Australian Constitution Vs Us Constitution Essay

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Australian and United States Constitution. Chosen country: United States. Situation in Australia: The Australian Constitution was drafted in the 1890s. It was passed by the British Parliament as part of the Commonwealth of Australia and took effect on 1st January 1901. When the Australasian Federal Convention met, in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne in 1897 and early 1898, the representatives modified the draft made in 1891. The Australian Constitution was retained in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Bill, which was signed by the voters of each Australian colony at referendums in 1898, 1899 and 1900, passed by the British Parliament on the 9th July 1900. The Constitution is the legal framework for how Australia is governed and it can only be changed …show more content…

• Both have constitutions, which present the powers of the Federal Government. • Both have an independent judiciary (Supreme Court in U.S, High Court in Australia), which interprets the constitution Differences: • The U.S is a republic, whereas Australia is a constitutional monarchy (Where the Queen acts as head of state). The U.S president is both head of state and head of government and is directly elected by the people. Australia’s head of state is the British monarch who is represented by a Governor-General chosen by the Prime Minister. • In Australia, the government is drawn from the parliament and responsible to it, whereas in the U.S the Executive branch of government is independent. • The Australian Prime Minister is chosen by the members of the parties that have won a majority of seats in the House of Representative. Whereas the U.S President is directly elected by the people. • Members of the Australian House of Representatives serve a 3-year term whereas U.S members of the House serve a 2-year term. • Half of the members of the Australian Senate face election every three years, whereas one-third of the U.S Senate is elected every two