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FROM: Charles Curwen, L.V.O., O.B.E.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
MELBOURNE, 3004
TELEPHONE: (03) 651 4211
FAX: (03) 650 4068
Friday, 1 August, 1997
Mr. Wolter Joosse
Managing Director
Joosse Apparel Pty. Ltd.
6 Apsley Place
SEAFORD VIC 3198
Dear Mr Joosse,
His Excellency the Governor has read and personally considered your letter of 17 June 1997,
and has asked me to acknowledge it on his behalf.
The Governor is appointed as the representative of the Queen of Australia in the State of Victoria. The Royal Style and Titles Act 1973 (Cth) gave Parliament's assent to the adoption by the Queen of her new Commonwealth conferred title, Queen of Australia.
Letters Patents are one of the Royal Prerogatives of the Queen. As a result of the Australia Act 1986, all the prerogatives of the Queen relevant to an Australian state are now exercisable by the Governor of the state. Under s.7(2) of the Australia Act 1986, "Subject to subsections (3) & (4) below, all powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect of a State are exercisable only by the Governor of the State." The Australia Act 1986 makes it clear that the only power the Queen can exercise for an Australian state, unless she is visiting the state, is the power to appoint or dismiss the Governor.
I enclose a copy of the Australia Act 1986 for your further interest.
Yours sincerely,
Official Secretary
On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Wolter Joosse wrote:
>Hi,
> I wonder if you could assist me with the answers to the following questions:
1. Is "the Commonwealth" or British Commonwealth of Nations a separate and
· independent legal entity from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
· Northern Ireland, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the
· like? Yes.
2. Is the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland a separate legal entity to "the
· British Commonwealth"? Yes.
3. If not, is "the Commonwealth" legally bound by the UK's admission to the
· European Union? No.
3. When and how was the Commonwealth constituted, and who were the
· founding Members? 1931, by the Statute of Westminster, with Canada,
· Newfoundland and the Irish Free State as initial members.
>4. Does "the Commonwealth" have its own Constitution?
If so where may I obtain
a copy? It has principles of association, but not a constitution per se . See
http://www.thecommonwealth.org
5. Is the Monarch in Parliament at Westminster automatically the Head of the
· Commonwealth? Yes.
6. If so, why and by what legal process is the King or Queen of UK and
· Northern Ireland appointed? By primogeniture and established UK
· procedure, * specified in the Act of Settlement of 1689
7. Is the Head of the Commonwealth a separate legal entity to the Queen of
· Canada, Australia, NZ, Fiji and the like? Yes.
8. Does the Head of the Commonwealth hold any constitutional powers within the
Parliament of India, Pakistan, Fiji or Sri Lanka? No.
9. Does the Head of the Commonwealth hold constitutional powers within the
Parliament of the former Dominions of Canada, New Zealand, Australia or
South Africa? Legally the queen is Head of State of Australia and New
Zealand, but in practice she wields no power there.
Hoping that these shall not take too much of your time, I thank you in anticipation of an early reply. I am grateful, if you can assist.
Yours sincerely, Wolter Joosse
For further details, I would recommend you have a look at http://www.thecommonwealth.org/ or http://www.fco.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely,
Simon Trafford
Dr Simon Trafford
Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Senate House, Malet Street, London, WCIE 7HU
Tel: 020 7862 8785 - Fax: 020 7862 8754 - http://www.history.ac.uk
EXHIBIT BMS.332 SOLICITOR GENERAL'S DISCUSSION PAPER NO 3
Re: A Minimal Republic and the Roleof the Crown
The Current Role of Her Majesty
Although the position was not altogether clear prior to the enactment of the Australia Act, 1986, it is now clear that Her Majesty the Queen of Australia is a separate legal body from Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom. The Queen of Australia takes advice from her Australian Ministers and has a separate legal personality from the Queen of the United Kingdom. By virtue of the Australia Act and the fact of Australia's independence, the Commonwealth Constitution effectively has been rewritten, and "Queen of Australia" inserted wherever "Queen of United Kingdom" appears.
The succession of the Australian monarchy is determined by the common law, including a number of UK statutes which are applicable under the common law. It was agreed at Imperial Conferences in 1926 and 1930 that the UK Parliament would not vary the law as to the succession without reference to the former dominions (this is reflected in the preamble to the Statute of Westminster). As the UK Parliament no longer has any constitutional role in respect of Australia, legislation by the UK Parliament to change the succession would probably be ineffective in any event.
The effect of all this is that the Queen of Australia is a separate legal person, and a separate sovereign, from the Queen of the United Kingdom, although the same person wears both Crowns.
Under the Australia Act and pursuant to constitutional convention, the role of Her Majesty in respect of the government of the Commonwealth and the States is quite limited. The following roles and functions remain:
1 The Queen still exercises her "personal" approvals. These are a limited range of matters where the Queen acts without advice from Her Ministers. These include approval of the use of the style "Royal", of the use of Crown insignia, of the use of words such as "Queen's", "King's", "Crown", "Imperial" and a monarch's name, of the use of the titles such as "Honourable" and the grant of a personal warrant. There are arrangements between the Palace and the Governors and the Governor General relating to the use of the personal approval. These personal approvals are rarely exercised today in Australia.
2 The Queen still exercises those prerogatives that have effects beyond a particular jurisdiction eg the grant of royal charters and the grant of Imperial Honours. These powers can now be assumed to be otiose so far as Australia is concerned.
3 The Queen appoints and dismisses the Governors and the Governor General on the advice of the relevant Chief Minister.
4 The Queen can act personally in all matters when she is present within the State. However, she would only do so if there were a clear and agreed prior arrangement