Modern Problems Demand A Modern Constitution
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday June 5, 2006
The collapse of the privatisation of the Snowy water scheme is great news, and Australians must use this event as the catalyst to reassess the governance of this nation. We are today a divided nation due to a constitution drafted for Federation more than a century ago. The time has come for today's Australian to develop governance for the coming century or two.
Water, and the control of this and other national heritage and environmental assets, can no longer be owned by the states. Other portfolios, such as transport, communications, health care and education, which are no less important than customs, quarantine or defence, should be centralised under one government.Opponents of centralisation will raise their arms in disgust but if this centralisation of portfolios is achieved and developed through a new constitution encompassing regional governments, it will keep in check runaway federal governments or rogue political parties.We need political bipartisanship to create an all-party constitutional committee, with judicial and academic membership, to develop alternatives for the governance of this nation by, say, 2020.Stages in this process could include a 2010 plebiscite for the selection of two or three alternatives to replace state and local governments. These could be based on geographical regionalism, a combination of a number of federal electorates, or both.Then a plebiscite of two alternative constitutions during 2015, followed in 2017 by a referendum on a national constitution for adoption in 2020.Australians need to participate in public discussions and planning to leave a legacy for their families and the future of this nation.What has served us well for 100 years is now in the eyes of many hindering us all. If private enterprise needs to implement best practices to meet the future, what removes that same ethos from governments?Robert S. Buick Mountain Creek (Qld)
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald