There is nothing in the Constitution to deal with the situation in which neither side can form a majority government.
Articles on Constitution
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How will the Brexit referendum work? And what distinguishes it from referendums that have been held in Australia?
Political funding in Australia is governed by different rules for state (some of which do not require disclosure) and federal governments. And both levels suffer significant weaknesses.
The number of members of the House of Representatives is variable. It is a result of a formula given in the Constitution.
Sex workers in South Africa are all potential criminals due to the country’s regressive laws. But their status may change soon, making South Africa the first African country to decriminalise sex work.
South Africa’s Constitution enjoins government to act “reasonably” in ensuring that basic socioeconomic rights are progressively realised. But the government has limited resources.
What is a double-dissolution election? How does it differ from an ordinary election? And why the rush after the budget?
After many weeks of speculation, the government has laid down the challenge for the Senate and smoothed the path for a double-dissolution election.
A suggested constitutional challenge to the Senate reforms through the High Court is unlikely to succeed.
Alfred Deakin and his contemporaries invented the Australian prime ministership. But it was not settled as a platform for national leadership until John Curtin and Ben Chifley’s time.
Australia’s Constitution sets the ground rules for its system of government. But many things one might expect to be in the Constitution are simply not there.
The sudden expulsion of the finance minister makes it hard not to be pessimistic about the South African government’s ability to manage the difficult challenges it might face in 2016.
Victoria has had a huge victory for the rights of women to exercise their choice to access a legal medical service free of intimidation and harassment.
The government’s revised citizenship-stripping bill adopted all recommendations made by a parliamentary committee. But it’s still no certainty to survive a High Court challenge.
Is the Dismissal a moment that will become even more significant if the push for Australia to become a republic gains momentum?
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said that Indigenous recognition in the Constitution cannot just be “empty poetry” but must lay to rest “the ghosts of the discrimination” haunting the document.
By challenging the courts, King Dalindyebo is testing the degree of impunity with which traditional leaders can get away.
The university should be the bastion of the right to free expression in the promotion of democracy, and has a moral and ethical obligation to provide spaces for fierce debate and critical engagement.
Tony Abbott’s belated agreement with Indigenous leaders on a consultation process for constitutional recognition is a step in the right direction.
Multiple concerns have been raised about the citizenship-stripping bill’s inattention to human rights, its differential impact upon dual and sole nationals, and its potential application to persons who commit relatively minor crimes.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor of Law, UNSW Law School, UNSW
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Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor in Law and Public Policy, University of Oxford
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Research Fellow, School of Law, The University of Queensland
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Visiting Professor at the Business School, University of the Witwatersrand
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Senior Lecturer in Law, Charles Sturt University
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Constitutional Law, Monash University
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University
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ANU Law, Australian National University
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Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW
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Professor, Department of Legal Studies, School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst