CCF – Both Houses

The election count goes on. It took eight long days to find out that the Coalition will form government. There are still one or two seats unconfirmed in the House of Representatives and the Senate count is likely to take a few more weeks.

CEFA staff were alarmed on Tuesday morning 5 July when we picked up the Sydney Morning Herald and read the front page words “Australia faces a protracted political and Constitutional crisis”. But is this a Constitutional crisis? Or is the system working as it should?

CEFA is delighted that thousands more first-time voters have enrolled at the last minute. We wrote on 27 May that only 50% of 18 year old had enrolled for the upcoming Federal election. Thanks to an Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) media and advertising campaign, the number is now 71%.

The result of children not being taught the value of democracy in school is that only 50% of 18 year olds are enrolled to vote at this election. 

On Sunday 8 May, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met with the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove to request that both Houses of Parliament be dissolved and an election be called for 2 July.

The discussion about splitting Queensland into two States has received some attention lately.

In light of the Paris attacks that immediately followed the bombing in Beirut, this week we will take a closer look at the constant renegotiation of the balance between our personal rights and individual freedoms, and the need to restrict civil liberties to protect the whole Australian community

Today’s CCF commences what we expect to be a major task to correct Constitutional myths and dubious facts.

Photo of the House of Lords

Here in Australia many people take joy in democratically electing those who will work for us in the Senate. But most Australians probably don’t realise that the people of the United Kingdom do not get to partake in the same activity as they don’t have an elected Upper House.