, use or threatened use of nuclear weapons and other technologies of mass destruction
f.	Commitment to a policy of co-operative relations with all other peoples and states consistent with the above principles and exclusive of any military alliances.

5. The Declaration of Principles should be accompanied by another legally binding document (sometimes referred to as a Bill of Rights) designed to entrench various freedoms and entitlements that are essential to the democratic process. More specifically, such a document would:

a.	require the Australian Parliament to give legal effect to all existing international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Social, Cultural and Economic Rights and their respective Protocols, and to all future instruments ratified by Australia
b.	make provision for the development of the legislative and administrative arrangements needed to promote the rights of women, children and workers (including the right to strike), and more generally the rights of legal equality and political participation as well as the rights to material well-being (e.g. the right to socially useful work, housing, health care, education, and a safe environment), and the right of co-operatives, local communities, trade unions and professional associations to participate in decision-making bearing upon the implementation of these rights. This right would include effective access to policy-makers, to relevant information and, where appropriate, to financial resources
c.	include a charter of environmental rights to be implemented through an Environmental Justice Strategy, which could serve as a planning and monitoring mechanism.

6. Australia's connection with the British Crown would be entirely severed, and a republic established whereby the making and unmaking of national governments would be determined solely by the Australian electorate. The presidential office would be ceremonial in character, with responsibilities jointly shared by a small team reflecting Australia's multicultural ethos.

7. Other important changes would include:

a.	a drastic restructuring of the Australian federal system to allow for a coherent and effective division of powers and functions between all tiers of governance - national, State, municipal, regional and global
b.	the redrawing (or elimination) of State boundaries to permit the establishment of socially and environmentally cohesive regions and communities
c.	democratisation of the parliamentary process - this would include electoral laws based on the twin principles of 'one person, one vote' and 'one vote, one value', proportional representation for all legislatures, strict ceilings on the funding of election campaigns, and citizenship education as an integral element of primary, secondary, tertiary and continuing education
d.	introduction of the referendum mechanism as a way of determining policy at all tiers governance - the mechanism could be applied by decision of the relevant legislature or at the request of sufficient voters (perhaps a minimum of 10 % of the electorate)
e.	decisions committing Australia to the use of military force in international conflicts would normally be made by referendum - this provision to be waived only where the national parliament so determines by a two-thirds majority
f.	establishment of publicly funded Citizen Initiative Councils with the power to air complaints, hold public inquiries, investigate all facets of public administration, issue reports, and recommend both legislation and administrative action.

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