Law of Australia - Divergence

Divergence

While the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia was itself an Act of the British Parliament, Britain's role in the government of Australia became increasingly nominal in the 20th century (the federal government is normally referred to in a legal context as 'the Commonwealth'). However, there was little momentum for Australia to obtain legislative independence. The Australian States did not participate in the conferences leading up to the Statute of Westminster 1931, which provided that no British Act should be deemed to extend to the dominions without the consent of the dominion. The Commonwealth did not invoke the provisions of the statute until 1942. Complete legislative independence was finally established by the Australia Act 1986, passed by the United Kingdom Parliament as well as those of the Commonwealth and States. It removed the possibility of legislation being enacted at the consent and request of a dominion, and applied to the States as well as the Commonwealth. It also provided for the complete abolition of appeals to the Privy Council from any Australian court. The Australia Act represented an important symbolic break with Britain, emphasised by Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia to sign the legislation personally.

Legislative independence has been paralleled by a growing divergence between Australian and English common law in the last quarter of the 20th century.

Australian Republicanism emerged as a movement in the 1990s hoping to eventually change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government.

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