Victoria came to self-government in 1856 when it broke off from New South Wales to become a separate colony. With the gold rush, Victoria grew in wealth, population and political volatility. The Eureka Stockade occurred in Ballarat soon after Victoria become self-governing. Another innovation which came out of Victoria was the "secret ballot", consequently Victoria has had a strong influence on Australian politics. Victoria in the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by minority anti-Labor governments. Since the Cain government of 1955, Victoria has gone into the slow oscillation in the party controlling government.

History

Victoria became self-governing after the "An Act for the better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies" Act passed in Britain for three new colonies in Australia to become self-governing. These were Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Governor Hotham didn't quite grasp the concept of responsible government and appointed the first ministry.

The Eureka uprising took place in Victoria, under the eye of Hotham and his appointed council. The influx of miners on the goldfields linked their grievance of the mining tax, and the arbitrary manner with which it was enforced into wider political and democratic goals. Consequently Victorian politics and government have had a wider effect on Australian politics.

Melbourne was also the original place for Australian government after Federation. The Commonwealth parliament remained in Melbourne until 1927. Many departments remained in Melbourne, until even recently. ASIO only relocating to Canberra in the 1980s.

In 1975 the Victorian Constitution became an Act of Victorian Parliament . Judicial and Legislative freedom was also given to Victoria and the other states with the passing of the Australia Act in 1986. For the first time the states were able to make legislation that was repugnant to the British Parliament.

Melbourne was historically the home of protectionism, initially at the state level, and later in international trade. It was only with the philosophical economic push in the 1980s toward economic rationalism that Victoria changed its policy.

Enfranchisement

The secret ballot which was known as the Australian ballot was a Victorian innovation. It was thought up by Henry Chapman in 1856 and used in the Victorian election that year. Chapman was a service member of the Victorian Council. Other significant dates and events include;

• 1857 universal manhood suffrage
• 1869, 1881 property qualifications for legislative council eased
• 1878 assembly gets payment
• 1908 adult suffrage for women aged 21 or more. Women granted equality with men at elections for the legislative council.
• 1922 payment of council members
• 1923 women can run for parliament
• 1950 abolition of membership qualifications for council
• 1973 voting age reduced to 18

In 2002, 93.15% of the 3,228,466 eligible voters voted. The rest face a $50 fine if they do not have a suitable reason. Voters choose one Assembly member and one Council member - even though two Council members are elected for their province.

Electoral

The Assembly is elected from districts, while the Legislative Council is elected from a province, where a province is four contiguous districts. An Assembly member is elected for each district, while two Council members are elected for each province. Assembly members currently serve (since 1984) for a minimum of three years with a maximum of four. Due to the rapid nature which incumbent governments call elections, the Legislative Council members serve until the election that ends their second term.

NSW and Victoria enacted Constitutions at similar times, but due to the backward nature of the NSW elites at the time, NSW was stuck with an appointed Legislative Council until the 1970s. This was a compromise over a titled Legislative Council. I could not find if the Victorian Legislative Council was initially appointed or not - but in 1899 plural voting for the Council was abolished.

In 1900 Victoria allowed postal voting and in 1911 the electoral system changed to full preferential voting for the Assembly. This can bring the issue of informal voting and donkey voting. In 1921 preferential voting was introduced for the Legislative Council. Compulsory voting was introduced for the Assembly and Council in 1926 and 1935 respectively.

Once the Labor government got a majority government in 1952, it quickly passed a change in how the electorates were distributed. Cain implemented a two for one, where there were two state electorates to each federal one. This was done to diffuse the power the malapportionment which gave greater representation to the Country Party.

Victoria was behind South Australia in woman suffrage, but in 1937 the Ivy Weber was elected to the Assembly. The Legislative Council had property qualifications on it which limited access to it. In 1979 the first women were elected to the Council in Gracia Baylor and Joan Coxsedge.

Faction

The Labor Party has had a touch time of it in Victoria. When it did achieve office, it faced the powerful Legislative Council which Labor did not get a majority in until 2002. Economou, Costar and Strangio write;

Labor politics has not been central to the history of Victoria's political and economic development ..... Rather, Victoria has been a liberal state where the main political battle has been between liberals and their conservative opponents, sometimes operating within the same political party.

This strong hold on power that the Liberals had, has translated into Victoria having a strong role in defining Australia's variant of liberalism;

The evolution of the Australian variant of liberalism has encompassed both social interventionism and the neo-classical version practised by the reformist Liberal-led coalition government of the 1990s.

Also affecting Victorian politics was the post-war influx of immigrants after World War II. They transformed Melbourne from a wowser city that was a bastion of conservatism, to the wonderfully modern multi-cultural cosmopolitan city Melbourne is today.

The National Party has also had an affect on Victorian politics through malapportionment. The electoral system has given the rural voters undue influence in the Legislative Council. It has maintained the balance of power in the Council between 1955 to 1970 and from 1982 to 1992. It was able to resist electoral changes until 1983.

In 1952 Victoria had its first majority government since 1911. Despite the successive volatility of the minority governments, policy amongst the minor governments was consistent. So the political volatility didn't translate into policy volatility. The Liberal Party also moved in the 1950s and 1960s to remove the appeal of the Country Party. It changed its name to the "Liberal and Country Party" for a period.

The Cain Labor government lost power in 1955 when Victorian Labor split as Federal Labor did so. The Democratic Labor Party sent its preferences to the Liberal Party and the Liberals maintained government between 1955 to 1982. In 1982, the Labor government again won a majority government, but faced a Liberal majority in the Legislative Council. By 1992, the Liberal Party held government in the Assembly until the minority Labor government of Bracks in 1999.

The preferential voting and use of single member districts have minimized the effect of minor parties in winning parliamentary representation. The Australian Democrats have consistently produced Victorian Senators since 1977, yet this hasn't translated into electoral success in the Victorian Parliament. The Greens and DLP face(d) the same issues.

Constitution Originally drafted in 1853 and sent to Britain for ratification as an Act of British Parliament in 1855. In 1975 the Constitution was changed to become an Act of Victorian Parliament. The Constitution represents the limitations on the powers of the Crown, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.

The constitution contains eight parts. These are; I The Crown, II The Parliament, IIa is Local Government, III The Supreme Court, IIIa is Director of Public Prosecutions, IV The Executive, IVa is Commissions and Boards of Inquiry, V is Financial, Va is Special Provisions, VI Relation of Public Officers to Political Affairs, VII Delivery of Water Services and VIII Repealed.

Crown

The constitution formally mentions the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator. The Administrator is the Chief Justice of the court. In an explicit reading it would be assumed that the Queen of England would appoint all three. In reality the Parliament does. This section also details the succession of the three positions if the Governor is vacant. The constitution also contains the section;

6E. Offices are not agencies under Freedom of Information Act 1982

Despite anything to the contrary in the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor or the Administrator is not an agency within the meaning of that Act.

I do not know why that is in there. The Governor also gets a pretty good pension from the Constitution, having 60% of the Chief Justice's salary. Quiet a deal of the constitution is dedicated toward the Governor's pension. Part I, Section 7 A through J contains language for the pension.

The constitution also places some limits on the Governor as head of the Executive Council, such as when the Assembly can be dissolved after a no-confidence motion has passed. There is also protective language to ensure that Victorian Parliament is uninterupted by a change or demise in the Crown. This is probably reason 1022 for Australia being a Republic.

The Victorian Constitution also allows for the Governor to request amendments on the legislation that Parliament passes before signing.

14. Governor's amendments

The Governor may transmit by message to the Council or the Assembly for its consideration any amendment which he desires to be made in any Bill presented to him for Her Majesty's assent and all such amendments shall be taken into consideration in such convenient manner as the standing rules and orders of the Council and the Assembly provide.

This makes explicit that the Victorian Governor has the potential to be a Presidential role. This is another example of the inconsistencies in the Westminster system, where explicit law is totally at odds with convention and practice. Too often in Westminster systems a formal constitution is a fiction.

Parliament

The legislative is described as "Her Majesty, the Council and the Assembly". The Westminster mixes the roles and power of the Executive. This is a formal recognition of this. The Legislative Council also has its role defined for it in Section 16A.

16A. The principle of Government mandate

(1) It is the intention of the Parliament that regard should be given to the following principle - The Council as a House of Review will exercise its powers in recognition of the right and obligation of the current Government to implement -

(a) the Government's specific mandate - the policies, promises and initiatives which were publicly released by or on behalf of the Government during the last election campaign; and

(b) the Government's general mandate - to govern for and on behalf of the people of Victoria.

(2) The principle in sub-section (1) is not to be construed as limiting the powers of the Council, the Assembly or the Parliament.

It appears that the Victorian Legislative Council has been more powerful than other state upper houses during its lifetime. But what recourse does this leave an Assembly who has a popular mandate to implement their policies? Other than maybe claiming that the Legislative Council is acting unconstitutionally.

I am coming to the conclusion that Constitutions dont contain entirely legislative language. There are descriptions that have no legislative or judicial recourse. I think that constitutions need to have the description sections and legislative authority sections separated in some formal easy to recognize manner.

Constitutional Alteration

One of the failings of the Commonwealth constitution is how static document it is. It leaves only one means for future generations to modify it into their image, requirements and aspirations. The Victorian Constitution contains sections that are entrenched and require a referendum to modify. There are also sections that can be modified by a special majority which is two thirds of the combined Assembly and Council members. Some sections, such Part III require an absolute majority.

Committees

The Victorian Constitution also contains explicit language for committees and the ability of Assembly and Council members to take evidence after swearing in. The Constitution also covers persons giving false evidence after swearing in being liable to "penalties of perjury". The Constitution also appears to protect against double jeapardy for individuals brought infront of committees.

Nothing in this section shall derogate from any power or privilege of either House, or of the members or committees of either House or of the joint committees of the Council and the Assembly, but no person shall be liable to be proceeded against or punished twice for the same offence whether as a breach of privilege or as an offence against this section or any other enactment or at common law.

Legislative Council

Division 5 contains the language that defines the Legislative Council and its electoral setup. The Council members are elected from twenty-two provinces which make up four contiguous electoral districts from the Assembly. Each province returns two Council members. The constitution also stops a member of the Assembly sitting concurrently as a Council member and Assembly member. The Legislative Council is also limited from conducting any of its business unless there is one-third of the chamber present excluding the President of the Council.

Legislative Assembly

Division 6 contains the language which defines the Legislative Assembly. There are eighty-eight districts each returning one legislative member. The constitution also limits the minimum meeting frequency of the Assembly and Council to once a year. Section 43 contains the standing rules and orders in the chambers.

The constitution also contains who is eligible to be elected to Parliament;

(1) Subject to this Act, a person is qualified to be elected a member of the Council or the Assembly if, at the close of the roll in relation to the election for which the person is a candidate -

(a) the person is enrolled on the register of electors within the meaning of the Electoral Act 2002 and is entitled to vote at an election; and

(b) the person's principal place of residence is in Victoria.

(2) An elector who -

(a) is a judge of a court of Victoria;

(b) is a member of either House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth;

(c) is an undischarged bankrupt - shall not be qualified to be elected a member of the Council or the Assembly.

(3) An elector who has been convicted or found guilty of an indictable offence which by virtue of any enactment is punishable upon first conviction by imprisonment for life or for a term of five years or more committed by him when of or over the age of 18 years under the law of Victoria or under the law of any other part of the British Commonwealth of Nations shall not be qualified to be elected a member of the Council or the Assembly.

Anyone elected who fails that criteria, will have the election return declared void. If you do so, you will be fined $500. To vote for the representatives you must be an Australian citizen or a British citizen living in Australia before the Australian Act was passed in 1984.

If you have been convicted of treason, you are serving a sentence of five years or more, is holding a temporary entry permit, is a prohibited immigrant or has an unsound mind - is not entitled to be enrolled as an elector for the Council or Assembly.

There are also limits on Ministers;

51. Ministers to be in Council or Assembly

A responsible Minister of the Crown shall not hold office for a longer period than three months unless he is or becomes a member of the Council or the Assembly.

This is to probably cover the hand over of government, but looks like a bit of a hole. As long as the process of government isn't halted I don't see why a Minister must first be a member of the Assembly or Council. Since the Council is the house of review in the Victorian bicameral system, no Ministers should be in the Council.

The constitution stops member of either house sitting in the opposite, and only allows them to be present in the opposite house for the purposes of detailing, describing or explaining a bill. The constitution also explicitly inhibits contractors from being elected. A contractor is deemed to be someone who has a direct or indirect concern in any bargain or contract entered into by the State of Victoria. These contracts are described as;

(a) any contract entered into by any Government department or by any Minister of the Crown in his capacity as such; and

(b) (without affecting the generality of the last preceding paragraph) any contract entered into by any public statutory body.

A couple of paragraphs later, there are a couple of exemptions to that rule. Including if the member is part of a company partnership that contains more than twenty persons. However much of Section 60 appears devoted to trying to minimise corruption.

Appropriation

The Victorian Constitution also contains the mechanism to try and solve disputed appropriation bills. If a disputed bill exists then a Dispute Resolution Committee tries to seek a resolution to the dispute within thirty days. The Committee consists of twelve members, seven from the Assembly and five from the Council. The committee meets in private with each member having a single vote. If there is a dead-lock from the voting, the committee chair has the deciding vote.

If this committee cannot get a resolution the disputed bill becomes a dead-locked bill. The Premier (the position is first mentioned here in II.10.65E.2) can advise the Governor that the Assembly be dissolved or alternatively, the bill can be reintroduced later. the reintroduced bill can be in its original form, the form passed by the Assembly or the form after it went through the Dispute Resolution Committee.

Once a disputed bill is reintroduced it can require a joint sitting of both houses. If after a joint sitting the votes are still tied, it is assumed the bill has failed.

Local Government

Part IIa covers local government. The constitution describes them as;

(1) Local government is a distinct and essential tier of government consisting of democratically elected Councils having the functions and powers that the Parliament considers are necessary to ensure the peace, order and good government of each municipal district.

Victorian Government also gets quite a deal of explicit power over local governments through the constitution. This was an area that Jeff Kennett targeted, despite not caring for reform in the Victorian Parliament.

(1) Parliament may make any laws it considers necessary for or with respect to -

(a) the constitution of Councils; and

(b) the objectives, functions, powers, duties and responsibilities of Councils; and

(c) entitlement to vote and enrolment for elections of Councils; and

(d) the conduct of and voting at elections of Councils; and

(e) the counting of votes at elections of Councils; and

(f) the qualifications to be a Councillor; and

(g) the disqualification of a person from being or continuing to be a Councillor; and

(h) the powers, duties and responsibilities of Councillors and Council staff; and

(i) any other act, matter or thing relating to local government administration.

(2) A Council cannot be dismissed except by an Act of Parliament relating to the Council.

(3) Parliament may make laws for or with respect to -

(a) the suspension of a Council; and

(b) the administration of a Council during a period in which the Council is suspended or dismissed; and

(c) the re-instatement of a Council which has been suspended; and

(d) the election of a Council if a suspended Council is not re-instated; and

(e) the election of a Council where a Council has been dismissed.

The constitution gives the state parliament the authority to dismiss councils as well as re-appoint suspended councils.

Judicial

Part III covers the Supreme Court of Victoria. This describes the Judges of the Court and Masters of the Court. The Chief Justice, who is mentioned in the Crown section, is one of the Judges of the Court. The court is divided into the Court of Appeal and the Trial Division. The Chief Justice heads both courts.

The constitution also prohibits a Victorian Supreme Court judge from having been or currently being a judge in the High Court of Australia or the Supreme Courts of any other state or territory. They can also not be appointed if they are practising law outside of Victoria or are a legal practitioner in the High Court.

Judges are appointed by the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council. But a judge cannot be greater than 70 years of age when appointed. Judges can also be removed for bad behaviour or by the Governor;

77. Commissions of Judges

(1) The commissions of the Judges of the Court shall subject to sub-section (4) continue and remain in full force during their good behaviour notwithstanding the demise of Her Majesty any law usage or practice to the contrary hereof in anywise notwithstanding but the Governor may remove any such Judge upon the address of the Council and the Assembly.

The President of the Court of Appeal is the next in seniority below the Chief Justice. The Judges in the Court of Appeal have seniority behind those two depending on their appointment dates. The pensions for the Judges are as long and as convoluted for the Governor. Anyone from the future reading this constitution would wonder why pensions were requiring such long-winded constitutional attention.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in Part IIIa is another specialist position and requires that the appointed person be a barrister or solicitor of the Supreme Court for at least eight years. The position is tenured for ten years, with the maximum allowed tenure being twenty years.

The Executive

Part IV covers the Executive Council, this is where the Premier advises the Governor. The Governor is the president of the Executive Council, though the Governor or Administrator (Chief Justice) can preside if either of those positions have assumed the role of administration of the state. The other members of the Executive Council must be ministers in parliament.

For a quorum there must be at least two other members in the meeting other than the Governor. No meeting must begin or occur without the authority of the Governor. The Victorian constitution explicitly mentions the advice of the Premier;

(a) the Executive Council shall advise the Governor on the occasions when the Governor is permitted or required by any statute or other instrument to act in Council; and

(b) the Premier (or, in the absence of the Premier, the Acting Premier) shall tender advice to the Governor in relation to the exercise of the other powers and functions of Governor.

The Governor in Council can also issue that a Commission of Inquiry or a Board of Inquiry be under-taken.

Independence

Under the Financial section in Part V, there is the description of the Auditor-General. This role took on a political aspect when the Kennett government saw it as the one remaining block to their absolute power . The Auditor-General is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Executive Council. the constitution is quite explicit on the independent nature of the Auditor-General's role;

94B. Independence of the Auditor-General

(1) The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Parliament.

(2) The functions, powers, rights, immunities and obligations of the Auditor-General are as specified in this Act, the Audit Act 1994 and other laws of the State.

(3) There are no implied functions, powers, rights, immunities or obligations arising from the Auditor-General being an independent officer of the Parliament.

(4) The powers of the Parliament to act in relation to the Auditor-General are as specified in or applying under this Act, the Audit Act 1994 and other laws of the State.

(5) There are no implied powers of the Parliament arising from the Auditor-General being an independent officer of the Parliament.

(6) Subject to this Act, the Audit Act 1994 and other laws of the State, the Auditor-General has complete discretion in the performance or exercise of his or her functions or powers and, in particular, is not subject to direction from anyone in relation to -

(a) whether or not a particular audit is to be conducted;

(b) the way in which a particular audit is to be conducted;

(c) the priority to be given to any particular matter.

The Auditor-General has initial tenure of seven years and is eligible for re-appointment. Other positions which have constitutionally guaranteed independence are the Ombudsman and the Electoral Commissioner.

Part VI also contains the language which enforces the non political nature of the public service. The public service are prohibited from commenting publicly on the administration of the government.

Water, Water, Everywhere

Part VII covers the delivery of water services. These include the services relating to, water supply, sewerage, irrigation, water collection and sewage treatment. This section is pretty scarce on detail, other than allowing the government to have responsibility for it, and to outsource it if they choose.

The Oath

The Oath is mentioned in the constitution, it is pretty repugnant.

Oath
I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty and Her Majesty's heirs and successors according to law. Affirmation

I do solemnly and sincerely affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty and Her Majesty's heirs and successors according to law.

Reason 1340 for a Republic.

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