Telemarkerters are fine, too :): The loving of local factory workers was not anything inherit in local factory workers, but having a relatively low paid, average head of state. Telemarketers, council workers and Uni students
I do like the Sortition proposal. So here stands my proposed Republican model at present:
The Head of State, for both the Commonwealth and each State, remains the same person.
The Head of State uses the title Appointer during their role as Appointer, and reverts to Mr/Ms/Dr/whatever they had before hand at the end.
The Appointer is chosen by direct election. Campaigns are limited to authorised (jointly by all candidates and governments) information packages and the like.
The candidates for appointers are selected by sortition. At least one resident of each state/territory with representation in the HoR/Senate should be selected, but if more than seven candidates are to be selected the remainder are chosen from the Commonwealth without regard to where they come from.
The Appointer\'s term is by default five years; it is extended by six months up to a maximum of eight years total if the election would coincide with either a general election or Governor\'s/Governor General\'s term expiring. If the eight years expires, the election/vice regal term expiry gets extended by six months. If the office is vacated, the most recent outgoing vice-regal office holder is interim Appointer until the conditions are appropriate for a new Appointer\'s election.
The Appointer is paid a minimum rate that is not intended to support them (but does not contribute to assessable income for welfare purposes), except when for a week or part thereof they are actively performing their duties as appointer. By making the job of Appointer part time, more people will be able to do it: students and people early in their carrier for whom five years off may mean a lifetime off; small business owners whose business will disappear after much less than five years; researchers who may be preempted by someone else, and many others. Additionally, in many areas being or having been an Appointer will probably increase their ability to earn income in the private field anyway.
The Appointer\'s duties are limited beyond those the Queen currently actively fulfils. I would suggest they can (and must) appoint/terminate Governors and Governors-General on the advice of the respective Premier or Prime Minister. They should also retain some failsafe powers, so that if the Governor/Governor-General acts without advice or fails to act on advice, the respective
lower house
can ask the Appointer to act (to dissolve parliament/change premier etc.). In this situation, the Appointer is entitled, but not required (by convention or by constitution), to act.
The limitation on campagins is intended to reduce the politics and ensure that anyone (even people who aren\'t rich and lack connections, including Uni students, the unemployed and telemarketers) can aspire to our Head of State. Nevertheless, I\'m sure there will be problems with this model. Their powers will need to be codified in most cases (except when they veto a viceroy, though the conditions to allow that will need to be codified).
Another problem I\'ve thought about while thinking of this is that most people will be familiar with the Commonwealth issues and the State/Territory issues of the State/Territory they\'re in. But I doubt a Territorian Appointer will know much about what\'s happening in Tasmania. To help counteract this, I might suggest they be given a fortnight before they ever need to act after receiving advice and be allowed to take leave from their other job to do so (as well as travelling to the respective area if needs be, paid for by the respective government). The difficulty is of course that not everyone has the capacity to up and go on short notice. I\'m not sure how to deal with this. Maybe not everyone can become our Head of State...
Alternatively, we might have a separate Appointer for each State (and base terms of six years), with Commonwealth Appointer rotating. (Which could in some ways be the Australian equivalent of Switzerland\'s executive council, even though it\'s radically different.) I don\'t really like this method; one aspect of the monarchy at the moment is the ultimate head of each state and the Commonwealth is the same person.
It needs to be stressed that the Governor-General retains the role of Head of State in international affairs. The Governor-General meets foreign heads, and is met by foreign heads. And so forth.
Discuss!
Comments
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The Head of State, for both the Commonwealth and each State, remains the same person.
-
The Head of State uses the title Appointer during their role as Appointer, and reverts to Mr/Ms/Dr/whatever they had before hand at the end.
-
The Appointer is chosen by direct election. Campaigns are limited to authorised (jointly by all candidates and governments) information packages and the like.
-
The candidates for appointers are selected by sortition. At least one resident of each state/territory with representation in the HoR/Senate should be selected, but if more than seven candidates are to be selected the remainder are chosen from the Commonwealth without regard to where they come from.
-
The Appointer\'s term is by default five years; it is extended by six months up to a maximum of eight years total if the election would coincide with either a general election or Governor\'s/Governor General\'s term expiring. If the eight years expires, the election/vice regal term expiry gets extended by six months. If the office is vacated, the most recent outgoing vice-regal office holder is interim Appointer until the conditions are appropriate for a new Appointer\'s election.
-
The Appointer is paid a minimum rate that is not intended to support them (but does not contribute to assessable income for welfare purposes), except when for a week or part thereof they are actively performing their duties as appointer. By making the job of Appointer part time, more people will be able to do it: students and people early in their carrier for whom five years off may mean a lifetime off; small business owners whose business will disappear after much less than five years; researchers who may be preempted by someone else, and many others. Additionally, in many areas being or having been an Appointer will probably increase their ability to earn income in the private field anyway.
-
The Appointer\'s duties are limited beyond those the Queen currently actively fulfils. I would suggest they can (and must) appoint/terminate Governors and Governors-General on the advice of the respective Premier or Prime Minister. They should also retain some failsafe powers, so that if the Governor/Governor-General acts without advice or fails to act on advice, the respective
lower house
can ask the Appointer to act (to dissolve parliament/change premier etc.). In this situation, the Appointer is entitled, but not required (by convention or by constitution), to act.
The limitation on campagins is intended to reduce the politics and ensure that anyone (even people who aren\'t rich and lack connections, including Uni students, the unemployed and telemarketers) can aspire to our Head of State. Nevertheless, I\'m sure there will be problems with this model. Their powers will need to be codified in most cases (except when they veto a viceroy, though the conditions to allow that will need to be codified). Another problem I\'ve thought about while thinking of this is that most people will be familiar with the Commonwealth issues and the State/Territory issues of the State/Territory they\'re in. But I doubt a Territorian Appointer will know much about what\'s happening in Tasmania. To help counteract this, I might suggest they be given a fortnight before they ever need to act after receiving advice and be allowed to take leave from their other job to do so (as well as travelling to the respective area if needs be, paid for by the respective government). The difficulty is of course that not everyone has the capacity to up and go on short notice. I\'m not sure how to deal with this. Maybe not everyone can become our Head of State... Alternatively, we might have a separate Appointer for each State (and base terms of six years), with Commonwealth Appointer rotating. (Which could in some ways be the Australian equivalent of Switzerland\'s executive council, even though it\'s radically different.) I don\'t really like this method; one aspect of the monarchy at the moment is the ultimate head of each state and the Commonwealth is the same person. It needs to be stressed that the Governor-General retains the role of Head of State in international affairs. The Governor-General meets foreign heads, and is met by foreign heads. And so forth. Discuss!