Australian Constitutional Reform

Australia's political and electoral system has lost its way. Governments at all levels no longer represent the interests of the people, but the interests of political parties. Many Australians have disassociated themselves with the electoral process.

Representative government and local equity are what Australians yearn for but lack.

Parke's 19th Century three-tier government model successfully retired a colonial system. In 1901, Australia's population was 3.7 million and was comparatively classless and well distributed across the regions

In August 2010, Australia's population is just shy of 22.7 million! Government policies have seen most people concentrated in the capital cities and abandon the bush. Australian society has become distinctly class conscious with a wider gap between the haves and have nots.

Our political system is doing a disservice to Australians. It is time for democratic reform across Australian politics.

One area of targeted reform is the three tier government system, which continues to triplicate public functions with consequential costs and tax waste. Another associated area of targeted reform is the electoral system that allows for two party domination of government by perpetuating safe seats and supported by political donations.

On this last point, the injustice of political donations must end. Wealthy cronies of the major parties, including The Greens, contribute millions every year into the coffers of the dominant oligarchy. Many expect political favours in return and so it is a form of political corruption and corruptibility that must end.

Instead a transparent set electoral allowance needs to be granted equally to each recognised candidate for each electorate in each election. This would restore electoral equity, give all candidates a fair go and encourage more people to get involved in politics at their local level.

Two-Tier Government

Australians need to consider phasing out the antiquated, costly triplication of having three governments. Australia's state and territory governments are colonial dinosaurs. They need to be phased out and abolished.

Visit the Federal Government website and scroll through the list of federal departments, then do the same for
* Victoria departments,
* NSW departments,
* Queensland departments,
* South Australian departments,
* Western Australian departments,
* Northern Territory departments,
* Tasmanian departments and
* ACT departments and ask... why all the bloody departments doing the same bloody jobs?

What's all this wasteful government repetition actually costing Australians?

The questioning of the constitutional monarchy model is a distinctly separate issue and one more symbolic and nostalgic than one likely to make much pragmatic impact on the lives of Australians. The republic push is an ideological distraction.

Whereas 'Two-Tier Regionalism' is about real pragmatic political reform right down to local community level. Lean government and regional equity are what Australians yearn for but lack.

Nationalise State & Territory Functions

We need to phase out Australia's state and territory governments by devolving their powers appropriately to either a national level or regional level.

What benefits would Australians achieve by this?

Those state and territory powers and functions devolved to the national level would consolidate, nationalise, standardise and streamline common nation-wide functions and remove duplication. The types of functions would be the following:

* National Health, Aged Care & Disability (already being touted)
* National Treasury
* National Transport
* National Education and Vocational Training
* National Emergency Services
* National Infrastructure
* National Justice
* National Technology

And no, they don't all have to be be set up in Canberra. Simply utilise the existing state and territory infrastructure, staff and buildings - but nationalise them. Many billions saved in year one.

Maintain the two house system of federal government - no change there.

Regional Counties

Regional functions of state and territory governments need to be redistributed to the local regional level.

* Regional Planning and Housing
* Regional Industry and Investment
* Water and Energy
* Environmental Management

Such power and wealth redistributions back into Australia's regions, will provide greater autonomy, viability and independence to regional communities, which for decades have been starved due to capital city-centric investment.

Regionalism

Regionalism refocuses government, society and business at the regional level, empowering local communities to have greater opportunity into the prosperity of their region.

Importantly, tax wealth needs to be redistributed to the regions. Possibilities include company tax, payroll tax and GST - collected nationally but redistributed back into each region on a per capita basis. The more people in a region, the greater revenues, which would encourage population redistribution more evenly across Australia.

Income taxes remain with national government.

* Merge Australia's 560 local council's into regional counties on a natural bio-regional basis. This would consolidate councils into 85 strong and independently viable new 'counties'.

Restore Democratic Representation

Australia's electoral system has been steadily eroded over the decades by those in power, notably the two dominant parties - Liberal and Labor. Over recent times these two parties have grown closer and closer in ideology and policy, so that these days they spend most of their electioneering trying to distinguish themselves from each other. Labor and Liberal at all three levels of Australian politics have effectively become factions of one LibLab party.

To be truly representative, the electoral structure of these new county governments (for consideration) should breakdown this LibLab stranglehold on government. Our electoral system needs to be restored to being truly democratic. The following two models are worthy of exploring:

A. Mixed member proportional representation model or,

B. Loser delegation in a single-member constituency model, either way facilitating aspects of direct democracy including direct citizen's initiated referenda (along the lines of the Swiss practice).

The above suggestion are worthy of further exploration and debate and are invited on this website.

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Further Reading

1. A Two-Tier Australian National State, 1st March 2010.

2. Regionalism;

3. Vision of a two-tier Canada mean-spirited" [The Toronto Star, 20 Aug 2000];

4. Constituencies for Limitation and Regionalism Approaches to Growth Management, by Scott A. Bollens, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA, Urban Affairs Review September 1990 vol. 26 no. 1 pp46-67];

5. Destiny Magazine, a publication of the Australian Protectionist Party.

Sir Henry Parkes's late 19th Century vision to unite six separate British self-governing colonies into a Federation of Australia was way back then progressive, logical and right for that time. It was a first step towards independence for what Australia was then still fragmented set of British colonies.

But Australia has changed significantly over the hundred odd years since then. Our present Constitution allows us, by law and by default, to be ruled by three tiers of government It is cumbersome, expensive and worse. Democracy itself is undermined by unaccountable government between the three year Federal elections and those other elections for the States and Councils. Should not Australians demand constitutional reform?

Why are we bound to the past? What if we went a new way? For the sake of debate, here is one:

A Vision for a post-Parkes Two-tier Australian National State

A New Two Tier Government System?

We would get one true chance at a new system for Australia amidst the turmoil of the future. We need to think in a ‘revolutionary way’ to arrive at proper and democratic outcomes.

* Australian National Government to make the transition to a more direct democracy with a parliament elected geographically and occupationally, with some delegates changing from session to session if the constituents demand it.

* All State and Territory governments to be abolished.

* All of Australia's 560 odd local councils to be abolished, pending reconstruction.

* Each state government to make the transition to a single house executive 'county government' to replace capital city councils and take responsibility for a broad regional area encapsulating the entire metropolitan area in which they were formerly placed.


Geographic Basis

* New county governments to be established aligned on a natural regional basis of
(1) Australia's 85 bio-regions, and (2) take some account of Australian ancient Aboriginal tribal boundaries, and (3) employ a series of community-based forums and plebiscites to decide on final boundaries. The offices of the previous councils to be utilised and adapted. Direct democracy; citizens’ initiated referenda and voter recall to be brought into the system.

* The county assemblies to serve as elected structures, but not necessarily on the basis of set terms; they should allow for continual election and wider participation, with participation not set as always geographic but occupational, family and other.

Ref: A Map of Australia's 85 Bioregions


National Jurisdictions

* The National Government to retain is current jurisdictions and to adopt most jurisdictions of the States, namely:

1. National Transport - all roads, all rail, all shipping, all ports, car registrations, licensing, related infrastructure.

2. National Health - all hospitals, healthcare, aged care, ambulance services, integrated to allow universal free medical care.

3. National Education - all child care, primary, secondary and tertiary education.

4. National Environmental Conservation Management, transitioning all State forests of high conservation value into National Parks, with remaining Crown land handed to the new counties

5. Australian Heritage

6. The Arts

7. National Police Force management

8. New Emergency Management Australia to include a merger of all fire fighting agencies (both metropolitan and rural), State emergency services and expansion into centrally co-ordinated disaster prevention, management and relief functions


County Jurisdictions

1. Land Management

2. Housing development

3. Town Planning

4. Crown Lands (now county lands) not deemed high conservation value which may be converted into National Parks

5. County community services - unemployment benefits, pensions, housing and basic safety net services

6. Local Aboriginal Affairs - now at County level

7. Commercial and trade development

8. County water and sewerage

9. Waste management services

10. Parks and Gardens

11. Energy planning (jointly with Federal Government) - for further consideration


Revenue Bases

* County governments to acquire the revenue bases of the respective multiple councils lying within the new county boundaries

* All State revenues to pass to the Federal Government, except that county governments may acquire revenues from agreed sources – possibly from a raft of taxes such as: payroll tax, stamp duties, and property based taxes such as land tax, as well as any sales tax revenue [collected by the national government under the current method, but 100% distributed to all counties on a per capita basis], and a percentage of Company Tax (using the distributed method as currently).

* All revenues from motor vehicle related taxes to transfer to the National government which would be responsible for national transport.


Democratic Contract

* As a safeguard against repeating the current system of broken electoral promises, the respective National and County governments are to be held accountable for electoral promises - or else a re-election can be triggered. This would take the form of election promises formalising into an 'election contract' with the people, wherein at the end of each financial year if certain percentage of the contractual promises for that first year have not been delivered, this will trigger an election. This would require constitutional reform enabling Binding Citizens Initiated Referendum along the lines of the Swiss model.


Legislation

* State based courts (except county courts) to come under National jurisdiction. New County Courts to be a merger of old district or county courts and magistrates courts.

* All Acts to be at the National jurisdiction, with county governments responsible for county By-Laws. Pre-existing State legislation to be rationalised to be made consistent and thence to be part of a National legal system.

Ongoing Discussion: Two-Tier Regionalism