ABSTRACT
It could well be said that anyone writing a book as a result of which he or she hopes to effect constitutional reform in Australia must either be optimistic to the point of foolhardiness or be expecting to live beyond the normal human lifespan. The fate of proposed constitutional amendments in Australia is well known: of 44 referenda conducted since the coming into force of the Constitution, only eight have cleared both hurdles set by s 128 of the Constitution by securing majority support of votes cast nationwide and majority support in a majority of States (in other words, in four of the six States). Most recently, the referendum held in 1999 on whether Australia should become a Republic suffered a crushing defeat, with 5,273,000 votes cast in favour of the Republic, 6,410,000 cast against, and without securing a majority in any State or Territory, bar the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
