Testament 82

3. appointment by a special council following prime ministerial nomination.

There are many examples across the world of Method 1. Presidential Election by popular vote and they differ markedly. Some have one poll which covers the whole field and elects the first past the post. Others require a run-off election between the top two candidates, others require a minimum percentage vote and so on.

Method 2 Is similar to how we elect the Speaker in the House of Representatives. This almost certainly leads to a partisan incumbent with a possible unexpected outcome if "parliamentary election" means both Houses of Parliament get a combined vote.

Method 2 and 3 become Electoral Colleges where the people elect other people to vote on their behalf for President. In America this takes at least 9 months of lobbying and vote-buying with some votes bound and others floating.

Method 3 actually is very similar to how the Governor General of Australia is appointed. The Prime Minister nominates the candidate and the Queen in Council appoints him or her. When ARM put only the question of how a President would be elected it was the subject of a referendum and it was resoundingly defeated.

Not one State supported the proposition (the ACT is not a State and has an unrepresentative population) and nearly 55% of the population voted against it.

That proposition was put without even considering what kind of Government would we have under a President. Would we copy:

1. the American system of two houses of Congress (Parliament) but with the President having power of veto and a Cabinet (or executive) chosen by the President from within and without the Congress?

2. the German system? The fourth Reich has a President who has limited powers similar to a Constitutional Monarch. The Second Reich collapsed when the former dictator President dismissed Parliament and appointed Adolph Hitler Chancellor (Prime Minister). On the death of the President Hitler declared himself Fuhrer (President) and created the very undemocratic third Reich.

3. the French? They have so far had five Republics each different. The current model is similar to Queensland in that there is a one House Parliament and a President (performing similar functions to that of the Governor).

4. Would we try to keep a two house Westminster System adapted to a President instead of a Governor General? This would be the 'minimalist' proposal.

Most of the rhetoric about the Republic says an independent mature democracy needs an Australian Head of State.