Keeping With The Times
Constitutional Change is Difficult But it is a Necessary Sacrifice
M. D. Kwak
THE AUSTRALIAN NATION IN 2023 IS VASTLY DIFFERENT from the one federated in 1901 when its Constitution was written. The Australian economy has globalised, its citizens are more multicultural than ever, and the socio-political zeitgeist has trended towards one that is increasingly progressive and inclusive of individuals’ differences. The Constitution, aware of its ahistorical limitations, sets out its own mechanism of constitutional change under Sect. 128.
The system of referendum, though arduous and rarely successful, ought to remain as is. The necessary change lies in repairing the collective Australian consciousness by which constitutional change is perceived, alongside Australia’s system of civics education.
The amendment process is difficult; often it fails to pass the required majority of electors in a majority of states. However, this is preferable to constitutional changes that are made trivially or with ease. The Constitution requires a certain degree of permanence and importance – serving as a foundational cornerstone upon which more flexible and responsive laws can be built upon. Moreover, constitutional change within the jurisdiction of judiciary, executive or legislative institutions, is prone to exploitation by the majority party of the time and used to entrench political power or dilute democracy. There often exist perverse political incentives for governments to consolidate power or fulfil short-term populist election promises, that are detrimental to Australia’s welfare in the long-term.
The trade-off between making constitutional change more efficient but less democratic is a suboptimal one. Efficiency is not necessarily a benefit in so far as the Constitution provides stability and legal precedent to systems of law-making and judicial interpretation. An ever-shifting ‘responsive’ constitutional framework is an unstable one, hurting efficient long-term legislation and holding an unacceptable level of power by abrogating swathes of legislation or bypassing necessary checks and balances.
However, positive reform to the Constitution faces two key obstacles. First, Australia holds an extremely conservative sentiment towards constitutional change translating into a refusal to accept the majority of reform. Paradoxically, this means few of the shortcomings at the source of public disillusionment with the political system can be addressed. Second, there exists a strong (and historically-accurate) perception that constitutional amendment requires bipartisan support by the Coalition and Labour to be successful. As a result, the most uncontentious and lowest-impact amendments are proposed; anything which threatens the power of major parties will nearly always be derailed and the political status quo preserved. A lack of effective political education has created this stranglehold. Ignorance and apathy have made constituents vulnerable to political manipulation and fear mongering – creating a bias against reforms seen as ‘irreversible and having dire effects on normal Australians’. In the long-term, effective constitutional reform requires a citizenry possessing sufficient knowledge about the current Constitution and its ahistorical limitations. A new model of civic education which enables future generations to be both informed and critical is of vital importance.