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The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia.It is a written constitution, that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system.
1 January – The Constitution of Australia comes into force, as the federation of Australia is complete. John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, is appointed as the first Governor-General, and Edmund Barton as the first Prime Minister. 1 March – Following federation naval and military forces of the States are transferred to Commonwealth control.
The Constitutional history of Australia is the history of Australia's foundational legal principles. Australia's legal origins as a nation state began in the colonial era, with the reception of English law and the lack of any regard to existing Indigenous legal structures.
A series of referendums on the proposed constitution of Australia were held between 2 June 1898 and 31 July 1900 in the six colonies that were to become the states of the Commonwealth of Australia. [1] The first four referendums were held in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria in June 1898. [1]
Australian constitutional law is the area of the law of Australia relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Australia. Legal cases regarding Australian constitutional law are often handled by the High Court of Australia , the highest court in the Australian judicial system.
The history of Australia from 1901 to 1945 begins with the federation of the six colonies to create the Commonwealth of Australia. The young nation joined Britain in the First World War, suffered through the Great Depression in Australia as part of the global Great Depression and again joined Britain in the Second World War against Nazi Germany in 1939.
The Proclamation Declaring the Establishment of the Commonwealth was a royal proclamation made by Queen Victoria on 17 September 1900 federating the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia under the name of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The next constitutional convention – the Australasian Federal Convention – was held in stages in 1897–98. Unlike the first convention, the delegates from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania were elected by popular vote. [6] The delegates of Western Australia were chosen by its parliament.