Matt Thistlewaite says out-of-date Constitution ‘subverts democratic rights’ of Australians
The democratic rights of Australians are being undermined by flaws in the Constitution, says the minister responsible for the republic.
The democratic rights of Australians are being undermined by flaws in the Constitution, says the minister responsible for the republic, as he accelerates his campaign to ditch the King as the nation’s head of state.
Matt Thistlethwaite has begun selling the practical reason for constitutional reform to multicultural communities, regional Australians and young people, with an aim to hold a referendum in the next term of parliament if the voice vote is successful.
In a speech to the Daniel Deniehy Oration in Goulburn on Friday night, Mr Thistlethwaite said the Constitution needed updating to “reflect our evolving democracy and consider advancing the rights of citizens to achieve a stronger democracy”.
He said Scott Morrison’s secret ministries scandal and the Whitlam government’s dismissal in 1975 were two examples of Australians not being adequately represented by a governor-general loyal to the British monarch.
“The fundamental weakness in our system of government is that it can subvert the rights of citizens,” Mr Thistlethwaite said, according to a copy of the speech.
“Recently we learned that in 2021 former prime minster Scott Morrison advised the Governor-General to swear him in as a minister for several ministries. He did this without informing the ministers whose jobs he took or the Australian people.
“This fundamentally undermined the rights of Australians to know who their ministers were that were administering government on their behalf, particularly during a health emergency.”
Mr Thistlethwaite said Whitlam’s dismissal as prime minister “undermined citizens’ fundamental democratic right to choose who governs them”.
“The governor-general, Sir John Kerr, was communicating with the Queen regarding the constitutional crisis and his intentions, not the Australian prime minister or the Australian people,” Mr Thistlethwaite said.
“If we are to be a truly independent nation this must change. We need a head of state that is accountable to the Australian people … and acts in their interests, not the interests of another nation.”
In Senate estimates on Friday, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet first assistant secretary John Reid said he reviewed whether cabinet rules were breached over information provided to The Australian’s Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers for the book Plagued.
The book revealed Mr Morrison secretly swore himself in as health minister during the pandemic.
“We’ve reviewed the book and reviewed what information is in the book to determine its accuracy and otherwise and we have referred that information to the Attorney-General’s department,” Mr Reid said “Our conclusions were that it certainly appears to reveal information that was, until revealed, cabinet material and … would ordinarily have been protected under the principle of cabinet confidentiality.”
A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Department said it was not investigating the issue and “has not referred the matter to any other agency”.
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