Our Governor-General is more than just a ceremonial rubber stamp

It is elementary that it is unlawful for the government to spend money without a parliamentary provision-that is, Supply.

Sir Guy says that this auditing process requires that advice be accompanied with:

1. a clear statement of precisely what it is the governor is being asked to do;
2. a reference to the source of power to take that action; and
3. particulars of any conditions which need to be satisfied before that power can be exercised; and explicit assertions by a minister stating how those conditions have been satisfied.

If any one of these requirements is not satisfied, the Governor should at least postpone his decision. If the advice is clearly unlawful or sufficient information is not given, he should reject it.

Now this is not an academic description of what should happen. It is what actually happens.

All Australians, especially our students and those seeking citizenship, are entitled to know how their Constitution works. That is their right. After all, it is one of the few Constitutions that has worked so smoothly and for so long, and is undoubtedly part of that body of laws, institutions and customs that have provided the framework which has allowed this nation to become the undoubted success that it is, and the good international citizens that we are.

Australia is not a nation that talks endlessly about liberty for the peoples of the world: it is one of the few that actually does something about it.