The Politics of the Preamble
by Anne Winckel
Zadok Perspectives Issue No. 64
Winter 1999

Part 3

WHILE IT WAS the February 1998 Constitutional Convention which raised the public profile of a new preamble to national proportions, proposals for change have been around for a lot longer. In 1988, the Individual and Democratic Rights Committee-one of the five Advisory Committees reporting to the 1988 Constitutional Commission-recom-mended that a new preamble to the Australian Constitution be drafted, embodying the "fundamental sentiments which Australians of all origins hold in common" (Australia's Constitution: Time to Update, AGPS, 1988).

The preamble proposed by the Individual and Democratic Rights Committee included references to the "rich diversity of cultures"; the equality, freedom and dignity of individuals; the previous ownership and occupation of the land by Aboriginal peoples; and the responsibility to respect and wisely manage this unique continent. Despite this strong recommendation, the 1988 Constitutional Convention advised against changing the preamble.

The current preamble to the Constitution has been out of date ever since 1901: Western Australia was omitted because they only decided to federate with the other colonies at the last minute, after the Federation Bill had been passed by the British parliament. Many claim that the preamble is deficient because it fails to make any mention of the indigenous peoples of Australia. Others say it is outdated because it does make mention of "Almighty God". Both women's groups and multicultural organisations also claim that changes to the preamble are needed to remedy the disenfranchisement of women and Chinese (as well as Aboriginal peoples) which occurred at Federation. Finally, if you compare the Australian preamble to other constitutional preambles around the world-it actually says very little, and can even be accused of being inspirationless and soulless.

It is not then surprising that the Constitutional Convention of 1998 recommended that there be a new preamble to the Constitution. The Prime Minister John Howard has supported this resolution by proposing that Australians vote on two questions in the referendum this November: a republic question and a new preamble question.

In assessing Howard's latest preamble, much can be learned from comparisons with earlier preamble proposals.

So, what did the authors put into their draft preambles? The 1998 Constitutional Convention suggested things such as: a recognition of the original occupancy of Australia by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, reference to representative democracy, responsible government, the rule of law, cultural diversity, our unique environment and, finally, reference to Almighty God. The Convention also said that further consideration would be given to other issues such as equality of people before the law, gender equality and reference to the "continuing rights" of Aboriginal peoples.

Jeff Kennett, Gareth Evans and John Howard's two preamble proposals have had the most publicity, but numerous members of the community have also proposed new preambles. Frank Brennan long ago drafted a preamble; prominent writers such as Tom Keneally and Les Murray have both penned drafts; over 380 members of the public submitted preambles to the "Preamble Quest" (a call for public contributions organised by the Constitutional Centenary Foundation); and countless other people have written to the media with ideas and drafts for discussion.

Anne Winckel Anne Winckel lectures in Legal Studies at the University of Melbourne. She is currently doing postgraduate research in Constitutional history, focussing on the significance of the Commonwealth preamble.