According to Gareth Evans, this legislation was passed through both Houses of Parliament in one evening and came into force the next day. EvansGareth, ‘Pecuniary Interests of Members of Parliament under the Australian Constitution’ (1975) 49Australian Law Journal464, 472.
2.
Professor Tony Blackshield, in his appearance before the 1997 Inquiry of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs into Aspects of s 44 of the Constitution, commented that in the 1980s, 35 members of parliament were allegedly disqualified after one election, and 57 after another. One of this number included the then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who was said to be disqualified after being made an honorary citizen of Israel. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Report into Aspects of Section 44 of the Australian Constitution (1992) 12.
3.
OrrGraemeWilliamsGeorge, ‘Electoral Challenges: Judicial Review of Parliamentary Elections in Australia’ (2001) 23Sydney Law Review53, 67.
4.
Furthermore, there is no constitutional requirement that votes should have equal weight. See Attorney-General (Cth) (Ex rel McKinlay) v Commonwealth (1975) 135 CLR 1 and McGinty v Western Australia (1996) 186 CLR 140.
5.
The party system and preferential voting are not constitutionally entrenched and, in fact, political parties are mentioned in only one section of the Constitution (s 15). However, the High Court has dismissed arguments that the division of ballot papers on party lines, and legislative requirements in relation to preferential voting, are unconstitutional. See McKenzie v Commonwealth and Oers (1984) 57 ALR 747 and Langer v Commonwealth (1996) 186 CLR 302.
6.
Evans, above n 1, 464.
7.
Ibid472.
8.
Ibid473. See also CarneyGerard, Members of Parliament: Law and ethics (2000), 146.
9.
Evans, above n 1, 472.
10.
(1999) 199 CLR 462: see Sharples v Hill and Anor B49/1998 (12 May 1999), High Court transcripts, http://austlii.edu.au at 3 October 2004.
See BlackshieldTonyWilliamsGeorge, Australian Constitutional Law and Theory. Commentary and Materials (3rd ed, 2002), 445.
18.
The Senate has only twice referred questions as to qualifications to the Court of Disputed Returns, and the House of Representatives has never referred questions as to qualifications to the Court. See BennettBob, ‘Candidates, Members and the Constitution’The Vision in Hindsight: Parliament and the Crown: Paper No 17, Research Paper No 18 2001-2002, Information and Research Services, Department of the Parliamentary Library (2002) 20.
19.
Ibid10–11.
20.
In re Webster (1975) 132 CLR 270; In re Wood (1988) 167 CLR 145; Sykes v Cleary (1992) 176 CLR 77; Free v Kelly (1996) 185 CLR 296; Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462.
21.
Sykes v Cleary (1992) 176 CLR 77, 107 (MasonCJTooheyMcHughJJ).
22.
ThorntonMargaret, ‘The legocentric citizen’ (1996) 21Alternative Law Journal72, 73–74.
23.
Carney, above n 8, 28.
24.
JuppJames, ‘Twilight of the Empire: Britain as a foreign power’ (1999) 75Reform15,17.
25.
Ibid.
26.
Carney, above note 8, 35.
27.
Unreported, FullagarJ, 23 August 1950; See discussion of case in (1977) 51Australian Law Journal171.
28.
(1986) 167 CLR 133.
29.
Nile v Wood (1986) 167 CLR 133, 140.
30.
LumbRDMoensGA, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia Annotated, (5th ed, 1995) 97.
