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Legitimacy for Australian Democratic Practices: Several of the states still have informal constitutions based on bills from the UK parliament. I havent done Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania in a \"focus on\" series yet for that reason. Their constitutions are unfocused and spread across many bills.

I think that is the problem with why Republicanism hasnt gained wider acceptance in Australia. The Australian innovations in democracy, such as the secret ballot, female suffrage, compulsory voting, Hare-Clark voting etc are all subsumed by the impression that it is the British democratic tradition.

The secret ballot is an essential innovation and it popped out of Victoria. The recent Iraqi elections gained their credence because the previous elections under Hussein had not been with a secret ballot. This one was.

There is an Australian political legacy, there is an Australian political legitimacy, but it is polluted by the impression of Australia being subservient to British democratic tradition and principle. The monarchists have encouraged this fiction.

The worst and weakest parts of the Australian political system comes from our inmportation of the British traditions. An informal executive who combines the power of the legislative and executive; The lack of explicit limits on government (bill of rights); appointed Legislative Councils; to name a few.

The Westminster is a hack, a patch, to route around the power of the King. It substitutes in an appointed, politically neutered and ceremonial formal executive. While leaving an informal executive with the majority of power across two branches of government.

Republicans have to claim an Australian political heritage, an Australian political legacy, that combines to an innovative and advanced form of democracy which we can proudly call an Australian Republic.

cam