ABSTRACT

At the beginning of this book, I said that anyone proposing constitutional reform in Australia is either over-optimistic or expects a lifespan beyond the expected norm. I hope that I have succeeded both in showing why constitutional reform is necessary, and in dispelling some of the misconceptions which abound, both in relation to the current constitutional order, and in relation to the consequences of changing it. Furthermore, some of those who took the opportunity to evaluate the Constitution during the centenary of federation year, came to the conclusion that the time was ripe for thorough-going constitutional reform.1 Nevertheless, the problem remains as to how to effect constitutional reform, given the prevailing climate in which the attitude of voters towards reform can, at best, be described as being characterised by inertia, but among most of whom there is outright opposition born of profound suspicion about change.