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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Australian Constitution

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             A democratic government is essential to the constitution in Australia and is achieved by using the principles of representative government to form parliament. The election process requires every adult (18+) Australian citizen to vote in a secret ballot to determine the members of parliament and the government which is the party who receives the most in the Lower House. The High Court of Australia (HCA) is the highest court of appeal as outlined in the constitution. It is also used to determine the wording of the constitution and to settle constitutional disputes. As it is part of the judiciary, the HCA is a completely independent institution of government. The HCA has made many landmark decisions to do with constitutional disputes that have allowed more flexibility within the constitution. The HCA is not bound by any of its previous rulings, therefore it is given more freedom to make interpretations that are appropriate at that point in time which again gives more flexibility to the constitution. .
             It is possible to alter the Constitution with the use of referendums, which are outlined in section 128. This is considered to be a major strength of the constitution as it allows the constitution to keep up with the changing values of society. However, Australians have been reluctant to allow many changes to the constitution with only 8 of 44 referendums being successful. Perhaps this is an indication that the public of Australia has the belief that if it aint broke don't fix it". This is not necessarily a bad thing as the low success rate shows that the constitution is resistant to sudden or impulsive changes. .
             There are also many weaknesses that can be found in the constitution. A major weakness would be the poor way that the two conflicting principles of responsible government and federation have been combined to form the government structure as outlined in the constitution.


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