The Constitution of Western Australia

This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to, and enquiry into, the rules of Western Australia's (WA) system of government. The WA Constitution is not well known or understood or even easy to identify and this book provides an essential guide. It brings academic expertise and careful scholarship to the exploration of sometimes complex constitutional issues in a way that will be invaluable for those with specialist interest in constitutional law and government while also being engaging and accessible for a wider audience. In doing so, it combines authorial expertise from constitutional law and political science something essential to a well-rounded understanding of the simultaneously legal and political nature of a Constitution.

Examines the WA Constitution in its historical entirety as a unique case study in a single research book Presents a cross disciplinary approach of politics, law, human rights and social cultural issues Offers detailed descriptions, deep dive and analysis of the complexities around Constitutionalism in Australia

Auteur

Alan Fenna, BA Alberta, MA Queen's, PhD York

Professor of Politics at the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University.

Alan Fenna publishes widely in the areas of Australian government, Australian public policy, and Australian and comparative federalism. He has served as President of the Australian Political Studies Association (2009-10); worked in the Constitutional Affairs section of the WA Ministry of Premier and Cabinet; and served as an elected member of local government Sarah Murray, BA (Hons), LLB (Hons) UWA, Grad Dip (Legal Practice) NSW, PhD Monash

Professor at the University of Western Australia.

Sarah Murray researches in the areas of constitutional law, electoral law and court innovation. She is a member of the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, a co-Chair of the ICON-S AUS-NZ Chapter and a WA Co-Convenor of the Electoral Regulation Research Network. In 2022 she was part of a successful ARC LIEF grant team working with Oxford University to digitise the drafting of the Australian Constitution.

Contenu

1. Introduction: Discovering the WA Constitution.- 2. The What, Why and How of Constitutions.- 3. The WA Constitution in the Federal System.- 4. Origins of the WA Constitution: Framers, History and Documents.- 5. First Peoples and the WA Constitution.- 6. The Constitution and System of Government.- 7. Voting Rights and Electoral System.- 8. Amending the State Constitution: Fundamental or Ordinary Law?.- 9. What Should Be Done? Consolidation and Beyond.- 10. Conclusion.